The NFL has suspended Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice for two games of this upcoming 2014 season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy during a physical altercation with his then-fiancée, now wife, earlier this year.

According to ESPN, Rice will be fined $58,000 in addition to the two games' checks totaling $470,588. The NFL has also asked that he take counseling.

The suspension will keep Rice out of action during the Ravens’ tough AFC North divisional battles with the Cincinnati Bengals (September 7) and Pittsburgh Steelers (September 11).

Rice, 27, was charged with felony aggravated assault after allegedly hitting Janay Palmer in February at the Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Footage showed the three-time Pro Bowl running back then dragging an unconscious Palmer off the Hotel’s elevator.

Rice avoided jail time by being accepted into a pretrial intervention program in May.

Rice and his wife met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell back at the league’s New York City headquarters on June 16 to discuss the February incident at the Revel.

The Ravens all-time leader in yards from scrimmage rushed for 660 yards and four touchdowns in 2013.

BET Sports News - Get the latest news and information about African-Americans in sports including weekly recaps, celebrity news and photos of your favorite Black athletes. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. 

(Photo: REUTERS/Sean Gardner)