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In a stinging rebuke to the NFL鈥檚 system of player justice, a former federal judge acting as arbitrator on Friday nullified the indefinite suspension handed to former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice after he punched his then-girlfriend unconscious at an Atlantic City casino earlier this year.

The decision reignites an imbroglio that has kept commissioner Roger Goodell, long known as the league鈥檚 鈥渆nforcer鈥� for his 鈥渏udge, jury, executioner鈥� policy of meting out punishment, on the hot seat.

In vacating Rice鈥檚 punishment under a collective bargaining agreement, Judge Barbara Jones said the league broke the rules by punishing Rice twice for the same incident, even though the league, including Mr. Goodell, knew the full facts of the case from the beginning.

In her opinion, Judge Jones rules that 鈥渢he imposition of a second suspension based upon the same incident, and the same known facts about that incident, was arbitrary.鈥�

The upshot 鈥渋s a damning indictment of the way the NFL handles domestic violence,鈥� writes Amanda Taub, on Vox.com. 鈥淭he league initially went easy on Rice, then reversed itself after a public outcry on the grounds that he'd misled them. But it turns out they were well-informed all along 鈥� they just didn't think pummeling a woman was worthy of serious punishment, and now the arbitrator is making them stick with that original call.鈥�

The league first suspended Rice for two games after video surfaced of him dragging his unconscious then-girlfriend, now wife, Janay, out of an elevator. Goodell then suspended Rice indefinitely after another video surfaced from inside the elevator, where Rice can be seen hitting Janay so hard she loses her footing and cracks her head on a railing, losing consciousness.

In meting out the second punishment, Goodell said Rice had originally given him a different version of events, noting that Janay 鈥渒nocked herself unconscious鈥� when she hit the railing. But the judge in her ruling found Rice鈥檚 version more believable 鈥� that in the meeting he had shown Goodell how he had 鈥渉it鈥� her, not 鈥渟lapped,鈥� as the league had described it.

While Goodell鈥檚 鈥渆nforcer鈥� stance has helped broaden the NFL鈥檚 appeal, Friday鈥檚聽ruling shows that the strategy has its limits 鈥� especially as Goodell is chiefly in charge of protecting the investments of all 32 NFL team owners.

鈥淩eally, Goodell's mistake was making himself solely in charge of personal conduct discipline,鈥� writes Ty Schalter, on Bleacher Report. 鈥淓ven a person of unquestioned integrity and nigh-infinite wisdom couldn't levy a perfectly fair punishment in every case. He was bound to make an unacceptably unpopular ruling eventually.鈥�

To be sure, Goodell is the one who allowed an outside arbiter to hear Rice鈥檚 appeal, and he has set in motion a number of independent initiatives to find ways to improve the league鈥檚 system of justice. Although the ruling is another major hit to his credibility, Goodell has, it can be argued, already largely weathered the storm by publicly declaring a harsh, if belated punishment, even though it turns out to have been, according to the judge, arbitrary.

Several NFL players tweeted their support for Rice, saying they hope he can return to the NFL. It鈥檚 by no means a certainty that he will slip onto another roster, given in part his public relations problems and also his measly 3.1 yards per carry in 2013.

Other players saw an opportunity for additional reform at the very highest levels of America鈥檚 most popular sport.

鈥淚 believe that this also presents an opportunity for the NFL and NFLPA to address the disciplinary process,鈥� Ravens鈥� linebacker Chris Canty told Aaron Wilson, of Bleacher Report.