ESPN's Ray Lewis to Remain in Baltimore During NFL Draft

Ray Lewis, ESPN analyst and former Baltimore Ravens great, has said he will remain in Baltimore rather than work the 2015 NFL Draft in Chicago Thursday to help quell the violence in Baltimore following the death in police custody of Freddie Gray.

Lewis posted a video on his Facebook page calling for an end to the violence to his city.

"I felt that it was more important for me to stay in Baltimore and try to help the city I love. I greatly appreciate ESPN's understanding and flexibility at this late date. I did not feel right leaving the city at this time," Lewis said in a statement.

ESPN Front Office Insider Louis Riddick will sub for Lewis.

In an unusual move, the Baltimore Orioles baseball game will be played without any fans in the stadium Wednesday for security reasons.

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.