On February 19, 2014,
TMZ released a video of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice dragging his
fiancée (now wife) Janay Palmer, while unconscious, out of a hotel elevator.
Rice received an incredibly light punishment for his crime, receiving only a
two game suspension from the NFL. Rice also had all criminal charges
(third-degree aggravated assult) dropped after he agreed to undergo counseling.
This had a lot of people up in arms over the incredibly soft punishment put
down by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who implemented a new suspension policy
for domestic violence that wouldn’t apply to Rice. The Baltimore Ravens
organization also received criticism for how they addressed the situation. The
Ravens held a press conference where Rice apologized for the incident and Janey
Palmer apologized for her role in the incident. Yes, you read that correctly. A
victim of domestic violence was put on camera to not only apologize, but accept
equal blame for getting knocked out by her fiancée. The Ravens official Twitter
also tweeted out “Janey Rice says she deeply regrets the role that she played
the night of the incident.”
It wasn’t until September 8, almost 7 months after the first video was released, that further action was taken. A new video showing Rice punching and knocking Palmer inside the elevator was released by TMZ. That same day, Rice was released from the Ravens and suspended indefinitely from the NFL. Though heavy action was taken against Rice, there is still the pressing issue of who screwed up in this situation. Several journalists have called for Commissioner Goodell to either step down or be removed from his position. I completely agree. Goodell stated that he had never seen the new elevator video. However, according to an article on ESPN.com, a law enforcement officer stated he mailed the tape to the NFL’s head of security Jeffery Miller, and received a voicemail from a female employee who called the video “terrible”. The fact that Goodell either saw the video and didn’t do anything about it or avoided it like the plague is a complete misuse of justice, and he should be heavily punished.
The entire Ravens organization should be punished as well, for their blatant attempts at saving Ray Rice’s face. Tweeting that Janey Palmer apologized for her involvement in the controversy, but not mentioning Rice and head coach John Harbaugh preaching about Rice’s great character were only a few of the attempts to make a women beater look good in light of controversy. After the new video was released, the Ravens not only cut Rice, but also allowed fans to trade in their Ray Rice jerseys for new ones, and retracting all of the comments defending Rice. Some people see this as correcting their mistakes, but others, including myself, see this as the Ravens trying to save their butts.
Domestic abuse is a serious issue, and is quickly becoming a big problem in the NFL. I’ve been a fan of the NFL for a long time, and I’ve honestly never seen a situation handled this poorly. Actions need to be taken against Goodell for his misuse of power as commissioner, the Ravens, for blatantly defending Rice, and the prosecutors in his trial, for allowing Rice to receive such a light punishment for beating his wife.
It wasn’t until September 8, almost 7 months after the first video was released, that further action was taken. A new video showing Rice punching and knocking Palmer inside the elevator was released by TMZ. That same day, Rice was released from the Ravens and suspended indefinitely from the NFL. Though heavy action was taken against Rice, there is still the pressing issue of who screwed up in this situation. Several journalists have called for Commissioner Goodell to either step down or be removed from his position. I completely agree. Goodell stated that he had never seen the new elevator video. However, according to an article on ESPN.com, a law enforcement officer stated he mailed the tape to the NFL’s head of security Jeffery Miller, and received a voicemail from a female employee who called the video “terrible”. The fact that Goodell either saw the video and didn’t do anything about it or avoided it like the plague is a complete misuse of justice, and he should be heavily punished.
The entire Ravens organization should be punished as well, for their blatant attempts at saving Ray Rice’s face. Tweeting that Janey Palmer apologized for her involvement in the controversy, but not mentioning Rice and head coach John Harbaugh preaching about Rice’s great character were only a few of the attempts to make a women beater look good in light of controversy. After the new video was released, the Ravens not only cut Rice, but also allowed fans to trade in their Ray Rice jerseys for new ones, and retracting all of the comments defending Rice. Some people see this as correcting their mistakes, but others, including myself, see this as the Ravens trying to save their butts.
Domestic abuse is a serious issue, and is quickly becoming a big problem in the NFL. I’ve been a fan of the NFL for a long time, and I’ve honestly never seen a situation handled this poorly. Actions need to be taken against Goodell for his misuse of power as commissioner, the Ravens, for blatantly defending Rice, and the prosecutors in his trial, for allowing Rice to receive such a light punishment for beating his wife.