My Take on Ray Rice & Domestic Violence in Sports

Photo Credit: hlntv.com

This has been a very sad week in sports.  A gruesome video showing beloved Baltimore Raven running back Ray Rice punching his fiancé and then dragging her lifeless body on a casino floor.  It brings me great sadness because Rice was a guy I always supported.  Going to Rutgers, Rice was a legend.  His face would come on the jumbotrons and fans and students would go crazy for him.  When he came back to the school, he was treated like a king.  Now, he is a disgrace to the school and one that would never be welcomed back.

However, as if the actual act itself was not deplorable enough, the NFL’s cover up was even worse.  The Associated Press announced today that the tapes were made available for the NFL to view, despite commissioner Roger Goodell denying seeing the video until this past Monday.  That was when the NFL went into damage control; first the Ravens released the running back and Goodell suspended him from the league indefinitely.  This was after he originally suspended him two games and the Ravens did absolutely nothing after seeing one video showing her lying on the elevator floor unconscious.  Was that not enough proof something serious had gone on behind those doors?  Did it really matter what were the actually details of what went on?  Were you too scared to see what was on that tape and give domestic violence a face?

Goodell “tried” to lay the hammer down once the elevator video was brought to light by TMZ, but he just ended up sounding like a bigger hypocrite than usual.  You suspend one player indefinitely, but you have two players who were arrested, one found guilty, of domestic violence.  Where is the strong stance for violence against women?  It is time to say this will no longer be tolerated, video or no video.  A more in-depth investigation went into Michael Sam being openly gay and “how he would fit in” .  How would a known abuser fit in?

The media is also at fault here.  Stop reshowing the video, enough already.  We are only torturing Janay Rice further and isolating her more.  Do you really need ratings that badly?  Where was the outrage when the first video was released showing her unconscious?  ESPN was not having long, deep talks when Rice was originally charged.

Everyone from Goodell to the Ravens were wrong in this situation.  However, now is the time to come clean and Goodell just can’t do it.  If the Associated Press is accurate and the casino sent the NFL the footage, where do the lies end?  Did anyone in the NFL view them?  Did Goodell watch them and not get disgusted as a father?  Did the Ravens not believe Rice when he told them exactly what happened in that elevator and think they should take a stand?  There are so many questions, but really when will a sports league just say enough is enough?