Instead of writing about Week 1, and reading about all the interesting things that happened, I watched a video of Ravens running back Ray Rice punch his then-fiancee in the face in an elevator with such force that she was knocked unconscious. This was the act that he was suspended for a mere 2 games for. Roger Goodell, the out of touch commissioner, claims that he and the NFL had not had access to that video when they investigated in May, however, there are now reports to the contrary on that, and Goodell himself admitted in a letter to the owners on August 28th that they didn't investigate enough. Of course you didn't investigate enough, you waited until TMZ released video that allegedly you had access to but didn't care to look at? That first press conference with Ray Rice, who decided that it was a great idea to put Janay Palmer up there too? He's not there to talk about how he cheated on her, he was there to answer questions about how he allegedly (although now with the video I'm not sure if the "allegedly" is needed) hit her. With the video public knowledge, then the Ravens and the NFL acted, by cutting him from the team and banning him indefinitely, but leaving many fans and players wondering "Too little, too late?"
If only that was the only case that came up this week, next was the indictment of Adrian Peterson hitting his child with a switch, leaving bruises and cuts that were still bleeding on the child when the 4-year old little boy was returned to his mother. I will not engage on a spanking vs. not spanking argument here. I will say that there is a line between discipline and abuse, when there are marks and there is blood that is abuse, plain and simple. Cris Carter, a man that sometimes I am not a big fan of, may have put it best. It couldn't have been easy for him to say and talk about this, but it needs to be said in the midst of all the people who are defending Adrian Peterson and his actions. The following is the video that Cris Carter talks about the abuse.
If you think that's all, and that is every story that has to do with the NFL domestic violence crisis, you are sadly mistaken. Greg Hardy of the Carolina Panthers was deactivated today because of the guilty verdict he received on domestic assault in JULY, you read that right, JULY, but just because he's not playing doesn't mean he won't get paid his reported weekly pay check of $770,588. He's not the only player that is dealing with a domestic violence charge. Ray McDonald of the San Francisco 49ers will probably take the field, even though he is accused of assaulting his pregnant girlfriend.
The league is asking us not to be too quick to judge, but do they only have extremely short-term memories? It's only been 2 years since Kansas City Chiefs play Jovan Blecher murdered his girlfriend and then killed himself at the Kansas City Chiefs training facility. THAT was when Goodell should have made it a six-game suspension, not when there was backlash from the two-game suspension he gave Rice.
The league still wants to act on each domestic violence case on a case by case manner, so yes, the league is still moving too slow, and now the whole nation is watching. Where is Goodell in the midst of all this? He's suddenly gone silent. What kind of message are you sending to your female fans, the ones whose dollars you desperately want and the ones you want in the stadium?
The league still wants to act on each domestic violence case on a case by case manner, so yes, the league is still moving too slow, and now the whole nation is watching. Where is Goodell in the midst of all this? He's suddenly gone silent. What kind of message are you sending to your female fans, the ones whose dollars you desperately want and the ones you want in the stadium?
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