Rice: Another Black Eye on the NFL

Every 9 seconds a woman is assaulted or beaten. One in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. 85% of domestic violence victims are women. These numbers are incredible, and horrifying. As a dad with two little girls it makes me fearful for any guy who wants to date my girls.
These numbers are why I cannot understand the hula-ba-loo being made over Ray Rice. All these media types crawling all over this story, sixteen female Senators writing the NFL about a zero tolerance policy and social media just burning up the lines.
I was told that I should not be so quick to write what I am going to write. I might offend someone or everybody. I think it might be about time some people get upset.
What is going on? With all these women being abuse, why has Ray Rice become the rallying point? He is not by default; there are a ton of cases, and even a few in sports. I really do not know why he has become the hot story, maybe because he has pictures.
What I do know is that every Senator that wrote the NFL has not placed a zero policy in the state that elected them. Nor have they instituted a policy stating that you lose your job if involved in a domestic violence case. Hmmm wonder why? I can understand their interest in this story though; they have nothing else pressing on their schedule. It is not like we are at war with a terrorist group, or the massive amount of homeless people in our country, or the racial tension in our cities, or maybe dealing with domestic violence in their states.
Now back to the picture comment. Floyd Merriweather Jr, undefeated boxer and the nation’s top paid athlete, speaking with Rachel Nichols from CNN after Nichols pointed out that, “In the incident you (Merriweather) went to jail for the mother of your three children did show some bruising, a concussion when she went to the hospital”, the boxer responded with, “Once again, no pictures. Just hearsay and allegations. And I signed a plea bargain. So once again, not true.” The boxer who did time for this incident is still fighting because there is no film.
The undefeated welterweight boxing champ will earned $40.9 million in his rematch with Marcos Maidana. I must have missed the ESPN coverage of why he should be banned from boxing and how the promoters should be fired. Oh well I was too busy watching the Ray Rice story.
The NFL has exploded with hypocrisy over the domestic violence issue, wonder how many players watched the Merriweather fight? Rice has been the NFL’s poster child against domestic violence but there are a few players that while embroiled in such cases are still in uniform and playing.
Ray McDonald of the San Francisco 49ers was the first player arrested after the NFL declared a tougher policy when it came to domestic violence. Just three days after the announcement McDonald was nabbed on suspicion of domestic abuse.
Police answered a 911 call and found bruises on the arms and neck of his pregnant girlfriend but he was not formally charged. He has not been sat down, so either the Niners have some evidence proving he is innocent or the league is paying lip service. Alex Boone, a teammate of McDonald said in an interview with USA Today, “This is completely different. There’s no video of Ray (McDonald) hitting a woman.” So maybe pictures really are what makes hitting a woman an offense you can be suspended for in the NFL. The 49ers CEO, Jed York stated on the radio, “Ray McDonald is no Ray Rice”. True; Rice did not abuse a pregnant lady!!
Greg Hardy is another wonderful example of the hypocrisy in the National Football League. Hardy, starting defensive end was convicted in a bench trial in July but is still lacing them up on Sundays. The loophole for the Panthers apparently is the fact that Hardy is appealing for a jury trial. Hardy allegedly “grabbing the victim and throwing her to the floor, throwing her into a bathtub, slamming her against a futon and strangling her.” No video or pictures have surfaced…yet.
The oddity in all this is that the only man who has reconciled and experienced forgiveness of the female is the guy getting the most heat. What he did was wrong and inexcusable, bottom line. What he did in getting counseling and saving his relationship is totally admirable.

References:
Tjaden, Patricia & Thoennes, Nancy. National Institute of Justice and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, “Extent, Nature and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey,” (2000).
Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States. 2003. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Centers for Injury Prevention and Control. Atlanta, GA.
Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001, February 2003.