By now everyone who has wanted to see it has seen the video of Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee in a casino elevator. The video, released by TMZ, brought major heat down on the NFL for the two-game ban Rice got to start this season.
The outrage is understandable against the NFL. Watching the video was stomach-turning and just reading the police statement should have pressed the NFL to do more.
Senators, the National Organization for Women and others have called for Commissioner Roger Goodell's head for his handling of this case. As the outrage grows, the calls on the NFL to do more grows, but is most of the outrage misplaced?
Atlantic City prosecutor Jim McClain allowed Rice to enter a pre-trial intervention program to avoid prosecution. According to McClain, Rice would have never seen the inside of a jail as his only option. For a first-time offender, it's either PTI or probation.
While everyone is screaming for the NFL to do more, we should all be screaming even louder to have tougher domestic-violence laws passed. After seeing the tape, I was more shocked that Rice isn't in jail than how many games the NFL suspended him from. As a father of a daughter, I hope to see the justice system do more than a sports league to protect her. I hope the law would be held to a higher standard than the NFL.
While all the outrage is against Goodell in the sports world, I would love to hear more people in the sports press ask for tougher laws against domestic violence. I would also love to see the law changed, where prosecutors who see tape like that give stronger consequences than a year in a PTI or two years of probation.
We are missing a chance to ask for better laws, while we scream that Goodell should be fired.
Instead of Congress investigating the NFL, they should be looking to do more against domestic violence. While most of the country is in agreement that Rice got off lightly, Congress could use this momentum to pass tougher laws.
New Jersey and the rest of the country, including Mississippi, can use this case to look at their laws and push for tougher legislation to stop violence against women. Hopefully, the NFL is not just providing lip service.
The NFL and their players should be held to a high standard. But the law should be held to a higher standard and do more to help protect the victims of domestic violence. All men and women should all demand it.
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