Posted on 09/14/2014 9:18:05 AM PDT by Kaslin
The violent beating that was delivered by Ray Rice, a Baltimore Raven running back, against his girlfriend-turned-wife Janay, was the worst example of male behavior that our society has seen. Rice deserves to go to jail for the assault. This episode is a perfect example of corporate mismanagement by the leadership of the NFL. It is inexcusable. The Commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodell, needs to resign.
You all saw the video of Ray Rice dragging his then-girlfriend out of the elevator. You all figured out she did not just faint. So it did not take much to surmise what went on in the elevator. No one really needed to have the new video tape from inside the elevator to figure out it was basically a two-punch fight. Ray hit Janay; Janay hit the ground.
But now Commissioner Goodell has multiple versions of what happened. He tried -- tried so hard -- to get the video from the elevator and just could not. No one believes that. And now we have recorded proof the NFL received the video. Goodell met with Rice and Rice told him he punched her – no he slapped her. She’s my sister; she’s my daughter; she’s my sister; she’s my daughter. Goodell’s latest story is he did not pursue the situation out of respect for Janay. She said it was partially her fault she got a fist to the face. Is Goodell that clueless about domestic violence he can actually offer that as a defense?
Goodell knew what went on in that elevator and he willfully neglected the facts. He figured he’d suspend Rice a couple of games; who cares about one of my star players beating up a woman. It will blow over. Things are cool as long as my new Thursday night franchise brings in the ratings. But we do care. Either your league is a model to follow or it is a cravenness pit; decide which you want, commissioner. But as usual the cover-up is worse than the crime. Some two-bit celebrity website exposed you for what you are – a liar and an enabler of women beaters. But now, much like the beheadings of Foley and Sotloff, the world has changed because everyone saw the new video.
Mr. Goodell needs a clear picture. You see we are going to war again against a group of Islamic terrorists. They kidnap women, they rape women, and they force women into marriages. They treat women like chattel. What we do creates women doctors and lawyers and U.S. Senators. We honor women. Though we have not been perfect in the past in our treatment of women, nor are we now, we are constantly striving to improve the status of women and the opportunities that they have in society. That is what we stand for. When Goodell and the NFL condone the actions taken by Ray Rice by not swiftly and appropriately administering justice and then hiding their awareness of his misdeeds, we give credence to the barbarians who we need to eradicate. ISIS and Boko Haram are having a field day with that video thinking that although those Americans talk, look what they actually do to women when money is on the line. Goodell does not get that this is what separates our culture from these barbarians. His condoning of Rice’s actions brings us closer to them.
Now begins the real cover-up. The owners are circling the wagons trying to protect the Commissioner -- who makes them money -- not thinking of the disgrace he brings to the league. They have hired former FBI Director Robert Mueller to head an investigation. The investigation will be supervised by two owners who are scions of long-time owners: the Rooney and Mara families. They will concoct a report stating errors were made and things should change, but no one will be held responsible for the horrendous decisions made already. This is a classic Washington, DC-style whitewash that is only established to protect the guilty.
There is only one end to this situation that is just and right. Roger Goodell gets in front of a microphone and tells everyone he did wrong. It does not matter that Janay now says she loves Ray and that they should be left alone. They all do that. Once a woman is beaten you can pretty well count on the next one happening. Goodell should then resign and let someone come in who will take the stench from the league. Goodell would then have time to immerse himself in Law and Order SVU episodes and learn what beating up on women is all about.
There are more important things than ratings for NFL games. Goodell should have known that and he did not. He has to go.
It’s show business and anyone can go at any time. He certainly doesn’t have a right to the job, I hear he makes 40+M per year.
NFL is a joke.
I was under the impression that this issue with Rice was already settled. That he went to court, was sentenced and completed his punishment.
was the worst example of male behavior that our society has seen....Oh, really? Gee, everything before that date was erased? How asinine can one be? Goodell is to be fired? How about every CEO that has a wifebeater in his employ? Won’t happen.
A Black guy is caught knocking his wife out and a White guy has to be fired, eh?
Does it get any more ridiculious than this?
Even if he were to go, can you even envision his severance package? CHA CHING!!!!!
Look at what happened to Donald Sterling--once the sponsors of the Clippers started bailing, it was all over for Sterling.
Black guy beats up his wife. So let’s go after a white guy.
If Goodell should step down for anything, it’s for the panoply of ridiculous “no hard hit” rules that his reign has fostered.
That has nothing to do with his status as an NFL player.
According to the news, the settlement was for court-approved counseling, which he completed. The media frenzy was allowed to spin out of control because the NFL didn't respond quickly with the circumstances. It looks like they're scapegoating the wrong guy.
The women and the LIV’s (much the same) that are out there supporting Rice are a good indication of why we are where we are today both here and abroad.
Dude, black guy already lost his job and all his endorsements.
This is ridiculous. Goodell is not involved in this very common tragedy. The player is most responsible. The owner of the team may or may not have some fault. The head of the player's union and the head of the owner's union have much less responsibility.
Yeah right, because the black guy got to keep his job........oh, wait.....
I certainly don’t condone his behavior.
If she had any sense, she’d divorce him, take half his money and move on.
But seriously — I can find more tragic, heart-wrenching stories in the news every day. The Ray Rice story just is NOT important. But I guess in today’s world it is somehow “entertaining”. Which is sick.
Owners union???????
The question that bothers me the most is ‘why the prosecutors have so far refused to arrest Ray Rice’. Everything else is secondary..
Goodell & some of the more liberal owners are destroying the game. But that has more to do with their tinkering with the rules of the game, and not so much their slowness to hand down sanctions for off-field transgressions;
The league needs to develop a flexible policy about punishments for alleged criminal activity. And ESPN needs to stop leading the chorus of second-guessers because — whether they realize it or not — they are killing the game.
I wish this were as simple as firing one executive.
I wish it were as simple as firing one player.
I wish it was simple. It isn’t.
This woman did not deserve the beating she received. She may be the biggest female jerk on the block at that moment, but she didn’t deserve to be knocked out like that.
Her husband is a low life scum. We all know it. So what do we do about it?
By rights, the guy should go to prison, lose his job, and never play professionally again.
In the real world, that’s the sentence his wife would receive too. Her family would lose all it’s income in perpetuity.
So not only would she take the physical beating, she would take a financial beating she would never recover from.
What is the answer to this? Honestly, it is perplexing. The guy shouldn’t get off with no punishment. The wife shouldn’t have insult added to injury.
Perhaps there should be a way for the abuser to continue to play and practice, but have to go back to a penal facility at all other times, to serve there for as long as mandated by a court.
Perhaps keeping him front and center as he serves out that form of punishment, would remind folks that even high paid sports figures can’t get away with this type of behavior.
At least his wife wouldn’t be ruined in the process.
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