Policy Abuse

I wish I could be focusing on purely the football side of Week 1 in the new NFL season. I wish I could be talking about a fantastic Broncos-Colts game, a wild finish in Baltimore that wounded up going against my guys, a troubling second half in Miami for Brady and the Patriots, Tony Romo single-handedly losing to the 49ers and the impressive performances by teams like the Titans, Vikings, Bills and Jaguars. Instead, I'm heated by the video TMZ posted involving Ray Rice and his then-fiance Janay Palmer, this time inside of the elevator. It's more disturbing than ever, and it is imperative for Commissioner Goodell to finally do something about it.

When I first heard the news about Ray Rice and when I first saw the video of him literally dragging his unconscious fiancé out of an elevator, I knew what happened. I'm not an idiot and I wasn't born yesterday, and I would hope to say the same thing about the people making decisions in the hierarchy of the National Football League, the most expensive and important sport in America. What else could have honestly provoked a man to drag his unconscious fiancé out of a public elevator in the manner Rice did that fateful night? Ray Rice is listed as 5'8'' and 206 pounds on the ESPN website. He is a professional running back in the NFL. If his fiancé had simply passed out and needed to be carried out of the elevator, Ray Rice would physically be able to do so. If there was an ounce of remorse, love or morality in that man's body, he would have been able to pick up the supposed love of his life and carry her to safety. Instead, he seemed to stare at her, almost frustrated that she was doing this to him, as she lay on the cold, concrete floor at the hands of her fiancé. I don't mean to bash Ray Rice right off the bat, but at the same time, I do. Ray Rice was a man I respected before this all happened. He was an advocate for preventing bullying for children everywhere. He was a class act on the field. He was a great athlete who always seemed to have a positive attitude towards life. Those are all things I respect in an athlete. Ray Rice has quickly become all things I can't possibly respect or admire. 

The way the NFL handled this entire case is disgusting. For anyone who points the finger at the lack of evidence or the way the policy happened to be written obviously has no sense of right and wrong. How can a league with so many resources not have their hands on this video? I can't fathom it and I disregard their comment claiming that they had not seen this video. Call me what you want, call me irrational or blind or stubborn but I simply do not believe that they have not seen this video. They are a multi billion dollar corporation dealing with a PR black eye the size of the Grand Canyon and they couldn't get their hands on a video that TMZ eventually seized? Cut the bullshit and do the right thing.

This league has everything so backwards that I'm surprised the sport hasn't eaten itself yet. Between the ridiculousness of the way they handle preseason and season ticket holders, concussions, international competition, the referee scandal, defensive and personal conduct penalties and everything in the middle, this league should be out of business. They simply can't get anything right. And in the terms of the enneagram test, the NFL would test an unhealthy 9 for being passive aggressive, afraid of conflict and reserved. When the NFL needs to step up and punish someone, they simply slap on them wrist and ask for things to go back to normal as quickly as possible. When is the man who balled up his left fist and threw a punch at his fiancé, twice, allowed to do his job again? This Friday. Excuse me while I go throw up.

In any other profession, Ray Rice would be uploading his resume to Monster right now. In any other profession, domestic abuse or violence would be punishable by termination and the accused would be in prison. I guarantee it. Why do football players get this free pass, this bullshit two game suspension? It is beyond frustrating, it is just wrong. How can a man with as much power as Roger Goodell allow a man in Josh Gordon who repeatedly failed marijuana tests, which is a drug that is legal in two states, receive a one year suspension while a man guilty of brutal domestic violence receive a two game suspension? If I were working for Goodell, I would also be uploading my resume to an online job site because I would be sick having his signature on my paychecks. Sick to my stomach.

Roger Goodell is the worst commissioner in sports history. Other commissioners have botched their sport in worst ways, others have watched fans leave for years before getting them back. True, that will never happen with the NFL because of the pure entertainment that surrounds having people over for football, fantasy football and added entities like NFL Red Zone and even the NFL Draft. Football will never die. But it should. And it should because of Roger Goodell. He is ruining people's lives with how he is handling the concussion cases. As far as I can see, Goodell has one thing on his mind and that is money. If he hands out money to these families through damages and lawsuits, than he has less of it. If he goes through these PR mishaps and makes people angry, he will have less money. Greed, corruption, reputation and power and probably a big mix of coward has blinded this man from the real problems. They are right in front of him. He could have helped make domestic violence a real problem in the eyes of the world like it actually is. No one talks about domestic violence and rarely do people even acknowledge it or try to help prevent it. Its just a touchy subject that isn't a big deal. But it is a big deal. Its a huge deal and it could have finally gotten the "respect" it deserves if Goodell had suspended a violator for at least one year. People would have seen how serious this is. Instead, people can now think it is worst for someone to smoke weed twice than hitting their fiancé and knocking them unconscious and never owning up to it. This world is a disgusting place.

Which leads me to Ray Rice and how he handled this. He will be reinstated on Friday after the Steelers-Ravens Thursday night game. I've heard people say that he should voluntarily sit out this season to punish himself, make amends for his actions and in a way, apologize for what he has done and think about his mistake. But I don't think so. That would be for all of the wrong reasons because if Rice was truly sorry, he would have done that already. We would have known the truth about his actions because he would have admitted everything and confessed to his sin. Instead he has been quiet and along for the ride. If Rice sits out now its because he got caught, and he would be sending America the notion that its only wrong if you get caught. I believe Rice should play this year and endure the endless harassment by fans across the country and hopefully in Baltimore. I hope his home fans boo the hell out of him because even as die hard Raven fan, I would. Frankly, it makes me sick to know that he will still be paid millions of dollars this year and play in all but two games, doing the sport that he loves. Any other person would be behind bars or stuck at home in their minds dealing with the pain they caused a "loved one". 

Regardless, domestic violence is a real problem that can only be prevented by communication and knowing the facts. And at the end of they day, punishing violators and abusers needs to be the number one goal. The law is too lenient and the NFL policy is obviously non existent. At some point, the world, the league and the commissioner of the most important sport on the planet needs to realize how disgusting, revolting and pathetic domestic violence and abuse is. I just hope its for all of the right reasons. And soon.