Domestic Abuse And The NFL

Professional football player Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens was released from his contract with the team on Monday.  In a league where aggression is often rewarded, there finally seems to be an understanding that aggressive behavior by league employees is not accepted outside of the stadium. The uber-assertive media site, TMZ, released its second video which showed Rice punching his then-fiancee (and now wife) Janay Palmer in the face in an incident which appears to have been provoked by Palmer. 

While the NFL felt that there was no need to act progressively in the matter; once again, it seems that the audience of public opinion was big enough to bring clarity to a matter that was previously considered to be of lesser importance.  

The display of the league's impotence may not affect its appeal by the millions who place extreme value on the sport; however, it does give the NFL a black eye for its poor handling on the matter. But in the meantime, one could credit the Baltimore Raven's organization for standing by Ray Rice in his family.  It appeared that the organization initially recognized that it was a marital problem, therefore supporting him during a time when he and his family needed it the most; and in the end they disciplined him by releasing him from the team before the NFL attempted to piece together the errors of their ways.  

Hopefully, everyone will move forward with the understanding that the mistakes that we make in life can be very costly. In an age of cellphone recordings and intrusive media companies, what we do in private could easily be aired for the world to see. Therefore, live your life as if its being aired on television tomorrow. 

For who knows? That may very well be the case.

By Brian L. Elliott, The Scarlet Journal
2:34 EDT, September 10, 2014