Courtesy: Spokeo.com
After the most shocking video ever to be released in the NFL dropped yesterday morning, the entire NFL community stopped to give their reaction to Ray Rice mercilessly beating his wife (myself included). But now we know the aftermath; Rice was suspended by the NFL indefinitely and released by the team (the Baltimore Ravens), that tirelessly supported him. But this story will not end just there.
Rice has finally faced accountability by his employers, but those employers must take on their own criticism for their actions. The NFL made a statement that they never seen the video before it was released yesterday; the Ravens organization followed suit. But the fault is their own, as according to a Revel spokesperson, no one attempted to receive the damning evidence in the NFL’s investigation; evidence that spokesperson stated would have made available.
So why did the NFL and the team turn a blind eye? Did they not want to take any accountability for one of their players acting so heinously? Did they want to hide behind ignorance when this video would finally be released? Did they think this would eventually fade away? I think you can estimate that yes is the appropriate answer to those questions.
The NFL commissioner’s office now is under the gun and could find its way out because of their lack of judgement. Roger Goodell made the biggest mistake of his life, like Ray Rice, by handing down that joke of a suspension. And like Ray Rice, his job may now be on the line. We are still waiting for Goodell to make a public statement on why he levied such a lenient penalty after hearing a first hand account from Rice’s mouth or why the NFL did no due-diligence when coming to their own investigation. COWARD.
As for the Baltimore Ravens organization, they are currently in hiding. They held a press conference with only head coach John Harbaugh at 7:15pm to address the situation; a mere 12 hours after the videos release. It is no coincidence that was the same time that the entire NFL fan base was tuned into Monday Night Football. The owner Steve Bisciotti, general manager Ozzie Newsome, team president Dick Cass and VP Kevin Byrne all avoided the public eye for the last 24 hours, allowing Harbaugh take the initial brunt of the questions and public scrutiny. The Ravens fan base should be outraged; no public apology for deceiving their fans, no statement from the people would flipped their support so suddenly after already knowing the facts, no article on their team website saying “I don’t like Ray Rice.” COWARDS.
And finally Rice’s wife, Janay, made her public statement via instagram this morning. She should not have had to relive this moment , but the lack of action by those in power forced the hand. If there would have been an appropriate humane reaction to the situation months ago, this becomes a non-story. The one thing she does need to realize is that even though her husband lost his livelihood and reputation, the positive to come from this is the awareness for domestic violence. She can personally help change the culture in the United States by doing nothing more than speaking the truth. Hopefully she (along with everyone else) will see the light that the public will not tolerate this type of behavior. This has become something much more than her husband hitting the playing field. She is the victim and Ray Rice is the COWARD.
