This Rice Is Overcooked
I assume that Long Island, unfortunately, has its own share of wife-beaters, so the reprehensible Ray Rice then-fiancée beating story and its repercussions should be of interest to all Anton readers, and not just football fans.
Unless you’re a “man” who mistakenly believes it “manly” to punch a woman in the face, I’ll assume we all agree that his indefensible act was despicable and criminal — even if his victim, and law enforcement, appallingly did not.
The basic facts of the original, Feb. 15 incident are undisputed. Inside an elevator, Ray Rice punched Janay Palmer in the face, and she fell to the floor unconscious. As the outside-the-elevator video showed, he then dragged her out of the elevator as if she was a sack of potatoes. He did not seem upset or concerned about her condition, and didn’t appear to try summoning medical help for her.
Six weeks later, on March 28, Janay Palmer married this monster, and I personally lost all the sympathy I then had for this “victim” of (public) domestic abuse.
Four long months after that, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, inexplicably suspended Rice for only two games — a mere slap on the wrist (almost a kiss on the cheek) — and I lost whatever respect I then had for Goodell.
Now, six months after this public display of assault and battery, sleazy TMZ shows the world for the first time exactly what happened inside that elevator, and Rice’s suspension was belatedly extended to “indefinite” — although not for “life” or “eternity.”
That’s not surprising though, because the NFL has allowed two different teams to pay millions of dollars a year to convicted dog torturer and murderer, Michael Vick. And also will allow Josh Brent, who killed his teammate, Jerry Brown, in a drunk driving crash, to play for the Dallas Cowboys this season.
It’s hard not to have opinions about this case, and what follows are some of mine, in the form of questions. Reader “answers” are welcome:
If it’s true that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” doesn’t this story prove that a video is worth a million words?
If, as players, parents, coaches and fans claim, “sports build character,” how did this fabled “character” manage to somehow “miss” Ray Rice, Michael Vick, O.J. Simpson, and so many other college and professional athletes?
What would Roger Goodell have done if Ray Rice had killed a dog inside that elevator?
If Ray Rice had murdered Janay Palmer inside that elevator, would Commissioner Goodell, and New Jersey law enforcement, have still said “Since it’s only his first offense…?”
If it only takes 60 seconds to cook minute rice and it only took Ray Rice six seconds to throw his knockout punch, how come it took the NFL six months to make Rice’s suspension indefinite?
Who made the worst, stupidest decision: Ray Rice, when he decided to punch his fiancée in the face? Janay Palmer, when she decided to marry her abuser? Roger Goodell, when he initially decided (after five long months of fact-checking, consultations, and deep thought) to suspend Rice for a token two games?
Since the NFL is the “800-pound gorilla” of American sports, is it believable that Commissioner Goodell was unable (for six months) to obtain and view a copy of the inside-the-elevator video?
Does TMZ’s “get” of the video which the league supposedly couldn’t find, now make Harvey Levin TV news’ successor to Walter Cronkite?
If A-Rod had thrown that punch, don’t you think Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig would have managed to get his hands on that crucial video?
Rutgers coach Kyle Flood said, “There’s nothing that could justify what I saw in that video,” but added that “Ray will always be a part of our family.” But shouldn’t Rutgers “disown” Rice?
