The Ray Rice Issue... Oy

For those who don’t know, Ray Rice was a Baltimore Raven until Monday, when he was cut (fired) after a video surfaced showing him punching his then-fiancée (now wife) Janay in the face. This issue raises several issues that bother me. Let’s discuss.

Here is the background: Ray Rice was a popular player for the Baltimore Ravens. He’s a running back. Several months back, Rice found himself in serious trouble when a video surfaced of him dragging his unconscious fiancée (now wife) out of an elevator in an Atlantic City casino. He had knocked her unconscious during an argument.

A New Jersey prosecutor examined the case and let Rice enter a pre-trial diversionary program. Those programs require counseling and erase the crime provided the suspect stays out of trouble for some period of time. This is a very common approach to a first offense.

At the same time, the NFL examined the case and Commissioner Roger Goodell decided to suspend Rice for two games as punishment for domestic violence. The end, right? No. Before the ink was even dry on the suspension, people began to ask how a guy who knocked his fiancée unconscious could get only a two game suspension when players who commit lesser crimes (like using pot) can get as much as a lifetime ban. This did not sit well with many people. However, way more people supported Rice than wanted to see him punished further, as evidenced by massive amounts of player and sportswriter support and by the fans in Baltimore cheering him loudly during preseason.

Despite the support for Rice, the NFL realized it had made a serious PR mistake. To cover its rear end, the NFL created a new policy for domestic violence which includes an automatic six game suspension with the possibility of more. In issuing that policy, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote a letter to the owners (for media consumption) in which he actually “admits” that he got the Rice suspension wrong, he apologizes to them for that mistake, and he announced he was issuing a new policy to give him greater powers to deal with these issues in the future. He couldn’t change Rice’s punishment, however, because of due process rights Rice has under their collective bargaining agreement.

As an aside, even while admitting this mistake, the NFL simultaneously tried to justify its initial two-game suspension by stating that Rice’s now-wife supported him and specifically asked that he not be punished. This is a position she continues to take today.

Monday, a new video surfaced showing Rice knocking out his fiancée in the elevator. The actual punch is missing because of the frame rate of the video, but it’s clear he rings her bell and she collapses.

The response was immediate... and wrong.

● The Public: When this issue first arose, the public actually supported Rice. They cheered him and they opposed further punishment. The twitterverse and news shows were full of players, writers and fans saying that Rice had been punished enough, that the NFL should not punish him when his fiancée supported him, and that this was between them.

Personally, I think that’s faulty reasoning. One thing we know about domestic violence is that victims typically refuse to seek punishment out of fear or a misplaced sense of loyalty. Moreover, if something is a crime, then the system should punish it, whether the victim wants the crime punished or not. Anyway, that’s not what bothered me.

What bothered me is when the second video came out. Suddenly, every single one of these idiots who excused Rice before started calling for his head. But what is the justification? It’s not like the video tells us anything new. We knew he punched her. All the video does is add a visceral feel to it. And that is the troubling aspect of this change of heart: criminal decisions should be made on the basis of facts, not visceral response. Indeed, it is bad for society if we judge guilt or innocence on the basis of how viscerally we respond to evidence.

Moreover, if we are to accept the logic that we should not punish Rice because his fiancée has absolved him of guilt, as these people originally accepted, then how does having a video of the punch suddenly change that? What exactly changes just because we can now see the punch that makes us decide to suddenly disregard her views? It strikes me that both positions are emotional conclusions looking for justifications.

Even worse, these hypocrites are now attacking the NFL for botching this situation from the get go. Basically, they blame the NFL for letting this situation get to this point, when the reality is that they happily went along with the decision. This is nothing more than an attempt to shift the blame for their own lack of principle onto the NFL, and that is pathetic.

● The NFL: The NFL responded to the new video by suspending Rice indefinitely. The Ravens cut him. I don’t condone Rice by any means, but this too strikes me as wrong. The NFL had all the evidence it needed to reach this decision when it first made its decision to suspend him two games. They gave him a two game suspension. To go back and add to that punishment because of a public backlash is wrong. Is the NFL policy an attempt to dole out justice or to garner public approval? If they are reacting to the public then it’s the latter, and if that’s the case, then it’s a crock.

Moreover, Americans are firm believers in the idea of double jeopardy, even in a non-legal context, and for the NFL to add to a punishment without new evidence of something not previously known violates our sense of fair play, and it certainly makes a mockery of the idea of due process if that process can be disregarded without evidence of previously unknown misbehavior.

As an aside, the NFL is now being attacked for its claim that it never saw this video before because the people who want to excuse their own lack of principle are demanding perfection in hindsight.

● The Politicians: Ug. Obama, naturally, had to open his mouth to condemn Rice. This is a man who doesn’t do the things his job requires, yet he can’t seem to stop himself from delving into tabloid issues. Pathetic. Biden spent Tuesday trying to tie this to date rape and the Violence Against Women Act. Talk about exploitive. Why exploitive? Because neither Obama nor Biden said squat until the second video surfaced and this became a public topic. Essentially, they are bandwagoning a lynching.

On the other side, Ben Carson stupidly cautioned us not to “demonize” Ray Rice. Why would he say this? Even if he was right, and I don’t think he is, why open your mouth and imply that conservatives think wife-beaters deserve sympathy? This just plays into the idea that the GOP doesn’t like women, and worst of all, there was zero reason for any conservative to get involved in this.

● On Rice Himself: Finally, let me say that it’s pathetic that Rice struck his fiancée and even worse that he punched her. No man should ever do that and he should be beyond ashamed.

Thoughts?