Scott Garceau: Rice Mistake Leads To Another
There was good and bad news for Ray Rice on Thursday. The good news; the Ravens running back's 2 game suspension was less than most, including his own team, expected. The bad news; the light suspension handed down by Roger Goodell has been widely criticized as a slap on the wrist and the commissioners lack of clout may have fueled more ill-will toward Rice than already existed.
Those close to Rice know a caring man who's done wonderful things and invested his time and dollars to underprivileged children and adults in the Baltimore community. If the Ravens had to pick a player they were most proud of off-field Ray Rice may have topped the list. Then came that early morning in an Atlantic City Casino and the disturbing video of his then fiancée unconscious being dragged off an elevator then dropped on the floor.
In recent years The NFL has ramped up its effort to grow the game with women. Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh was the voice on those commercials urging women to get their NFL apparel. Players are adorned in pink for a month, not a week, as the NFL makes a statement that they're all in the fight against Breast Cancer.
Mike Freeman lead NFL writer for Bleacher Report is shocked with the NFL's response to the Rice domestic violence incident. Here's what he writes.
"The message here is clear: Ladies, we like that you watch football. We like that you buy NFL merchandise. We love that you give us your money, but if one of our players punches you in the face, well, hell—sorry, but you are on your own, homegirl. This is yet another signal that the NFL doesn't care nearly enough about domestic violence. This may be the best signal yet."
More from that article by Mike Freeman HERE.
Freeman's not the only one shocked.
Former Saints player Scott Fujita (@sfujita55) tweeted:
The message to my wife & 3 daughters today? The business that's been such a big part of our life, really doesn't give a f**k about you.
— Scott Fujita (@sfujita55) July 24, 2014
Rice's former teammate Derrick Mason (@deemason85):
Does the NFL value women? Is that better grammar police? If you look at every DV case the NFL has been very lenient when it come to suspen.
— Derrick Mason (@deemason85) July 24, 2014
Listen I'm a RR fan and that's my dude but as I said when it happen, I will never condone DAbuse! Good guys sometimes make bad decisions
— Derrick Mason (@deemason85) July 24, 2014
More twitter reactions to Ray Rice's suspension HERE.
ESPN.com's Jane McManus wrote…
"Two games. It's a joke, and a bad one. Worse, it leaves the door open for people to think that Janay Rice bears a lot of the responsibility for eliciting the punch that seemingly knocked her out. What kind of a video does Roger Goodell need to see before he takes domestic violence seriously?"
Reports say 21 of the 32 NFL teams last year had at least one player with a domestic and/or sexual violence charge on their record. We usually hear or read about NFL players and domestic violence this time it was right there in our face and it's almost like Roger Goodell didn't want to look.
Ray Rice made a terrible mistake and so did the NFL.
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