Nurse the Hate: The Ray Rice Situation

I would not want to be in Ray Rice's shoes right now. Obviously having an incident in your recent past where you knocked out a woman cold with a punch in the face is not good.  No matter how much therapy, Jesus, and anger management Rice manages to cobble together, he will always be "that wife beater dude".  Making matters worse for him, the imagined worst case scenario that people conjured up in their heads thinking of "guy punches woman" can't possibly be as bad as that video tape.  It's about as bad a personal and public relations situation possible.  Ray Rice lost his profession, his endorsement revenue, and is being shown non-stop on every media outlet available at his worst possible moment.  That's bad.  However, what is even worse is that he has now become the lightning rod for domestic violence as a societal issue.  Every special interest organization with striking distance of this incident wants to use it as a soapbox to further their agenda.  People who don’t even know who Ray Rice was a week ago now have him as public enemy #1.  I don’t feel bad for him, but boy did his life take a bad turn after that trip to Atlantic City.

This thing is now like a snowball out of control.  It’s not about Rice knocking out that poor woman anymore.  It is now about organizations seizing the moment to further their agendas.   For example, I saw a quote from Terry O’Neil, the president of the National Organization of Women stating, “"The NFL has lost its way. It doesn't have a Ray Rice problem; it has a violence against women problem.   The only workable solution is for Roger Goodell to resign and for his successor to appoint an independent investigator with full authority to gather factual data about domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking within the NFL community and to recommend real and lasting reforms."  Is it just me that finds that conclusion a bit extreme?  Maybe I am out of touch, but I do not perceive that the NFL is “pro-violence on women”.

I do find it amazing when the general public is appalled when very violent men that are provided great reward and a sense of entitlement for hurting other people demonstrate off the field that they are very violent and entitled men.  "Hey, that linebacker that we love watching injure people in slow motion on Sundays just went to a nightclub and beat the crap out of someone!"  No.  You don't say.  That's odd.  I wonder why he behaved violently?  That is so out of character.  To try and compare this tiny percentage of the population with the general population is crazy.  This is a very different collection of cats that live in a world that has nothing to do with the world the rest of us live in.  While that doesn’t excuse their violent behavior, especially in the case of domestic abuse, to think that this behavior is a shock to anyone is ridiculous.  Some of these guys are unhinged. It's why we watch them. 

To suggest that the NFL somehow become a societal judge for the behavior of their employees is absurd.  That's what the courts are for.  A football league that is primarily concerned with providing sports entertainment at great profit cannot be expected to cure the ills of society.  They can be expected to reflect the ills of society, not cure them.  The NFL just wants to sell TV rights and tickets, as well they should.  I don’t need those assholes telling me what to do, just like I don’t need the government telling me what to do.  Everyone knows it is unacceptable to knock a woman out cold with a punch in the face.  The NFL doesn’t want that.  It’s bad business.  However, it shouldn’t be up to the NFL to be the final world on the severity of domestic violence in America.  For example, Ray Rice is facing no criminal charges. Hell, his wife even forgave him and married him.  So why should the NFL be expected to inflict a harsher penalty than the actual legal system?  While the Ravens themselves cut him loose, let's not start thinking they are swell guys in this.  Ray Lewis was involved in a murder while with the team years ago and yet the future Hall of Famer didn't miss a game.  Rice, an almost used up running back still owed millions?  Sorry Ray Rice, hit the bricks...  Your behavior is shocking.  And can you polish the Ray Lewis statute in front of the stadium while you go?  The NFL has always been about winning games while pretending to care about social issues if it was in their best interests. 

Roger Goodell will probably survive this firestorm.  His employers, the NFL owners, don’t want him to go anywhere.  These are some of the most powerful business owners in the country who have an army of public relations teams and legal shock troops that will quell this situation by next week.  Some sort of token foundation will be set up.  Speeches will be made.  Public service announcements will be created.  Whatever needs to happen to keep the money machine rolling will happen, frankly as it should.  The NFL is a business, and nothing more.  However, if I’m Ray Rice, I head for a cave in Mexico somewhere.  These guys are going to need a sacrificial lamb to placate the mob and it sure is looking like he's The Guy.  He needs to start over, change his name, find that beach at the end of Shawshank and start work sanding a shitty boat.