On Feb. 15 at Revel Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice punched his fiancé, Janay Palmer, in an elevator. She fell to the ground unconscious, and he then dragged her body out of the elevator.
A few months later, on July 25, National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that Rice would be suspended for the first two games of the season due to the altercation.
None of this is news; however, the graphic video that online celebrity news source “TMZ” released of the incident on Monday has brought much more controversy to the situation. Since the video surfaced, the NFL has suspended Rice indefinitely, and the Ravens have completely cut him from their team.
In addition to the commotion surrounding the incident, Palmer lashed out at the media on Tuesday morning. On her Instagram page, she stated that “no one knows the pain that the media and unwanted public opinions have caused my family.”
At a press conference in May, Rice called his actions “totally inexcusable.” Both Palmer and Rice have said they made a mistake, and are trying to move past it.
But was this an incident of domestic violence? Did the NFL make the right call? According to Janay Palmer, the answer to both of these questions is no.
Most news articles say Palmer isn’t speaking out because it’s often hard for domestic violence victims to press charges, but what if this was an isolated event?
There is no evidence that this has ever happened before. In fact, if you watch the video, you can see that the couple was arguing, and Palmer lunged at Rice before he punched her.
Sure, even an isolated act of domestic violence is still domestic violence — and hitting a woman is a despicable thing to do — but no one sees what happens behind the closed doors of this family’s home. While I believe the NFL made the right decision by suspending Rice, I also think that the Baltimore Ravens may have jumped ahead of themselves in cutting him from the team.
The only evidence against Rice right now is this video that TMZ shared Monday, and while the altercation is clearly a domestic violence situation, I’m still not convinced that all of the facts are out.
So, is it fair to hurt someone’s family and reputation before the entire story is out? Yes, by hitting his fiancé, Ray Rice violated the terms and conditions of what the NFL deems acceptable behavior. But in this week’s actions, the Baltimore Ravens and the NFL violated this family’s privacy and this man’s right to a fair trial – if his wife were to press charges. (She hasn’t by the way, so technically this is not a matter of a criminal offense).
On top of all that, on Wednesday the NFL announced an FBI investigation of the pursuit and handling of evidence in this case, due to an Associate Press report stating that the NFL received the video in April.
According to Roger Goodell, the NFL asked for the video evidence, but did not receive it until now. However, if he’s lying, this will be one for the books.
