Dakota Crawford is a senior journalism and telecommunications major and writes ‘Full-Court Press’ for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper. Write to Dakota at dmcrawford@bsu.edu.
When a video surfaced of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice dragging his then-fiancée out of an Atlantic City casino elevator, the National Football League dealt Rice a two-game suspension.
The same league suspended Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon an entire season after he tested positive for marijuana. Washington’s Brandon Meriweather received a two-game suspension after he committed an illegal hit in a preseason game against Baltimore.
Safety, particularly in the area of preventing concussions, has been a priority for the NFL in recent years. Rising concern for players’ health in life after football has caused the league to make its rules on helmet-to-helmet contact more strict.
Meriweather is a repeat offender, having faced punishment for illegal hits on six different occasions. But in comparison, can doing what he is paid to do — playing fast, physical football at an elite level — be put on the same level of Rice’s offense?
NFL officials said they were not made privy to a video of Rice twice striking his then-fiancée until Monday, when TMZ leaked the footage. Let’s assume that to be true — assume NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is honest about everything that was seen behind closed office doors during the Rice investigation.
Let’s assume he had no idea what happened behind the closed elevator doors that opened in the first leaked video to reveal a woman’s limp body. In that case, Goodell would have had no real idea of what caused the woman to fall unconscious.
He did, however, have access to a court summons, also released by TMZ, stating that Rice was accused of having committed assault “specifically by striking her with his hand.” The summons and a little deductive reasoning alone should have led Goodell to drop the hammer.
Despite the incomplete surveillance video, Rice should have been gone from day one. We all had some idea of how the scene inside the elevator played out, and I’m guessing Goodell did too. But in a letter sent to the league’s 32 owners on Monday, Goodell admitted that he missed on this.
“I didn’t get it right,” he wrote. “Simply put, we have to do better. And we will.”
In the letter, Goodell breaks down six ways the NFL will change its policies on domestic abuse. Among them is an altered conduct policy stating that the first violation involving a domestic abuse case will result in a six-game suspension. There will be considerations given to longer suspensions on a case-by-case basis. A second offense will result in a lifetime ban.
Why bend on this at all? If a player puts himself in position to be investigated for domestic abuse, kick him out. Professional athletes — role models for millions of fans — should be held to a higher standard regardless.
But domestic abuse goes far beyond the realm of professional football and athletes. It affects men and women of all social statuses, and it’s important that on the NFL’s stage, those involved in domestic abuse cases are treated as an example.
There is no need to keep the doors closed on domestic abuse.
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