Double jeopardy isn't a concept that applies to at-will private employment, it deals exclusively with criminal sanctions.
it not as you insinuate . double jeopardy does not apply in this case as it is not a legal matter. the NFL will do whatever is necessary to preserve the public image it wishes to present.
I agree, he should be banned for life. The NFL needs to send the message that it is not ok to abuse your girlfriend, fiance or wife. This is sickening on so many levels!!!!!!!!!!!
This act of violence mirrors the NFL. This guy Rice should be prosecuted. His wife is too frightened to testify.
Agree with most of what you state, but I hope you know that many abused women don't like to press charges....or think they "deserved" it....there is a lot of education to be done on this issue....sad.....I mean, she married the guy!
Since you brought it up, yes, it does sound racist. And how you can come to your determinations from a dark video with no sound is beyond me.
Boycott the game. Turn it off this weekend. Turn it off this year. I am disgusted by the obscenely poor judgement and reaction by the Ravens and the NFL.
Rather than showing how tough they can get after something happens a better approach would be for the NFL to try to prevent domestic and other types of violence that their players commit. For example, how about counseling players on the wisdom of owning and possessing hand guns? Perhaps (former) players like Aaron Hernandez, Brandon Winey, Jovan Belcher and many others would have had different outcomes if the teams and league provided more leadership.
So let me get it straight...
Dragging your fiance out the elevator unconscious
...slap on the wrist.
Knocking a woman out in an obvious display of power, control and malice.
...termination of employment.
Thanks Mr. Goodell for finally waking up - what a buffoon.
None of this should be surprising given the "corporate culture" of power, control and violence that the NFL is all about anyway.
The real tragedy here is the example the Janay Rice sets. Unbeknownst to her she is now a role model for the next woman who will be assaulted by her boyfriend or husband and stay quiet. And why does she not act...well that's easy...$$$$. How sickening and sad at the same time.
Someone who actually cares about Ms. Rice (as opposed to the aforementioned $$$) should whisper into her ear an unfortunate little fact backed up by the statistics ..."he will hit you again".
I guess in football he's used to knocking people down. And forgetting that he is connected to them. He's probably not used to caring about someone else's well-being, just his own.
The only bizarre thing about all of this, to me, is that Janay Palmer is not pressing charges and is staying with the guy who knocked her clean out and then dragged her out of the elevator like a sack of potatoes.
The burly football player being violent and abusive towards women, is totally predictable to me. The NFL very grudgingly giving way to public pressure and suspending him for a little while, but not firing him, is also predictable. But I can't make any sense out of Ms. Palmer's willingness to stay with her abuser.
This can't have been the only time this sort of thing has happened, it's just the only one caught on tape. She's got perfect evidence to have a divorce rushed through court and get a sizeable settlement. She's young, attractive, would be rich with his alimony, and could get another guy who really cares for her and treats her right.
So the baffling things about domestic violence like this are always twofold for me. First, why do guys do it, when it's easy enough to just break up and be done with a woman who won't stop nagging or whatever. And second, why do women put up with it. And I'm sure, this current story and the NFL penalty will not change the incidence or severity of domestic abuse in this country by one iota.
Even is no one wants to press charges, if there is a crime committed and irrefutable evidence of it (a video), why is there no prosecution? Isn't this domestic violence/assault? Why does the NFL think they should settle the issue? Where are the police?
The bad behavior of professional athletes and team owners and the increasing frequency of scandals incorporating a toxic mix of political correctness, hypocrisy, sex, greed and opportunistic lawsuits is making it increasing difficult to care about professional sports. My own reaction is "a pox on all your houses".
No, it's an assault. No rationalizations change that. Don't be making excuses for a wife beater. He's a wife beater, pure and simple. Jail's the place for him.
Whoa there -- no suggestion from me that Janay Rice is lacking in personal decency. I just find it very sad and upsetting, and indicative of the complex problems surrounding domestic abuse, that a marriage could occur after an assault like this. Surely that's one of the reasons this video is so shocking.
That someone would choose to marry an attacker is mind-bending to a lot of us, but I hope that if anything good can come from this hideous situation then it's increased awareness surrounding domestic violence and how difficult it can be to leave a life-threatening relationship.
You are exactly right. See "Bejamin Greco"'s comment above. When perpetrators are allowed to claim that domestic violence is a "private matter", they get away with it again and again. Violent assault against anyone is a matter for public concern and intervention. And since when is an elevator in a hotel "private"?
Domestic violence is a crime that does not discriminate, there is just as much, if not more domestic violence in the white community as there is in the black community.
In actuality, the white community, is in denial about the amount and the extent of domestic violence that exists in the community in all educational and financial levels of society.
You are absolutely right. In many cases of d.v., the victim's testimony is necessary to secure a conviction, but in this case, it is clear that her testimony was not necessary. So the question is: why did the prosecution not proceed? The D.A.'s office needs to answer for this.
