People are talking about Ray Rice's two game suspension from the NFL after he allegedly assaulted his wife Janay in an Atlantic City Casino in March. Disturbing video from the security cameras on the night in question saw him dragging her, unconscious from the elevator. Although he didn't actually confess to the crime, he pleaded for pre-trial intervention in order to prevent the trial from continuing and has expressed remorse for "his actions" that night. The Baltimore Ravens RB got off relatively light as many people assumed that he would be out for at least four games. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is catching considerable heat for such a lenient punishment.
Some in the press have noted that Rice's suspension goes contrary to the league's desired image of being tough on personal misconduct. The brutal nature of this story is surely the kind of thing the NFL can't appear to condone. Violence against women is a scourge that has gone ignored for far too long in this country.
So why does Rice get off so easy? So far there is no answer (via CBS Sports):
"Ben Roethlisberger was suspended six games (later reduced to four) in 2010 and he wasn't even charged with a crime. Granted, he was accused by two different women of something as serious as sexual assault, but police didn't bring charges in either case and Goodell hammered the Steelers quarterback anyway because he didn't like the way those accusations reflected on the NFL.
"So I guess my question is this: Who's going to suspend Roger Goodell for six games? Because people around the league are mortified by how this ridiculous punishment of Ray Rice reflects on the NFL."
Rice, for his part, released a statement in response to the suspension (via USA Today):
"It is disappointing that I will not be with my teammates for the first two games of the season, but that's my fault.
"As I said earlier, I failed in many ways. But, Janay and I have learned from this. We have become better as a couple and as parents. I am better because of everything we have experienced since that night. The counseling has helped tremendously."
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