Baltimore Ravens running back, Ray Rice punched his current wife, Janay Palmer, in an Atlantic City casino elevator. However, the NFL denied the claims that they received this video. This is according to FOX Sports, which released a statement made by the NFL, which stated, “Our office has found absolutely no evidence to support the claim of the anonymous ‘law enforcement source’ that he sent a video to the NFL office or that he received a telephone call to his ‘disposable cell phone’ from an unidentified female using an NFL line.” Rice is currently facing an indefinite suspension from the NFL, which he is now appealing. Although, before Ray Rice received this punishment, he was originally suspended for just two games, because the first video released by TMZ only showed him dragging his then fiancé out of an elevator. This”new” suspension was given to him when another video released by TMZ showed him knocking Jenay out cold. However, Rice is not the first football player who has carried out domestic violence. Some of these players include Greg Hardy of the Carolina Panthers, who was found guilty of domestic assault and threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend. He is appealing the verdict, but he is still being paid. A.J. Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings was arrested for domestic assault, because he strangled his girlfriend. However, he was cut from his team. Now, it all comes down to how the NFL handles domestic violence cases. As you can probably see with the Ray Rice case, the NFL was not able to handle the situation immediately or give Rice the proper punishment. This is because they did not receive both videos at once. The NFL should have been the first to view the videos, not TMZ or a media source. In addition to that, the question that surfaces is how well does the NFL handle important situations such as these. For example, take a look at the Carolina Panthers’ Greg Hardy. He threatened his ex girlfriend and was found guilty of domestic assault, but he is still getting paid!

Now it comes down to viewers who watch football! Have these cases affected whether or not they continue to watch the sport? Here are the views of both sides, which come from the Daily News. According to NFL fan Ralph Acevedo, who will continue to watch the NFL, says “I am a fan of professional football. And I am not going to let the behavior of a few bad apples ruin my watching of the game I love Sunday. Yes, the NFL has been rocked by the reports of violence. But violence happens in our society everyday everywhere.” However, other fans disagree, including Amy Palmisano, who says, “I have been a lifelong football fan. I’ve even fantasized that one of my daughters will inherit my love of the game, and become the first female NFL head coach. The recent events, and the way the commissioner has dealt with them, have painfully reminded me just how often women are treated as second-class citizens in our society. What is happening in the NFL is an illustration of how victims of domestic violence get treated everyday all over the country.” This all goes to show that the NFL commissioner needs to start reviewing all these cases seriously!  If anything happens to any player, that includes any form of multimedia, the NFL should be the first to view it, to give the proper punishment that the player deserves.

This present issue with Ray Rice has brought attention to domestic violence in the country. It also comes to mind that punishments have been lenient at first, because a lot of money has been invested into sports, and without certain players, money will be lost. Here is the key question for the Commissioner: why did you have to see her get knocked out to react? What did you think happened before she was dragged out of the elevator?  Unfortunately, in this day and age, Americans only get upset if they see it on their phone. Sad…