With Ray Rice and his spouse headlining the sports and national news circuit this last week I thought it be best to support a viewpoint and article that I believe in. Most regretfully due to the amount of support I’ve seen for Ray from a surprisingly large faction of Facebook “friends”. I can’t come to terms with a single opinion of theirs on the issue.
A few things:
*There should be zero tolerance for domestic violence, EVERYWHERE and ANYWHERE.? Charges should not be up to the spouse, that makes absolutely no sense. Force the charges and the SPOUSE will not feel as trapped having to make a choice.
*Any comparison of Ray to any other criminal, other than one who was caught on video tape knocking out their spouse or significant other, is outrageous and inconsistent. Ray should not be held to any other standard of criminal charges except for the crime he committed.
*The NFL and Raven’s Organization have handled this in the most INEPT manner. Whatever the outcome – I believe they should be charged and should be required to support a United Front against Domestic Violence. After all, the NFL is an entirely MALE DOMINATED sport, with the MAJORITY of positions being held by MEN. Cheerleaders exist, but what women hold position of responsibility and regard within the NFL and NFL teams? I’m serious, you tell me because I can’t think of one that has any say in team activities other than maybe the influence of owners spouses (interestingly enough).
*I hope Ray bounces back and I believe he deserves a second chance. I believe in rehabilitation. I pray he works his issues out with his family. He has an uphill battle to fight (no pun intended) as the history and evidence shows that this story fits the same script as any other domestic violence abuse case. Just switch out the spouses names, it’s the same old sad story.
I’ve attached a great article and really the only one, IMHO, worth reading in regards to Ray Rice’s week in the news. It’s a sobering perspective on Domestic Violence in America. To all those, especially those women, who have said “Why is it our business, she took him back…”, “The media ruined their lives…” I quote this article, “Of all the women murdered in 2010, nearly 40 percent were killed by a spouse or someone they were dating, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. This number has been 30 percent or higher since 1996.“
“Get angry at what Ray Rice did and get angry at what Roger Goodell didn’t do, but please don’t be surprised by any of it. Not by the hit, not by the blatant attempts to make it look like it was the woman’s fault, not by Rice saying he would never do it again, not even by his wife taking him back. From the beginning, the Ray Rice saga has recapitulated everything awful about how domestic violence plays out in America. It has followed the script perfectly.”
Regardless of what a spouse says, it’s a crime and acting on charges should NOT be up to the spouse. Conflict of interest anyone?