On Thursday the NFL handed down a punishment for Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice. Rice was arrested for assault back in February for allegedly knocking his then fiancée unconscious in a casino elevator in Atlantic City. After months of deliberation, the league suspended Rice just two games.
Then all hell broke loose...
Thousands of people took to twitter to rally against the league and Ray Rice for the league's perceived leniency on the young star. They felt that the suspension was too short for such a violent act. Goodell was accused of going soft and not taking a stronger stance against domestic violence.
Then it got worse...
On Friday's ESPN First Take, commentator Stephen A. Smith alluded to the fact that women need to not provoke men to acts of violence and take preventive measures to avoid it.
Here is the problem with what the league did and what Stephen A. Smith said..
By not taking a more forceful stance against domestic violence and issuing Rice a harsher punishment for his actions, the league sends a poor message to the players, league members and the fans, many of whom are women. The league is strong in their stance against substance abuse-the first infraction is a four game suspension, the second is a one year suspension, the third or more is an indefinite suspension. If the league is so strong against drug use, why are they more lenient in a domestic violence situation.
On Monday, NFL VP Adolpho Birch argued that other factors were taken into consideration including testimony from Rice's now wife and the fact he entered counseling shortly after the incident. We have seen where a player can enter rehab and still face a four game suspension so the argument that counseling is enough to shorten a suspension is bogus. Not only that we are talking the difference of using drugs which harms yourself to domestic violence which harms someone else. A stiffer punishment is warranted when you harm other people.
Smith meanwhile said something blatantly ignorant. Whatever he was trying to convey in his message was lost in the word "provoke." He may have been trying to convey to women not to put their hands on a man first, but if that was what he was trying to say, that isn't what he said and that isn't what was heard by the thousands of viewers who watch First Take.
To imply women can provoke a man to violence is foolhardy to believe. Nothing should ever make someone put their hands on another person ever. Regardless of what they say or do, it is best to walk away and live to fight another day. It is too easy to blame the victim and ask "well what did the victim do that made the person do this to them?" rather than look at the offender and question "what is wrong with them that they would consider violence as a means of solving a problem?"
ESPN was quick to distance themselves from Smith and the commentator has since apologized for them at the opening of Monday's show. The issue remains that many people prescribe to this sad belief and the league did nothing to make their stance against violence against women clear. All in all the whole incident has been an epic fail for Smith and for the NFL.
No comments:
Post a Comment