Ray Ray and Janay Janay Had a Bad Day Day On February 15 of 2014, Ray Rice, NFL running back for the Baltimore Ravens, and his then-fiancée Janay Palmer were arrested and released on minor assault charges. His attorney called the incident a “minor physical altercation.” Four days later, a video surfaced of Ray Rice dragging Janay Palmer, unconscious, out of an elevator by her shoulders. A month later on March 27th, Rice was charged with aggravated assault and his wife’s charges were dropped. The day after that, they were married. On June 16th, the Rice couple attended a discipline hearing with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Janay Rice made a convincing case that it was the only physical altercation the couple ever had, and the commissioner …show more content…
The point in question, though, is not the severity of the punishment or crime, but the way the situation was handled after TMZ released the video that ultimately started the chain of events leading to his indefinite suspension. If it were simply for the severity of the offense or the type of offense, then other NFL players would not be playing in the game today or anytime soon. Ray McDonald, defensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers, has been proven guilty on two charges of domestic abuse and still plays on the field. His two offenses should not be taken any more lightly than Rice’s one. So why are they? Simply put, McDonald’s case did not go public. Because of this, the NFL knew that they would not endure much scrutiny for ignoring his offenses. As long as they could get away with it scot-free, they gladly turned a blind eye here or there.
After the incident, the couple, Ray and Janay Rice, had dealt with the situation and had forgiven each other. Between the incident and his punishments, the two had gotten married and received counselling. Ray himself received special classes for first-time domestic violence offenders. If they had already moved on, what gave the NFL the right to bring back such horrible ghosts from their past? Janay Rice expressed her grief publicly on