So Ray Rice, the Baltimore Ravens' star running back, is going to take a two-game vacation as a punishment from the National Football League for an act of domestic violence involving his then-fiancee and now-wife. And Roger Goodell, the league's commissioner, is arguing in public that this punishment is proportionate to other disciplinary actions taken previously by the league for similar incidents.
One is forced to wonder about the NFL's sense of proportionality, given the fact that it has handed out more severe sanctions for drug use, a crime with arguably fewer victims than domestic assault. One is forced to wonder how seriously the league takes the issue of violence in general, given its checkered career of treating injured current and former players with less than optimum concern and care. And finally, given the image-conscious efforts the NFL has attempted in the area of women's issues (breast cancer specifically), one is forced to wonder if it can tell the difference between promoting a cause and actually doing something about it.
Because, as far as I'm concerned, and notwithstanding what the criminal justice system may do in regard to this matter, the NFL's punishment does not fit the crime of which Ray Rice stands accused.
In the United States, professional football is more than the most popular sport. It is the social and cultural event that brings together men in larger numbers than any other event. It takes them away from their wives and children, promotes the consumption of alcohol, and glorifies a level of physical contact that would, for most of us, be disabling at best. No, I'm not arguing for a ban on the sport. I am, however, arguing that it helps indirectly to promote an atmosphere in which violence can be seen as acceptable--or worse. And the conflict between Ray Rice and his wife serves to illustrate that point more powerfully than any words of mine can. After all, it is not an isolated case, as even Goodell's defense of his sanction illustrates.
What would I do, if I were in Goodell's position? I'm a Ravens fan, but I care more about safety for women than I do about my team. I would sit Rice for a year. That's right. A year. And I would require him to donate his salary to local shelters of victims of domestic violence. And I would require the NFL to match that sum with a donation to shelters across the country. As disproportionally as the Ravens would be affected by this on the field, it would make them and every franchise in the league sit up and take seriously the violence the sport helps to promote. And, in all fairness, a franchise such as the Ravens, which has had a large number of players in trouble with the law, would perhaps benefit from some disproportionate pain.
I think that men, in general, are guilty of being less than human in their treatment of women as human beings. It's time for male-centric organizations like the NFL to make a real difference in changing things for the better. Talk is cheap. Let's work to create a better playing field for everyone.
And, if you're of a praying disposition, pray for the Rices. They may need all the help they can get.
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