NFL Domestic Violence

Bryce JohnsonContributorThe National Football League (NFL) is often portrayed as a league of superheroes. People of all ages look up to these men as role models, but lately the NFL has been failed to live up to this expectation. Recently, the NFL has only demonstrated one thing — irresponsibility. Unless you’ve been too busy with the new hit video game “Destiny,” then countless news headlines of ex-Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice and his recent demise have dominated your news feed.Last July, Rice was arrested for domestic violence and suspended for two games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. A few months after, a video was released revealing Rice abusing his fiancée. Commissioner of the NFL Roger Goodell and the NFL management punished Rice with only the brief suspension. The current issue lies in what the NFL should do in future cases of players who commit domestic violence. Of course the NFL is a business, but behind the billions of dollars, touchdown dances and devout fans, there is a cancerous issue that desperately needs attention.The Ray Rice incident is not the first domestic violence case in league history. An Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) study taken early this summer concluded that of all arrests made on NFL players, 55 percent of the charges are for domestic violence. Most jobs would immediately fire employees who commit such violent acts. NFL players, however, have been excused of crime because many players receive an annual salary of a million dollars, and NFL cares about one thing — money.Goodell and NFL team owners care more about issues pertaining to a player’s performance, such as Performance Enhancing Drugs  (PED), than what happens off of the field. In cases where Goodell does not take immediate authority in NFL issues, the responsibility should fall upon the individual team management. Most of the time, however, team managements neglects to enforce an appropriate punishment. This is where cases such as Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice come into play.Adrian Peterson beat his four-year-old son with a tree branch and is still waiting to be tried in court. Peterson was placed on the exempt list, which dismissed him from the team indefinitely. In this instance, the NFL and team management took appropriate steps to punish Peterson for his crime. Ray Rice, however, received far less punishment for beating his wife in a casino elevator. Initially, Rice was only suspended for two games. NFL followers were appalled by his light punishment. A new NFL rule regarding domestic violence was not implemented until the video of Rice was released.Many other players still playing today have been charged with domestic violence and were barely punished for it. Chicago Bears wide out Brandon Marshall has been charged three times with domestic violence, and has only been punished with one three game suspension. Many players’ charges are even dropped. This doesn’t mean they’re innocent. The average suspension, if any, since 2005 has been one game. That means only one week without football.Goodell has contributed to the NFL in many ways;  he assisted in making the game safer, more global and a very lucrative business. But at the end of the day, Bill Simmons said it best: “He is a liar.” Why did it take two released tapes to give Ray Rice a real punishment? Did Goodell really need to see the disturbing image of Rice knocking out his then-fiancée to take action? The answer is simple: no. Goodell attempted to save the situation by creating an NFL rule that suspends players for six games after committing an act of domestic violence. Repeat offenders are out for life, and while that it’s great that finally a bit of justice will be served, he’s too late.Where have you been, Goodell? 55 percent of the players arrested in your league have been charged with domestic violence.The NFL is a flawed business. The only way the NFL is going to change its ways, is if the owners can band together to make the rules stricter. The change starts with us, the fans. Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t sit down on your couch every Sunday, and not root for your favorite team and boycott the league altogether. What I’m saying is we should band together and become one voice. If that voice becomes loud enough the sponsors will hear it, and from there a whole chain of reaction will go down, resulting in change for the better.Of course, the NFL isn’t just full of criminals and bad people. A lot of the players are great men and outstanding citizens; it’s just the few bad seeds that make the headlines.The NFL needs to change its ways and it starts with Roger Goodell. With these changes in place, the NFL could have a bright future ahead.