What Rice did was horrible and inexcusable, and looks even worse on the new video. However, what should his punishment be, especially given what he got from the legal system, which was:
"Atlantic County Prosecutor James McClain agreed in May to let Rice enter the Pre-Trial Intervention program, a rehabilitation alternative to prosecution. If Rice completes an anger-management program and complies with other terms, the charges will be dropped and he won’t have a record of conviction."
“Mr. Rice received the same treatment by the criminal justice system in Atlantic County that any first-time offender has, in similar circumstances,” Jay McKeen, a spokesman for McClain, said yesterday in an e-mail. “The decision was correct.”
He lost his lucrative contract with the Ravens ($4 million this season). He is suspended from the NFL. I can't imagine that he'd be allowed to come back in the next year or two, and I suppose it could be longer or even forever. Yes, a horrible act, and caught on video. However, he is not even going to end up with a criminal charge on his record. The Atlanta police say he was treated just like any other first-time offender. The police had viewed the tape from inside the elevator.
So the guy should be banned for life, for one huge mistake, which won't even end up as a criminal charge on his record? He won't be allowed to earn a living through what may be only good way of earning a living that he has? Even if he gets back to the NFL, he won't be a good candidate for endorsements or commercials.
What about his wife? She has stayed with him the whole time. She said he was also at fault. She didn't need or seek medical attention that night. She married him after the incident. Does she not have a say in any of this? She is surely hurting now about as much as he is.
And Goodell, who has been praised for cleaning up the image of the NFL and getting much tougher. He makes a mistake, and now he should be fired? The owners like him. He's done a very good job up until this point.
Some of you, as well as the rest of the country, need to get some perspective. Nobody supports or condones domestic violence, but, really, what should the consequences be? One horrible and publicized incident of domestic violence, and the offender (and any supervisor who doesn't crucify him) should be fired and banned for life from their profession? A professor or teacher or businessman or lawyer in the same situation, and they should be fired and have to start a new profession? Come on.
Talk about piling on, and being self-righteous. And those who treat domestic violence as a political item, are certainly speaking up, adding fuel to the fire, and taking advantage of the situation.
Even the 2 commentators, who jokingly said something, are taking heat. They said, jokingly, that the moral of the story was to take the stairs. Not appropriate, especially for the first day the video was released, but the comment make me chuckle.
