After all the news of the Ray Rice fiasco, a client’s team member seemed more concerned about his fantasy football team than of the real events surrounding society as a whole.
As most of us know, running back Ray Rice was effectively eliminated from ever playing professional football when the Baltimore Ravens released and the NFL indefinitely suspended him. Having entered a pretrial intervention program, Rice will not receive further prosecution and the felony charge will be expunged after one year.
As a societal issue, justice for battered women remains closed, hidden and rarely mentioned. If mentioned, men openly talk of the woman’s participation, likening battered women to that of rape victims, “Well, you must must have caused this by what you’ve worn, said, did, thought, etc., etc., etc.” In effect, we freely blame the victim, but rarely hold the offender accountable to same said standards.
Let’s face it, when Rice dragged his wife from an elevator, everyone knew what happened. There was no question what happened to Janay Rice. What happened behind elevator doors was brutal, vicious. It’s hard to comprehend.
Still, we tend to over analyze victims, they must be responsible. For instance, a Jacksonville woman whose case generated outrage when she was sentenced to 20 years in prison may end up behind bars for 60 years for the same crime. The State Attorney, Angela Corey, will seek to put Marissa Alexander in prison for 60 years, essentially a life sentence, for firing a shot in the direction of her estranged husband and two of his children.
According to various websites, sworn depositions report Alexander’s boyfriend/husband (Gray) admitted to beating Marissa Alexander as well as having a history of abusing other women with whom he was involved. Women previously involved with Gray submitted letters during Alexander’s trial confirming that Gray abused them, but these witnesses were prevented from testifying. Gray peersonally testified he threatened to have Alexander killed. According to Alexander, she tried to escape through the garage, but the garage door would not open. This account was confirmed by Gray under sworn testimony. Alexander then retrieved her registered gun from her vehicle and went to the kitchen. Gray said “Bitch, I will kill you,” an account which affirmed by Gray’s son at trial. Alexander fired what she says was a warning shot, which hit the wall above Gray’s head, and deflected into the ceiling. The single shot injured no one.
While not comparing events, on a societal level, unlike Ray Rice, the nation remains relatively un-outraged. The nation remains un-outraged about San Francisco 49er’ Ray McDonald. The nation remains un-outraged about many victims of violence.
In the Ray Rice case, the average fan only became outraged because there was video. We simply couldn’t relegate the violence to an upper shelf of our home and press forward with our fantasy football team. It was in our living room and shook us to the core. But truthfully, the NFL doesn’t give a shit about women’s rights. There have been active players in the league whom have killed, drove under the influence of drugs or alcohol, active gang members, drug addicts and so on. Still, we (the fans) purchase tickets and give these glorified gladiators an opportunity to entertain us every week.
Jeffrey Toobin, a senior legal analyst for CNN, said Rice’s punishment was of the kind that teenagers get when they are caught spray painting graffiti.
“It is a tiny, tiny penalty that is an absolute disgrace,” Toobin said. “The D.A. (office) embarrassed the country, embarrassed themselves. And Roger Goodell did an appalling job then for the NFL. But … law enforcement was horrendous here.“
There’s one thing missing in fantasy leagues – reality.