Let’s get a few things thing clear. What Ray Rice did to his now-wife was horrible. Janay Rice marrying her abuser, and then defending him by blaming the media is inexplicable. What the authorities did in “sentencing” Rice was shocking. But I’m not here to discuss that. This time I’m here to call out the NFL for its cowardice.
How can Commissioner Roger Goodell say with a straight face to CBS’s Norah O’Donnell that the NFL investigators could not get a copy of the same videotape TMZ released on Monday? The same videotape sources told the likes of Adam Scheffler and Peter King existed two months earlier?
What Ray Rice did should be punishable to the fullest extent of the law, but what the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens did is just as bad. By covering their asses and offering lame excuses for their “investigation” into the matter, they have irreparably tarnished The Shield.
To me, the NFL’s actions tell women that they don’t matter. That the league’s ability to generate revenue trumps their safety. That anything can be swept under the rug unless there’s unimpeachable evidence to the contrary. What a crock of shit. No one should ever be made to feel that way.
I’m here to tell the NFL and anyone else reading this blog that I’ll to do my part in doing to the NFL what Ray Rice did to his wife. I’m boycotting the league. I will not spend another dime on NFL merchandise. I will not wear clothing or accessories bearing an NFL team’s name. I won’t even acknowledge I’m a fan of any NFL team until Commissioner Goodell resigns.
Is this extreme? Not as extreme as what Ray Rice did. The NFL needs to get their house in order, and they can start by making the person in charge of the league held accountable for this culture of greed over all else that they created.
5 comments:
That is very well said, my friend, and after some time to think in conjuction with the information that's come forth in the last 24 hours, I'm going to join you.
I'm still going to participate in our pick 'em pool because that is about us guys having some fun together...it doesn't mean we have to watch the games.
Both very well said. I may have missed it but has he been charged with anything by the law enforcement, at least assault and battery. If he has, I would think that he wouldn't be banned from playing football for life. Mamajoan
Rice was charged, but got off with a slap on the wrist. He is in a diversion program for twelve months and if he completes it, nothing happens to him.
In other words, he got away with it and there's no chance of justice.
(PART 1 OF 2)
I'm a little conflicted as to how to respond to RJ and Zeb's comments regarding a boycott of the NFL. While RJ's position is clear that the NFL, as an entity, is a "bad actor," I'm not quite sure if Zeb's concern is the character of the NFL, or the character or Ray Rice. So, I'll attempt to respond to both RJ and Zeb in a single reply, and I'll share my view on both the league (all pro sports leagues), and the conduct of Mr. Rice.
First, let me open by saying I have little to no regard to the NCAA! ("What does the NCAA have to do with the NFL and Ray Rice, George?") Well, to my old, tired eyes, the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, WTA, PGA, MLB, and the XYZ all owe tribute and allegiance to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, in their subterfuge-laced, but well-played "shill" role as a "feeder" organization for their profit margin. The NCAA is the incubator of all that is bad about our American professional sports leagues, and it (NCAA) contributes to the conduct that the shareholders of the NFL (for example)--the fans--are now so conflicted over. Plain and simple, the NCAA, like its parents (the various "leagues/associations") is really in it for the money. Not for a moment do I believe in its bullshit claim that it exists for the advancement of "competition" and team play among student athletes. It's a business, plain and simple. When a football head coach of its premier conference earns 8 times the salary of the school's president, and 4 times the salary of the entire school's board of trustees, that's a sign it's a business.
("But what's that got to do with the NFL, or Ray Rice, George??") The NCAA itself, the alumni, and boosters, encourage people like Ray Rice to forego a true, altruistic pursuit of education and life-line improvement, in lieu of the lucrative contracts that ultimately benefit the NCAA and their prospective pro league employers. When a guy like Ray Rice, who, but for the NFL, would likely be no different from any other wife-beating miscreant we see on the streets every day, all of whom, had they been caught in the act of pummeling their wife (or anyone) would be UNDER the jail when caught--when a guy like that becomes a "hero" and a "superstar" to both the NCAA and the NFL, it becomes a very difficult choice to then crucify your money-maker.
Yes, there are good guys in the pro leagues, many of whom actually use their college degrees, but the preponderance either don't have degrees or don't use them or the "education" they received when in school. Considered a Heisman candidate, Mr. Rice left Rutgers after three years to pursue his NFL halo; I ask myself: what was the point of Rice going to Rutgers in the first place? To earn a college degree from a prestigious, Ivy League wannabe school? Hell no, it was his entry to the NFL! He knew that, the NCAA knew that, and the NFL knew it!
In the middle of all of this, Mr. Rice, a 27-year old child, seemed to have forgotten what we want to believe his mama and papa taught him: The Golden Rule. He seemed to have forgotten that lessons of life that, presumably, his parents, his grade school teachers, his preacher, his uncle Joe, his friends, Rutgers University, the NCAA, the NFL, Oprah, Dr. Phil, and Judge Judy taught him: Be nice! Don't hit people! Don't cold-cock your girlfriend behind closed doors, in front of hidden cameras, and for goodness sake, don't drag her unconscious body by her head!
But Ray Rice isn't the first to act like this--and, unfortunately, he won't be the last. The NFL (as with all pro leagues) is replete with Ray Rices: Rae-Rae Carruth, HamburgerHelper Haynesworth, Packman Jones, Michael Vick, Donte Stallworth, Big Ben Rothlesberger, Cedric Benson, Lawrence Taylor, and the whole Minnesota Vikings team.
(PART 2 of 2)
This brings me to my second point: Conduct. As fans, what do we really, sincerely, and truly expect of professional athletes when it comes to their off-field conduct? Are we looking for mild-mannered, milquetoast, introverted choir boys who "do it" only in the missionary position (with one foot on the floor and the lights on--and only to procreate), who never smoke, cuss, spit, roll their eyes, or eat red meat? I'm not saying we WANT uncouth barbarians on our TVs every Sunday, I'm saying we want men of high COUTH, to cleanly and gentlemanly bash the shit out of each other on our TVs every Sunday! Let me be also very clear: I'm not saying the NFL breeds wife beaters and thugs, but I am saying its gives refuge to wife beaters and thugs, as long as their wife beating and thuggery doesn't impact their bottom-line. But let's look at that third actor--the fans, us--we'uns. What is it we want? How do we want the players to act? How do we want the league to act? How do we want expect the league to treat women? Rice clearly treats them as objects for his Taebo workouts, but how does the NFL treat women? Clearly as SEX OBJECTS--something to pursue. Anyone that knows me, knows my rants on cheerleaders, but for those of you who don't--here it is in the form of a couple of questions: Why are cheerleaders scantily dressed? Who goes to a football game to watch cheerleaders? Women - (45%)? Pre-teen girls (11%)? Boys (32%)? Who can hear an NFL cheerleader's cheers? Do you root on the team based on the promptings of the cheerleaders? My point: the NFL (and NBA) objectify women. And because everyone wants a piece of the pro athletes pie and are willing to do whatever it takes to hang out with them, the players see (some of) them as objects to pursue.
I'm not saying Ms. Rice took that elevator ass whuppin' and married Ray-Ray anyway knowing she would eventually "benefit"; I'm not giving her that much credit for being that conniving. I'm not saying that--but I do wonder why any woman who, after getting the shit beat out of 'em, WOULD marry the guy who beat the shit out of 'em. Yeah, yeah, I know about whatever that 'syndrome' thing is that makes people love the people who beat the shit out of 'em, despite themselves.
So, will I boycott the NFL because of their duplicitous, enabling, hypocritical, profit-minded attitude? I don't know. If we were talking about the NCAA (which we are not--I'm the only one talking about them), then my response would be HELL YEAH! (Uh, I'm already on a self-imposed lifetime ban of the NCAA, btw!) But we're talking about the NFL--a league of "professional" "men" (mutually exclusive terms) who know the "game" going in, and as a fan, I also know how the game is played. So, I absolutely care about conduct, and this whole thing comes down to conduct. I'm very, very glad Ray Rice got terminated, and if he never plays another down of football, that would be too soon for me. I hate people who abuse ANYBODY. So, fuck him! But notwithstanding that, I really--honestly, sincerely, and truly, don't give a shit what a pro athlete does, meaning, let them take all the drugs they want--LEGALIZE IT! I'd love to see a bunch of hyped up, 300-pound uncouth barbarians try to rip each other's heads off...it's better than this namby-pamby pass interference rule they have now!
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