“We Got It Wrong” Ya Think?

A very large, muscular man is aggravated with his fiancée. Maybe she wouldn’t stop nit picking at him. Maybe she called him foul names. Maybe she just wouldn’t stop and she pushed him to his final limits. He stepped into an elevator with her. You can see he is yelling at her. What does he do? He doesn’t walk away from her. No, he shoves her a little and then he draws his left arm back and with all the force he could muster, he slams his fist into her jaw and knocks her out cold!

What does he do next? When the elevator opens, he drags her out of the elevator like she is a sack of flour.

Nothing gentle, no care shown, just pulled out and dropped on the floor. She is unconscious and he just stands there.

At one point he tries to pick her up and he drops her down like a log.

These were the actions of Ray Rice, a Baltimore Ravens running back, the 27 year old football hero who helped Baltimore win the Super Bowl; one of the world’s biggest sports events.

Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner originally suspended Rice for only two games.

The public screamed with anger. Finally, after several weeks, Mr. Goodell changed his punishment.

“My disciplinary decision led the public to question our sincerity, our commitment and whether we understood the toll that domestic violence inflicts on so many families,” a chastened Goodell wrote in a mea culpa to the league’s 32 owners.

“I take responsibility both for the decision and for ensuring that our actions in the future properly reflect our values.

“I didn’t get it right. Simply put, we have to do better. And we will.”

Hello, earth to Mr. Goodell, you think you didn’t get it right? That’s an understatement.

Yes, Mr. Goodell changed his opinion but the part of the statement that concerned me was the fact that he stated that his decision led the public to question the NFL’s sincerity. Is that the only reason he changed his opinion?

What bothers me most about this story is the fact that Janay Palmer actually chose to become the wife of Rice even after he physically abused her!

We all have heard stories of women who stay in abusive relationships because they feel there is no way to escape. We also have heard stories of women murdered by their abusive husbands or boyfriends. I know this also happens to men but we all know the majority of abuse is men against women.

Today there is no reason to let this happen. There are too many agencies out there that will take a woman and her children and protect them and help her get back on her feet.

There is no reason to feel like a life does not matter, to have such low self-esteem that she feels that she deserved to be beaten.

No one should ever feel so low that they feel they deserve to be beaten.

If you know of someone in an abusive relationship or even suspect it. Talk to them. Be prepared to offer them specific help, not just consoling words. Maybe things like babysitting so she can look for a new place to live or putting her in touch with agencies that can help.

Bottom line, any kind of physical abuse against another is just plain wrong!

The abuser is a coward. You hear me Ray Rice? You are a chicken livered low-life coward!