I am writing about the Ray Rice
incident involving domestic violence and the NFL’s handling of it. I believe this to be a very pertinent current
event involving social media.
Ray Rice has played the last six
seasons in the NFL and was one of the best running backs in the league. Rice was a three-time Pro Bowl selection. He did
a lot of public relations for the Baltimore Ravens and charity work for the city
of Baltimore. He and his fiancé, Janay
Palmer, had a daughter, Rayven, whom he named after the team’s name. He was
a spokesman for one of the major team’s sponsors, M&T Bank. Ironically, he “urged the state legislature
in Annapolis to pass anti-bullying laws and played Santa Claus for the House of
Ruth, a Baltimore shelter for victims of domestic violence.”
On February 15, 2014, Ray and
his fiancé, Janay, had an altercation at the Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic
City, New Jersey. What initially appeared
in a video to be a possibly unconscious, drunk Janay being dragged from her
shoulders out of an elevator by Ray Rice, turned out to be a brutal case of
domestic violence. Both Rice and Palmer were arrested and
released on simple assault charges. The
charges were later dropped against Palmer.
ESPN.com related that just hours
after Rice had knocked out Palmer with a left hook punch, an Atlantic City
police officer contacted Darren Sanders, the Baltimore Ravens’ director of
security, by phone and described in detail what he saw on the surveillance
video from inside the elevator. Sanders
then “quickly relayed the damning video’s play-by-play to team executives in Baltimore.” However, it is unclear as to
whom exactly he spoke to. This began the largest crisis ever to face an
NFL commissioner in the 94-year history of the league and the worst nightmare
for Goodell.
Less than a week later, Baltimore
Coach John Harbaugh said that Ray and Janay had issues but were getting
counseling. SBNation.com cited that in March, the Raven’s
owner, Steve Biscotti, talked up the character of Rice and his service for the
team and in the community. He promised
that Rice would “definitely be back.”
On March 27, Rice’s charges were
upped to felony aggravated assault in the third degree by an Atlantic Country
grand jury which included a possible three to five year prison term. The next day, Ray and Janay got
married. I believe that this was a ploy
used by the couple to try to convince everyone that he really loved her and
that it had not been that bad of an incident.
Supposedly, all along the NFL
officials had been trying to obtain a copy of the video taken inside the elevator
from the Revel Casino and law enforcement officers but were told they could not
have it so they stopped asking. According to ESPN.com, on April 1, the casino
was subpoenaed to provide Rice’s attorney, Michael Diamondstein, with a
copy. He received the copy on the 5th
of April and then called Dick Cass, the Raven’s team president and also a
lawyer. Diamondstein told Cass the video
was really bad and that Janay had been knocked out by Ray. He “advised Cass that the video, if released,
would amount to a public relations disaster for the Ravens and for his client.” They
then devised a plan to get Rice accepted into a pre-trial intervention program
which would exempt him from going to trial and clear him of the charges within
six months. The interesting point here
is that the program was set up for first-time offenders who were charged for
non-violent crimes. Rice’s case was not non-violent, but he was an
NFL player.
May 20, the Rice’s went to court
and Judge Michael Donio granted Ray entrance into the program. It was to be a one year program which
included anger management classes. In
return, the felony aggravated assault charge would be dismissed. According to a report by Outside the Lines,
“this pretrial intervention program was granted in less than one percent of all
domestic violence client.” Again, deliberate breaking of societal rules was permitted
because big time athletes seem to be
above the rules and money talks!
Three days later, at a news
conference held by the Ravens, the Rice’s addressed the media in which Ray
apologized to the public but not to his wife.
Janay apologized for the role she played in the situation and “the
Ravens’ official Twitter account sent out this tweet: ‘Janay Rice says she deeply regrets the role
that she played the night of the incident.’” Sadly
enough, we find in our culture many women who believe that they deserved to be
beaten and that it was their fault that the incident happened. Experts in domestic violence immediately
criticized the visual event stating that “the team insensitively propped up an
abused woman next to her abuser for the cameras.” Both the Rices and the Ravens were highly criticized for holding such an event.
On June 16, a discipline hearing
was held at the NFL’s headquarters in New York City with NFL commissioner,
Roger Goodell, taking charge. ESPN.com
reported that Raven general manager Ozzie Newsome, Cass, and two NFLPA
representatives came with Ray and Janay Rice.
Joining Goodell was NFL general counsel Jeff Pash and the NFL’s senior
vice-president of labor policy Adolpho Birch.
Janay, Cass, and Newsome all spoke on behalf of Ray. According to four sources and with his wife
sitting next to him, Ray told Goodell that he had hit her and knocked her out. Goodell, at the end of the meeting, invited
Ray and Janay to have a private talk with him in his office.
Even after this meeting, the NFL
did not try to get the inside elevator video which would have been the most
important evidence for the case. Right
after the event first happened, the executives from the Raven’s were
campaigning privately and publicly for minimal punishment within their own
organization, judicially, and with commissioner Goodell. Goodell had previously suspended two former
Raven players one and two games each for similar domestic violence first-time
offenses. However, neither incident had
been caught on video. The idea seems to
permeate the NFL that they are above the laws of the land and they can take
over the judicial system when it comes to issuing out punishments which are
fitting for their players. Just a minor
slap on the wrist, make sure that there is not much media coverage, and sweep
the offense under the rug.
Commissioner Goodell suspended
Rice for two games on July 24, after sources said that executives from the
Ravens had advocated no more than a two-game suspension. This started an upheaval of criticism on
various fronts. Extensive questions arose about Goodell’s judgment,
investigation, and evidence used. There
were NFL reporters who suggested that the video from inside the elevator had
warranted the easygoing punishment.
Broadcasters and reporters were then led to ask the league’s officials
exactly what, if anything, they had seen.
ESPN.com reported that “In an ESPN Radio interview on July 28, host Mike
Greenberg twice asked Birch, the NFL’s labor policy vice president, whether
Goodell had screened the inside-elevator video of Rice’s assault on his then-fiancee.” Both times, Birch cited privacy concerns on
the part of the Rices and declined to answer.
Birch stated that Goodell and league officials believed that the
two-game suspension was suitable after consideration of all of the conditions
involved. More anger evolved over the
verdict.
On July 31, Rice took media
questions for the first time, taking responsibility for what happened and
publicly apologizing. His genuine words
of remorse got positive reviews and the headline “Now the healing can begin” appeared
in The Baltimore Sun. Here we go again,
because he was a big time NFL player all that is necessary for healing to begin
is an apology. This is such a double
standard. However, criticism over
Goodell’s lenient suspension got worse.
M&T Bank’s vice-president over advertising, promotions, and
sponsorships proclaimed that Harbaugh would be the new face for the bank
instead of Rice.
August 28, with pressure rising
from domestic violence experts, players, and advocates of women’s rights,
Goodell changed the league’s personal conduct policy in regards to domestic
violence. Due to the influence from
social media, the hand of the commissioner was forced to get a stricter
policy. The policy change included a six
game suspension without pay for a first offense and being banned from the NFL if
a second incident occurred. He admitted
that he had not got it right in the Rice case and committed to doing
better. However, the storm was just
beginning.
A second video, taken from
inside the elevator, captured Rice using a left-hand punch which knocked Palmer
to the floor and rendered her unconscious.
This second video was released by TMZ on September 8 and went viral on
the Internet. The picture of Ray’s
crushing punch to Janay’s face was played over and over again on ESPN and other
national news shows. It filled people’s
social media feeds and the reaction of the public was quick, overwhelming, and
not positive. It reopened the question
of correctness in Goodell’s suspension for Rice and how the league had handled
the many other cases of domestic violence.
It also turned many other people against Rice including current and
former players saying that he should be tossed from the league. Within that very day, the Ravens terminated
Rice’s contract and Rice was suspended by the NFL indefinitely. Goodell now cited new evidence and said that
the story Rice told him on June 16 was vague and did not match up with the
video. But why did he not get a copy of the
video for the NFL to review before this all broke open? On that same day, online articles went crazy
posting comments against domestic violence.
As Leigh Steinberg wrote, “The NFL has failed in its duty to serve as a
shining example on and off field behavior with its handling of Ray Rice’s
assault on his then-fiancee this past winter.
Domestic violence is a massive societal problem with millions of women
being abused and left unprotected by a system that often victimizes them again.”
According to SBNation.com, Janay
Rice posted a statement on her Instagram account the next day saying that
“reality is a nightmare in itself” and criticizing the media for causing pain
to her family. The White House Press Secretary, Josh
Earnest, said in a statement “The president is the father of two
daughters. And like any American, he
believes that domestic violence is contemptible and unacceptable in a civilized
society. Hitting a woman is not
something a real man does, and that’s true whether or not an act of violence
happens in the public eye, or, far too often, behind closed doors. Stopping domestic violence is something
that’s bigger than football and all of us have a responsibility to put a stop
to it.”
A letter was promptly sent to the Raven’s
season-ticket holders from owner Steve Bisciotti apologizing for not
investigating the incident more vigorously and saying that the team had not
previously seen the video. He also
related that the Ravens would be donating $600,000 to the Baltimore shelter for
battered women. Here we go trying to put the fire out with
money.
The next day, Goodell talked
with CBS Evening News and said that he had never seen the full Rice video
before it was released by TMZ on September 8.
On September 10, The Associated
Press, citing an unnamed law enforcement official, reported that the NFL was
sent the full Rice video in April.
Former and current NFL players started to question Goodell on Twitter. Goodell received massive criticism for the way
he handled the situation and there were even calls for him to resign. Ozzie Newsome stated to The Sun that the
story told to him and Coach Harbaugh by Rice, after the incident occurred, was
consistent with what the TMZ video showed.
Later that same night, the NFL announced that Robert Mueller, a former
FBI director, would lead an investigation into how the Rice case was handled by
the league. Due to the
media, now the NFL commissioner is really beginning to sweat and has to hire a
FBI person to try to clear his name.
During the CBS broadcast of the
Ravens-Steelers game on September 11, play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz stated
that this was “arguably the darkest week in the history of the league.” Rightly so as
social media has brought forth and disseminated information which is being used
to hold the league accountable to the social and cultural expectations of the
general public. Later in the week, Goodell
gave the names of four women who would help the league in leading a new
domestic violence initiative. I believe
this is just another ploy to make the NFL look good and, in the wake of the
disaster, help persuade society that the
NFL really cares about the issue.
Through the
years, the NFL has worked hard to increase their fan base so that they can
generate more money. Culturally, it
seemed that football was a man’s sport.
It was macho to watch and participate in football games. However, the league started long ago trying
to change the football culture and recruit women fans by using social media
advertising. They teamed up with
CoverGirl and had models wearing different NFL jerseys promoting the various
teams. The advertising campaign was
called “Get Your Game Face On.” Within a
few days of the TMZ video release, NFL protesters hijacked the campaign and
photo shopped the CoverGirl picture being used on social media to that of the
woman representing the Raven’s team sporting a big black eye which seemed to
generate shock waves online. The jolting
image was posted to Twitter and Facebook as the protesters demanded Goodell’s
resignation and a boycott of the league.
CoverGirl then sponsored the campaign on the company’s Instagram and
Facebook pages. The picture took off on social media and
was often included along with the hashtag #goodellmustgo.
Rice appealed the indefinite
suspension on September 16. Judge
Barbara Jones presided over the appeal held on November 5 and 6. It is up to her to determine whether Ray Rice
or Roger Goodell is telling the truth. The
judge mandated that all witnesses would testify under oath. Goodell testified on the first day and the
Rices were expected to testify on the second day. There is a gag order on the case. Rice is saying that the NFL’s indefinite
suspension is a heightened punishment for the original violation and therefore
violates labor law. He wants immediate
reinstatement and has also filed a separate grievance against the team which
challenges their right to end his contract early. He wants repayment from the team for the
games he has not been able to play in.
It is expected that the judge will make her ruling within the next ten
days.
I believe the social media
exacerbated the psychological context.
Emotions against what Ray Rice did to Janay Palmer and the original
suspension dictated by Roger Goodell were aggravated due to the information
which was continually being dispersed through social media. Also, as Janay posted on Instagram, it kept
reopening the wound for their family. It
may have also opened up bad memories for several people who have been victims of
domestic violence. For the temporal
context, which involved the timing, I think social media affected it in both ways. By letting people know, sometimes daily, how
the case was evolving social media put pressure on those in charge to do
something about it as speedily as possible.
I believe that this was a good thing.
However, it aggravated and provoked the public because many could see
that the team, league, and Goodell were dragging their feet on coming to an
appropriate punishment. Originally, the
social intervention which came as a result of social media aggravated the
social context because it blatantly pointed out that there seems to be two
different sets of roles and rules for NFL players and the average person. This put the NFL on the hot seat because
everyone could see that they had been allowing the players to get away with
breaking societal rules and roles. However,
as of now, it seems to be helping because the NFL is taking a tougher stance on
the issue of domestic violence, reporting of domestic violence is up, women are
stepping up and talking about it, and it has impacted domestic violence
awareness around the country. Due to
social media, the cultural context of this case has been ameliorated. By bringing the issue to the forefront, it is
helping people to talk about, educate, and redefine what masculinity really
is. Different groups are more adamantly promoting
healthy relationship behaviors.
If there might be a positive
side to the domestic violence incident of Ray Rice and Janay Palmer, it could
be the fact that thousands of people took to social media to tell the world
about why they stayed or left abusive relationships. Beginning with the first video going viral,
people began blogging and tweeting on the story. Domestic violence victims were included and
took to Twitter creating #WhyIStayed and #WhyILeft. They then proceeded to tweet very short,
powerful accounts of why they had felt they could not leave their abusive
relationship or how they were able to leave relationships which were
abusive. “The dialogue fueled more
awareness and much-needed discussion surrounding domestic violence…..”
Also, many tweets and blogs
included statements of support and of disgust concerning the handling of the
incident. Some stated that the NFL was a
business and should not have to be concerned about what the players did when
they were off the field. Others were
totally outraged by the league apathy shown toward the incident. Thousands of people expressed their views and
ideas online concerning the incident.
From the very beginning it
seemed that the NFL was not very interested in finding out what actually took
place between Ray Rice and Janay Palmer in the elevator. They acted like they really did not want to
know. I think they pretended not to know
certain things in order to not be held accountable. The NFL made excuses saying that it was in
the hands of the judicial system. That
is until the judicial system upped the charges to felony aggravated assault in
the third degree. Then the Raven’s team
president, Dick Cass, got involved and somehow was able to get Rice into a
program basically absconding him. I do
not believe this was an honest thing to do.
It seems that there were several different occasions in which the NFL
lacked veracity. When Goodell took Ray
and Janay back into his office to talk with them at the end of the discipline
hearing, I got the feeling that it might end up in a he said, he said situation
and sure enough it did. It was the
Rice’s word against Goodell’s and Goodell used this situation to help cover his
reasoning when he changed the punishment.
Due to the social media coverage of the story and the league leader’s
involvement, a huge amount of pressure was placed on the top officials. I feel like veracity and integrity were
compromised on many occasions.
Social media added great
credibility to what actually happened in the incident. Once the videos went viral on the Internet,
there was little doubt left about what occurred inside the elevator and there
was no denying who did what. There were
some parts of the unfolding story where reporters and online articles cited
unnamed sources. Usually unnamed sources
seem to discredit the message. However, as
Steve Buttry stated, “This is an important story about connections and
influence in the league and how they mattered more than responding forcefully
to an outrageous incident of domestic violence by an NFL star……the nature of
the story justifies granting confidentiality .”
I did run across a couple of articles that
contradicted one or two the times and dates of parts of the story, but for the
most part, the online articles backed each other up and seemed to lend credibility
to the story. Also, Peter King reported
on July 29 that in fact the NFL had seen the full video of the incident. He retracted that report after the second
video was released by TMZ on September 8.
The original punishment handed
down from Goodell was appalling. He
should be in hot water for making such an unacceptable reprimand for being
inhumane. According to a previous
Goodell punishment, Ray Rice would have been in more trouble for smoking pot
than for knocking his fiancée unconscious.
There is something wrong with that kind of thinking. I believe that Roger Goodell dropped the ball
in this case. He did not seem to want to
know what really happened in the incident until pressure was put on him. Goodell looks at only the business side of
the NFL, not the human element. I think that if Ray Rice was not a
professional athlete he would have had to go to court and probably would have been
sentenced to jail time. However, because
he was a big money football player others were trying to protect him and make
it not a big deal. They did not want him
to have to miss very many games.
Basically, the NFL has been getting away with turning a blind eye to
this kind of behavior. Only after the
case blew up in the media did they begin to pursue the correct punishment. I applaud the social media for the positive
effect it has had in this case. I
believe that there should be zero tolerance for domestic violence. No one should hit another person. Whether you are female or male, it is not
acceptable. This case makes me sick
knowing that because of money, fame, and athletic status this kind of behavior has
been excused in the past. I am glad that
social media brought this case out because otherwise it would have just been
swept under the carpet with a little slap on the hand like so many of the
previous incidents. Domestic violence is
unexcusable no matter who or what you are.
I think the incident was totally mishandled by the NFL from the top
down. I agree with Steve Buttry and believe that the
main message of this story has to do with the NFL good ole boys and how their
primary concern is covering their own butts and the secondary concern is the
business of making money. In all
actuality, I do not believe that they sincerely care about domestic violence
unless it is going to cost them their jobs or their business. This story is about position, power, and
money—not domestic violence.
