The real problem in the Ray Rice scandal

By EMILY JOSEPH

On Monday, the National Football League announced the indefinite suspension of Baltimore Raven’s running back Ray Rice after new video footage surfaced of Rice punching his then-fiancée in an elevator.

But more than just the NFL’s disciplinary action against Rice, the media coverage of late has been focused on one person: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. From opinion articles, to interviews and tweets, many people are calling for the resignation of Goodell because of how he handled the domestic violence situation.

While I think the NFL did an awful job at initially reprimanding Rice by ordering only a two game suspension, I don’t necessarily think Goodell is the one at which the public should be mad. Yes, I personally think the first video was more than enough evidence to penalize Rice more severely and send a strong message against domestic abuse, but many people are forgetting that Goodell wasn’t the one who beat his wife.

He is not the problem. Ray Rice and the thousands of other domestic abusers are the problem.

Goodell may not have done a good job the first time at implementing punishment, but he and the NFL at least admitted to their wrongdoing. Unless more evidence surfaces that shows they definitely had more inside knowledge of Rice’s actions, then that may change the situation. But the continual discussion of Goodell’s handlings is overshadowing the main issue here: domestic abuse. I hope that, as this story develops, the public attention moves toward combating the issue of domestic violence because it is not just the NFL’s problem, it’s society’s.