The problem isn't just with the NFL

Posted

In February, Baltimore Ravens star running back Ray Rice was arrested at an Atlantic City casino and charged with assault. Video footage later emerged showing Rice dragging his then fiancée out of an elevator, and the charges were upped to aggravated assault.

Rice committed a heinous crime against Janay Palmer, who’s now his wife. However, Rice’s coaches and the Ravens organization initially stood behind him, going as far to call him a “high-character guy.”

Do high-character guys knock their future wives unconscious?

After rejecting a plea offer, Rice was allowed to walk away from the incident, agreeing to anger management counseling and to complete a program for first-time domestic abuse offenders. After reviewing the case, the National Football League decided to suspend Rice for just two games. Then, on Sept. 8, new video, showing the punch Rice threw, went viral, and that same day the Ravens terminated Rice’s contract.

What has happened in the NFL is not a surprise. This kind of exposure of this kind of incident is long overdue. And it isn’t just a problem in the NFL. This is a pervasive problem, not only in professional sports, but at all other levels of athletics. It has been ignored for far too long.

Everyone who saw the video and tried to cover up what took place in that elevator should be fired. There’s no place in professional, college, high school or even grade school sports for those who ignore unacceptable conduct or poor academic performance, let alone incidents like what took place in that elevator.

The debate that has begun should continue, and should encompass not only the conduct of NFL players and other professional athletes, but the conduct of children, particularly those who participate in sports.

All children should have the opportunity to be involved in some sort of organized sports. Yours truly ran track. Children who participate in organized sports are taught to obey the rules, both on and off the field, and should be challenged to become productive and responsible team players, on the field and in the classroom.

Page 1 / 2