Okay this
blog is gonna get me in trouble but I have to write it anyway. Right now the
air waves are full of talking heads carrying on about NFL player Ray Rice. TMZ
released a video of rice assaulting his wife in an elevator in an Atlantic City
casino earlier this year.
I am not
here to defend Ray Rice. Knocking his then fiancé
,now his wife out cold. He was arrested and charged. A grand jury was involved
and his punishment was to attend a diversion program. He was suspended for two games by the NFL.
Then the
video emerged. All of a sudden Ray Rice was fired and suspended indefinitely
from the NFL. No one is complaining
about this. The "carrying on" is about "when" did the NFL
see the video.
It feels
like we've reverted to the times of the Salem witch trials. Since when did the public get to order a
witch hunt and public hanging? Justice belongs in the hands of the justice
system. Why take away this guy' s livelihood?
You are in effect taking away his life.
Yes what he did is reprehensible .
But take away his contract and his means of supporting his family?
Really? I don't get it. The public is demanding justice. So the NFL
reacts. Who made them part of our justice system? The Baltimore Ravens
reacts. Who made them part of our
justice system? Is no one willing to
say, "look he was arrested and justice was meted out. It was his first offense. Let ' s see what
happens."
Yes I
hear everyone gasping and jumping up and down about this. But this knee jerk
response to perceived public outrage can be a slippery slope. What behavior is
next?