Early Monday morning, TMZ released video showing Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice leveling his then-fiancee, Janay Palmer, with a roundhouse left in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino. Within hours of its release, the Ravens terminated Rice’s contract, and the NFL suspended him indefinitely. Given that society’s tolerance for domestic violence is at an all-time low, as well as the NFL’s recent announcement of a tougher line on incidents of domestic violence among its players, conventional wisdom would have suggested that there was virtually no chance we’d ever see Rice in an NFL uniform again.
Well, apparently not. On Tuesday afternoon, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell spoke at length with CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell about the Rice affair. The full interview will air on Wednesday’s edition of “CBS This Morning.” It focused mainly on whether the NFL knew about this fuller video before Monday morning, as opposed to previously released footage of Rice dragging an unconscious Janay out of the elevator. However, in what can only be described as a breathtaking statement, Goodell held out the prospect that he could allow Rice to return to the NFL.
I first saw this when Bleacher Report’s Tyler Conway revealed he’d tracked down a tweet from NFL Network’s Albert Breer quoting Goodell saying that he would consider reinistating Rice if he was “fully confident” he was addressing this issue. My first thought was, “No, this has to be snark.” But per a partial transcript of the interview from CBS News, it isn’t.
O’Donnell: The question becomes did the NFL drop the ball? Or was the NFL willfully ignorant about what was on this tape?
Goodell: Well, we certainly didn’t know what was on the tape. But we have been very open and honest. And I have also — from two weeks ago when I acknowledged it, we didn’t get this right. That’s my responsibility. And I’m accountable for that.
O’Donnell: But what changed? I mean, on the first tape she was lying unconscious on the ground, being dragged out. Did you really need to see a videotape of Ray Rice punching her in the face to make this decision?
Goodell: No. We certainly didn’t and that — and I will tell you that what we saw on the first videotape was troubling to us in and of itself. But what we saw yesterday was extremely clear, it was extremely graphic and it was sickening. And that’s why we took the action yesterday.
O’Donnell: What does that mean that he was suspended indefinitely? Does that mean Ray Rice will never play in the NFL again?
Goodell: I don’t rule that out. But he would have to make sure that we are fully confident that he is addressing this issue clearly, (that) he has paid the price for the actions that he’s already taken.
As I write this, I’m literally shaking with anger. The last time I was this outraged about something in the sports world was when Jerry Sandusky’s abuse of young boys broke in full in 2011. Soon afterward, Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and university police chief Gary Schultz were brought up on charges that they failed to report the abuse and lied to a grand jury about when they knew about it. In the face of this, Penn State president Graham Spanier declared that Curley and Schultz had his “unconditional support.” Only three days later, Spanier was forced to resign. After reading this, I believe Goodell should get the same treatment.
Goodell says the first time he saw the video was on Monday morning. I have to wonder if we was watching the same footage that most of the nation–including yours truly–was watching. Janay hit the floor so hard that I have to wonder if she was unconscious before she fell–maybe even before her head hit the handrail. I haven’t seen too many people land that hard. How in the world could Goodell have seen that tape and even think someone who could even think it was all right to hit someone that hard could potentially have a path back to the NFL? It goes without saying that Goodell had a chance to take a strong stand against this behavior, and blew it eight ways to Sunday.
He also rendered his supposed epiphany on domestic violence, and indeed all of his talk about “protecting the shield” and the integrity of the game, to be a transparent farce. Rice is on the unemployment line not only because of how he hit Janay, but because he lied about it by saying he was acting in self defense. What Goodell has done is tell every player in the NFL that you can blatantly lie to your teammates, your coaches, and your fans about your part in a crime as outrageous as this one, but as long as you’re “addressing (the) issue clearly,” there’s a chance you can return. I’m all for second chances, but there are certain things for which there should be zero tolerance. What Rice did to Janay, and the cover-up in which he engaged afterward, should be one of them.
Let it be said clearly, firmly, and in no uncertain terms–with this interview, Roger Goodell has lost the integrity or credibility to lead the NFL. It is time for him to resign.
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Darrell Lucus, also known as Christian Dem in NC at Daily Kos, is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
