Did TMZ Bail Out the NFL?

Why did it take TMZ for the NFL to do the right thing?

This morning, TMZ released shocking, brutal footage of former NFL RB Ray Rice viciously and repeatedly hitting his then fiancée Janay Palmer. We had previously seen the result of the altercation, as video of Rice dragging an unconscious Palmer was released earlier this year. In July, Roger Goodell and the league office handed down a paltry 2-game suspension shortly after banning Josh Gordon for a year for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy by the thinnest of margins.

By the thinnest of margins, I mean that if Gordon’s two urine samples been tested in the opposite order, he wouldn’t have been suspended. Gordon was voluntarily placed in stage three of the NFL substance abuse program, which led to the collectively-bargained sixteen game ban.

Obviously, outrage reigned. How can Gordon be banned for eight times as long as Ray Rice for two drastically different offenses, Rice’s obviously much, much worse? Well, it was collectively bargained, and agreed-to by the league and the players. The outrage in contrasting these two suspensions by the public was justifiable. Marijuana is legal in two states, and decriminalized in many others. In no state is domestic abuse legal. Clearly, Roger Goodell had miscalculated.

Time passed, and the outrage surrounding the two games descended into impotent mumblings and grumblings. Everybody knew Goodell was in the wrong, and clearly Goodell agreed. A couple of weeks ago, he admitted he was wrong and reformed the personal conduct policy (which the commissioner has the power to control) to be six games for the first domestic abuse incident and a lifetime ban (with an ability to apply for reinstatement) after the second offense. People applauded the commissioner for his admission of being wrong and the reformation of the policy.

The next day, he announced nine games for Aldon Smith (for a series of incidents). Still, Ray Rice sat at a two game ban and loss of a paycheck. Chump change for such a disgusting incident.  What could Goodell do? His hands were tied, he couldn’t go back and extend a suspension off of public outrage.

A few days after the new domestic abuse policy, 49ers D-Lineman Ray McDonald was arrested for allegations of felony domestic abuse. Six games, and possibly more, were (and still are) on the table for McDonald. This put the new policy in an awkward place. Jim Harbaugh preached “due process,” and immediately ripped a hole in the letter of the law. What happens when it’s a he-said/she-said issue, like the McDonald case seems to be? Goodell couldn’t suspend McDonald for something when he hadn't been formally determined in a court of law to be guilty. Does Goodell wait? Does he rule six games for just being in that situation? There was precedent for that; Ben Roethlisberger was accused of sexual assault (more than once) and though never charged, he was given a suspension for violating the personal conduct policy for even being in that situation.

Goodell’s firm stance, which had been thoroughly applauded, was immediately questioned and put to the test. As of writing this, there is still no result from the McDonald incident, and it appears, per Goodell, there won’t be pending the legal proceedings. The commissioner’s firm stance suddenly didn’t appear so strong.

Then this morning, TMZ released the footage of Rice. Less than 12 hours later, Rice was out of the NFL. This allowed Goodell to right his wrongs and attempt to recoup the credibility the league had lost. Ray Rice was cut by the Ravens and Goodell followed suit by banning him from the league. He went as far stating that no team could acquire his rights without Goodell approving it. In short, it appears as though Ray Rice will never be on another NFL roster, and given the CFL recently re-affirming that they would uphold any NFL suspension (with regards to Gordon), he’s likely done playing football in North America.  This is a very good thing.

It’s just a very bad thing that it took TMZ for Roger Goodell to get it right.  But he finally did; Janay Rice won’t file criminal charges, but the NFL can finally say that they did everything they could for her.

The real question is why did it take this long? What else could have happened in that elevator? Why did it take direct visual evidence for Janay Palmer's assault to have some semblance of justice?

Why isn't Ray Rice in jail?