The NFL Doesn’t Know How to Handle Domestic Violence

In February, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was caught on camera at an Atlantic City casino dragging his unconscious fiancee Janay Palmer out of an elevator and dropping her on the floor after allegedly punching her hard enough to knock her out. It was shocking footage, but the Pro Bowler skated through the following months without suffering any particularly devastating consequences: He was able to enter a pre-trial intervention program, thus avoiding jail time; he married Janay; he even held a bizarre press conference at which he and his wife (!!!) apologized and he told the media, “Sometimes in life, you will get knocked down.”

And yesterday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced that he was suspending Rice for a measly two games—an incredibly light punishment that would seem to indicate that the league regards violence against women to be worse than a helmet-to-helmet hit but not as bad as using Adderall without a prescription.

Most of the internet, naturally, was outraged, though we shouldn’t have been surprised. The NFL, which has placed upon itself the burden of policing its players’ morality, doesn’t seem to know what to do when its players are accused or convicted of beating women.

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At any given time, your favorite NFL team is more likely than not to have a player on its roster who has been involved in domestic violence. In 2012, Slate’s Justin Peters found that 21 of 32 NFL teams had such a player on their rosters at some point during the season. It’s not clear whether NFL players commit acts of domestic violence more often than the general population, though of course incidents involving athletes always get more publicity than ordinary crimes. In 2008, linebacker James Harrison was arrested after allegedly hitting his girlfriend, though charges against the then Pittsburgh Steeler were dropped after he entered counseling and she didn’t press charges; the league and the team didn’t punish him. Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant allegedly shoved his mother in 2012 and was charged with a misdemeanor; he wasn’t suspended either. Last year Minnesota Vikings cornerback A.J. Jefferson was charged with felony domestic assault after a fight with his girlfriend—and, unlike Bryant or Harrison (both of whom were bigger stars) he was summarily released from his team.

And the blotter rolls on: Last week, Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy was found guilty by a judge of assault and communicating threats against a woman he had been seeing; his 18-month probation will be put on hold as he appeals for a jury trial. If he’s able to dodge jail time like Rice, we can presumably expect the Panthers to simply plug him back into the lineup as if nothing had happened.

At times, it seems like the NFL wants to make itself friendlier toward women. The league has been making overtures to female fans, most obviously with it’s annual heavy-on-the-pink breast cancer awareness campaigns, and its players have appeared in anti-domestic violence PSAs. But the clearest way to say, “Hey guys, don’t beat women” would be to crack down strongly on any player who beats a woman. That could mean a league-mandated suspension, or it could mean—as in Jefferson’s case—a team meting out some punishment of its own.

Clearly, domestic violence is a blind spot for the NFL’s top officials and the teams, who are understandably wary about keeping their money-making stars off the field. It’s also, sadly, a blind spot for the prominent on-air media personalities who comment during and after games. When Rice returns to action on September 21 against the Browns in Cleveland, the announcers will surely mention that he’s returned after a two-game suspension; they may couch this in the language of vague “problems” or “issues” that he’s worked through, or even frame it as some sort of adversity that he’s had to overcome. Or they might simply ignore the reasons for his suspension altogether. In any case, they’ll move on quickly, and so will the league. After all, it’ll be time to play football.

Follow Josh Zerkle on Twitter.