1. The release and indefinite suspension are absurd. Not because he didn't deserve it, but because he'd already been punished, and nothing changed. We knew (or at least had a pretty darn good idea) what happened in the elevator. Goodell and other NFL officials did know what happened because he told them. So to think that the video coming out was new information and warranted further persecution is insane, bordering on double jeopardy.
2. If they were both drunk, and I'm assuming they were, then I don't really think anything less of him. They have both been very honest and upfront about the whole thing, compliant from the very first moment information came out, and saying and doing all of the right things. People do stupid things when they're drunk. If they break the law, they deserve to be punished for it. Rice WASN'T EVEN CHARGED. If the law and Janay herself are allowing themselves to work it out, then I'm okay with siding that way, too.
3. We should not be surprised when professional athletes, especially football players, act in violent ways in their daily lives. We expect them to push their bodies to breaking points, be supremely aggressive and exhibit animalistic instincts on the field, THEIR ENTIRE LIVES, and then suddenly have the ability to turn that off when they're not playing? Yes, a lot of people can handle it, but I'm not shocked when that side comes out because it's what their body and mind have been trained to do since they were young. And it's our fault.
BY NO MEANS AM I CONDONING OR EXCUSING RAY RICE'S BEHAVIOR IN THE ELEVATOR.
What he did was atrocious. But since this ordeal began, Rice has said and done everything we can reasonably ask of him. He has shown great remorse, wants to move forward in a positive direction as well as he can, and has expressed an understanding of the much bigger picture that involves a future in which his daughter will ask questions. Janay has forgiven him (in public, anyway), and seems more than willing to be moving towards a brighter future with him. She is the victim, has seen a lot of support, and has made her own decisions about her future. The best we can do is show them love and attempt to guide them forward.
