Ray Rice Suspended for Spousal Abuse
NFL running back Ray Rice was recently released from the Baltimore Ravens and suspended from the NFL after a video was released by TMZ which showed Rice punching his now-wife in the face. The video shows Rice hit Janay in the face hard enough to knock her unconscious. The couple are seen fighting in an elevator of the Revel Casino in Atlantic City. The incident, which took place in February led to Rice’s arrest and suspension of two games at the time.
According to WSBTV, Rice’s coaches praised his behavior after the incident, and in July, General Manager Ozzie Newsome released this statement, “We respect the efforts Ray has made to become the best partner and father he can be. That night was not typical of the Ray Rice we know and respect. We believe that he will not let that one night define who he is, and he is determined to make sure something like this never happens again.” But all that quickly changed after TMZ’s release of the video.
As Usual, Social Media Uproar Ensues
As soon as the video hit the internet, social media sites exploded with everyone speaking their mind on this couple’s situation. Many people voiced their outrage that Janay not only stayed with, but married Rice AFTER this incident occurred. She was called a bad example for young girls because she did not leave Rice immediately. The first video to hit most sites did indeed look terrible. It shows Rice punch Janay in the elevator, and then proceed to drag her unconscious body out. Later, however, a much longer video was released which shows Janay slap Rice before the couple entered the elevator, and she seems to be spitting in his face in the elevator. His punch came as she rushed at him…in an elevator…where he couldn’t “just walk away” as men are encouraged to do in such situations.
Janay Releases Statement
In many cases when a man hits a woman, any announcement or statement that she makes speaks anger towards him, and rightfully so. Janay’s statement did not speak of her anger, it did not point fingers at Rice for being a horrible abuser. She does not make herself out to be the victim. Janay speaks of the nightmare that she is living because an incident which took place between herself and her husband seven months ago has been once again made public and put on display. Here is what she had to say,
“I woke up this morning feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I’m mourning the death of my closest friend. But to have to accept the fact that it’s reality is a nightmare in itself. No one knows the pain that the media & unwanted options from the public has caused my family. To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing. To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his [expletive] off for all his life just to gain ratings is horrific. THIS IS OUR LIFE! What don’t you all get. If your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all happiness away, you’ve succeeded on so many levels. Just know we will continue to grow & show the world what real love is! Ravensnation we love you!”
Human Rights, Not Just Women’s Rights
If the truth be told, despite a video and the opinions of others, no one knows what happened between these two that night except these two. They have since gone on to build their lives and try to work through the pain and anger that caused such an incident to occur. While everyone stands for women’s rights and abuse is never excused, perhaps outsiders need to understand exactly what is happening before sticking their noses into another couple’s life.
A man should never hit a woman…period…BUT, from the looks of the video this was not a case of a defenseless woman being beaten by a man. This was a fight between two people, plain and simple. While no woman should ever have to be hit, one has to stand up for the men sometimes as well. The truth is not that no woman should ever be hit, but that no human should ever be hit. While it is so often said, “There is NO excuse for a man to ever hit a woman,” shouldn’t it be instead, “There is no excuse for a person to ever hit another person?” Unless, perhaps, it is in self-defense.
