I'm writing on the fly from work. Maybe I can take another swing at it later, when I can organize my train of thought a little better and make a little more sense. :)
Doug Fields Tampa, FL -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [TV orNotTV] Ray Rice Press Conference From: PGage <[email protected]> Date: Jul 31, 2014 1:32 PM To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> CC: I am not understanding your first point I guess; the question I pointed out that was not asked was not about his legal penalty, but about the NFL punishment, which the rest of your post seems to suggest you agree was inadequate. I did not suggest that Rice should have requested a longer suspension from the NFL, just that he should have been asked about whether he thinks a 2 week suspension was appropriate. If asked, Rice should have said whatever he believed to be true. As I tried to explain in my initial post, I suspect that the reason the NFL (and Rice himself) think a 2 game suspension was appropriate here was the mitigating effect of his girlfriend's (dare I say "provocative") behavior. I do disagree with your analysis of what the 2 game suspension means. It is not as if the players demanded in labor negotiations to be punished for pot smoking but not for punching their girlfriends. The marijuana policy is in the CBA because the NFL insisted upon it. The NFL has never insisted on any kind of serious response to domestic violence, this even though it has been documented for decades that there is a serious and persistent problem of NFL players physically assaulting their wives and girlfriends. Football is an extremely violent sport, and it is not at all surprising that it attracts men who are prone to physical violence and have difficulty learning when and how to inhibit that in their off-field behavior. This does not necessarily make them bad people, but it does place a responsibility on the league to make sure its players understand that no matter how violent they are allowed to be on the field (and the recent awareness of the long-term implications of concussions makes on-field violence itself a major concern) violence off the field is not tolerated at all. The NFL has failed spectacularly to live up to this responsibility, and the Rice incident is just one vivid example of that. I will acknowledge the validity of part of your critique, and revise the formulation: The NFL is saying that smoking marijuana twice is twice as bad as punching your girlfriend. I think all fans have a legitimate interest in expecting the NFL (along with its players) to re-think that priority. On Thu, Jul 31, 2014 at 10:18 AM, <[email protected]> wrote: > "I did not hear anyone ask him if he agreed with the apparent stand of > the NFL, that smoking marijuana was a more serious offense than punching a > girlfriend. He did say that he was never going to appeal the punishment, > even if it has been 4 or 6 games." > > See, this is what I don't get (and why I'm not commenting on any other > parts of your message): what are people expecting him to do? If I get > arrested and go before a judge and he gives me some suspended sentence and > puts me on parole for a year, why on earth would I tell the judge "oh, no, > your honor...that's not right. I should do at least a few months of hard > time"????? > > Whatever Ray Rice and his wife did to each other is now over. They > settled it to the satisfaction of the judicial system and (at least as > importantly) they settled it between themselves. We as the public should > be done with Ray Rice, and I couldn't possibly care less about his opinion > on the matter. > > Our attention at this point should be the NFL and Roger Goodell's > "punishment" (air quotes to indicate snarkiness) and anybody who tries to > defend it on its face. It's really pointless to try argue that the 2-game > suspension makes it a less serious offense than marijuana. Nobody gets > suspended for smoking pot, per se...they get suspended for violating the > league's substance abuse policy. And to get any suspension at all, they > have to have already been busted multiple times for violating that policy. > No, the NFL doesn't say that smoking weed is worse than domestic abuse; > the punishments for substance abuse are mandated by the collective > bargaining agreement between the league and the players' union, so the NFL > doesn't hand those suspensions out based on the severity of the crime. You > get busted once, you go to rehab. Twice, you get a 4-game suspension. > Three, and you're out for a year. It's not a commentary on how serious > they consider the problem, especially as compared to other offenses. > > Doug Fields > Tampa, FL -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
