OT - Your reaction to NFL events

[UcMiami]

Sadly, this is very true.

I personally know a woman who was dating a former NFL player and he assaulted her four times. The last time he picked her up by her neck and slammed her head into the wall multiple times. He was arrested and charged with felony strangulation and misdemeanor assault. H pleaded no contest to misdemeanor breach of peace and was sentenced to just two years probation. This despite the fact that the prosecution had a very strong case with pictures of her injuries taken in the hospital. They just choose to accept a plea on a very reduced charge and not to prosecute. She has hired a very high profile attorney and filed a civil suit against him because she felt like this guy did not get the sentence he deserved. I agree with her, and hope she wins a tidy sum from this monster.

What makes it even sadder is that she met another guy and during conversation she told him about the incident to which he said something like "Wow. What did you do to get him so pissed off?" I told her to run as fast as possible from ANYONE who would even hint that she is to blame in being beaten nearly to death. No one deserves to be treated like that. No one. Man or woman, makes no difference. Violence against another person, whether committed by your average Joe or Jane or Mr/Ms star athlete cannot be tolerated.

Not a pretty story and I hope she finds a better person and success in court. But this is a problem with our current court system which is truly buried in work - plea deals are the norm for almost every crime and if a defendant can hire a good lawyer who knows how to work the system (and the prosecutor knows will tie the system up in lots of time consuming ways) they will take incredibly lenient pleas just to be able to get to the next case. Rice is a prime example.

 

[meyers7]

I am much more bothered by folks psychoanalyzing Mrs. Rice for defending him and basically saying that - in their opinion - he blew his only chance with her. She may have a complex from his mistreatment, or this could have been a one time issue that he has convinced her will never happen again. And he could be sincere about that (or not). And it might or might not happen again regardless of his sincerity. But we just don't know and I am tired to the gills of folks who act like they do.

I'm completely the opposite. I'm much more bothered by her response (marrying him) than even him. Just boggles my mind. I can understand being pissed off enough at someone that you want to hit them. (You don't do it, self control, but I can understand wanting to). I cannot understand marrying some guy who knocked you out and dragged your body around.

 

[OldAlum]

There is a large amount of a morally bankrupt culture in the NFL. Aberrant behavior is tolerated, expected and even admired among far too many players and others. A friend of mine worked in the front office of an NFL team and was dumfounded by some of the activities and the whole culture.
I don't understand the debate over seeing the elevator tape. It wasn't enough to see him coldly dragging her unconscious body when he admitted he hit her? You actually had to see it?
And whipping a 4 year old bloody is defensible, how?
I can see a concern about not jumping to punishments for unsubstantiated accusations. But when there is obvious physical evidence it is a different story.
The NFL lost me after Michael Vick. He was convicted of systematic, horrific animal abuse . Okay, he served his time and came back to the NFL. What really got me was his peers voting him "comeback player of the year". That should be reserved for somebody overcoming problems not of their making, not for an animal abuser who got caught.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I'm completely the opposite. I'm much more bothered by her response (marrying him) than even him. Just boggles my mind. I can understand being pissed off enough at someone that you want to hit them. (You don't do it, self control, but I can understand wanting to). I cannot understand marrying some guy who knocked you out and dragged your body around.

Just to be clear - I have no problem with folks thinking she was nuts to marry him, not understanding why she defended him, etc... I have no idea, I hope (and pray for her sake) that it is because this was a one time, out of character, incident that he has learned from. It may not be.

What is bothering me is the folks who think they do understand it in only one way, generally, having to do with feeling she is inferior, thinks she deserved it or whatever along those lines. My argument is simply that we don't know that's the reason, and to say we do presumes way too much.

Just after college graduation I made an abrupt shift from going to graduate school (where I had been accepted) to remaining in the motion picture exhibition business. Some folks said I was afraid of failing in school, some folks said it was because I had a girlfriend at the movie house where I worked, some said it was just a phase and some said it was because I was lazy.

None of them were correct. That's my point. Now we spout it on the internet like we know. We don't, always.

 

[j66kicker]

There is a large amount of a morally bankrupt culture in the NFL. Aberrant behavior is tolerated, expected and even admired among far too many players and others. A friend of mine worked in the front office of an NFL team and was dumfounded by some of the activities and the whole culture.
I don't understand the debate over seeing the elevator tape. It wasn't enough to see him coldly dragging her unconscious body when he admitted he hit her? You actually had to see it?
And whipping a 4 year old bloody is defensible, how?
I can see a concern about not jumping to punishments for unsubstantiated accusations. But when there is obvious physical evidence it is a different story.
The NFL lost me after Michael Vick. He was convicted of systematic, horrific animal abuse . Okay, he served his time and came back to the NFL. What really got me was his peers voting him "comeback player of the year". That should be reserved for somebody overcoming problems not of their making, not for an animal abuser who got caught.

Right - I think your operative phrase is "...who got caught." This reminds me of Clinton Portis, the Washington Redskin (yes, models of political correctness) who said about Vick, "I don't understand what's the big deal - he was just fightin' a couple dogs." (Portis later got noteriety for his comments about Ines Sainz, the attractive female reporter for a Mexican network who complained that she was harassed in the Redskin's locker room: "You know, somebody got to spark her interest, or she's going to want somebody. I don't know what kind of woman won't, if you get to go and look at 53 male packages walkin' around." After this even the Redskins had to [figuratively] resort to duck tape for Clinton).

Ooops - time for Monday night Football!

 

[ursusminor]

I'm completely the opposite. I'm much more bothered by her response (marrying him) than even him. Just boggles my mind. I can understand being pissed off enough at someone that you want to hit them. (You don't do it, self control, but I can understand wanting to). I cannot understand marrying some guy who knocked you out and dragged your body around.

I think the other case recently, in Arizona, illustrates some of the thinking quite well. The girlfriend in that case did not start telling the truth to the police until she had taken herself and her son out of state. She didn't feel safe until after she was out - and Arizona is a big state.

So, the question I ask myself, when I wonder why she went ahead and married him, what she thought might happen if she didn't marry him.

 

[meyers7]

So, the question I ask myself, when I wonder why she went ahead and married him, what she thought might happen if she didn't marry him.

Quite possibly. And one of the reasons it bothers me more.

 

[bertieboy]

Saw an article this morning quoting stats that NFL player arrests are less frequent proportionate to the USA population at large

That may be true, but are they less frequent than other non-NFL and non-sport millionaires?

 

[j66kicker]

Panthers Pro Bowl defensive end Greg Hardy (brutally beat his ex-girlfriend after reuniting, while drinking let to a discussion of her dating the rapper Nelly in the interim - "I was so scared I wanted to die. When he loosened his grip slightly, I said just, 'Do it. Kill me'.") was convicted of domestic abuse in July at received 18 months probation. He got NO suspension from the Panthers or the NFL, and played in the Panthers' first game this year. He is appealing the conviction(s), to get a Jury trial. Now, on September 18 (last week), he is "voluntarily taking a leave of absence" until his legal issues are settled.