The Washington Post
NFL considering tougher penalties for future domestic violence cases, including possible one-year ban
By Mark Maske August 13
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2014/08/13/nfl-considering-tougher-penalties-for-future-domestic-violence-cases-including-possible-one-year-ban/
The NFL is considering toughening its penalties for players who commit acts of domestic violence, including a potential one-year ban for a second offense, according to multiple people familiar with the league’s recent deliberations.
The prospective new policy, if it is implemented, could establish guidelines for a suspension of four to six games without pay for a first offense and potentially a season-long suspension for a second incident, according to those with knowledge of the matter. They spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic and because no final decision has been made by the league on implementing the policy.
The contemplated changes, if they are made by the NFL, would come after the league and Commissioner Roger Goodell have been criticized heavily for the two-game suspension imposed on Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice for allegedly striking Janay Palmer, the woman who is now his wife. Many media members and other observers have called Rice’s suspension insufficient and said it sends the wrong message about the league’s attitude toward domestic violence.
It was not clear if the potential new policy faces any significant obstacles to being put into effect.
“We need to have stricter penalties,” said one person with knowledge of the league’s deliberations on the matter. “I think you will see that. I believe the commissioner and others would like to see stricter penalties. We need to be more vigilant.”
That person said Goodell and the league “tried to stick with precedent” from previous NFL disciplinary measures when deciding on the length of Rice’s suspension.
“A lot of us were disturbed by what we saw” in the Rice case, the person said. “I think you will see something in probably the next few weeks. A first offense could be four to six games, definitely more than two. A second offense might be a year.”
AdvertisementA second person who had been briefed on the matter confirmed that the increased penalties are under consideration. That person said he did not know if it is definite that the new policy will be enacted nor when the new policy, if implemented, might go into effect.
The NFL declined to comment through a spokesman.
Two people with close ties to the NFL Players Association said the union was not involved in the deliberations.
Rice’s suspension resulted from an incident in February in which he allegedly struck Palmer, then his fiancée, in a hotel elevator in Atlantic City. Video became public showing Rice pulling an apparently unconscious Palmer from the elevator. The couple later married. Rice pleaded not guilty to a third-degree aggravated assault charge and avoided trial when he was accepted into a pretrial intervention program.
Rice was suspended from the Ravens’ first two games of the upcoming season without pay and was fined an additional game check based on last season’s salary. He will lose about $529,000 from the NFL’s penalty.
Goodell has defended the length of the suspension. When he spoke to reporters while in Canton, Ohio, for the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, he said that the punishment “has to be consistent with other cases, and it was in this matter.”
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NFL considering stiffer punishment in abuse cases amid Ray Rice uproar
By Eric Edholm
https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/nfl-considering-stiffer-punishment-in-abuse-cases-amid-ray-rice-uproar-161850996.html
The NFL oh-so carefully has allowed word to leak out that it plans to get tougher on players who commit acts of domestic violence in the wake of the backlash of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice’s suspension.
The Washington Post, citing league sources, said the NFL is looking to toughen player bans for as much as a yearlong suspension for a second offense. A first offense could garner a suspension in the range of four to six games, according to Mark Maske’s report.
Rice’s abuse case and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s perceptibly light sentence — a two-game suspension — has caused some uproar in league circles, as well as from fans and media members. The message, they have said, is that the league has taken a lenient stance towards physical abuse.
“We need to have stricter penalties,” one person told Maske of the NFL’s discussions on the matter. “I think you will see that. I believe the commissioner and others would like to see stricter penalties. We need to be more vigilant.”
That’s classic NFL, isn’t it? There’s vocal opposition to an issue, and quietly — through leaked sources — the league lets it be known that changes are in store. Savvy PR folks they employ there. At least they are open to some change and listening to some of the outrage.
Nothing like slamming that barn door shut after the first flock has gotten out. Goodell had defended the discipline process and the sentencing on Rice, citing league precedents on past cases. It appears he and the league officials in charge of disciplinary matters are seeing things differently now.
Fair or not, apples to kumquats notwithstanding, observers comparing Rice’s discipline and those of marijuana offenders and recreational-drug takers are having a field day with the apparent lack of justice. Heck, Terrelle Pryor once was docked five games for a violation he committed while still under the NCAA’s umbrella … in a tattoo scandal! By that comp, at the very least, Rice skated.
“A lot of us were disturbed by what we saw [in the Rice case],” the source told the Post. “I think you will see something in probably the next few weeks. A first offense could be four to six games, definitely more than two. A second offense might be a year.”
Rice was indicted on a third-degree aggravated assault charge for striking his then fiancée, now wife, Janay Palmer in an Atlantic City casino in February. He since has apologized and taken full responsibility for his actions. Rice will miss the Ravens’ first two games of the season, against the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsbugh Steelers. He’ll be eligible to return to the Ravens’ active roster prior to their Week 3 game against the Cleveland Browns.
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