American Football has become synonymous with American culture. For the US, football is the cornerstone of their culture and values. Many players and families strive towards the pinnacle of the sport with the NFL. It is seen to be a metaphor for life with the way players push themselves, fight for their dreams, and work together and so on. Culturally and socially, few organizations have had the impact that the NFL has with the Super bowl for example remaining one of the most awaited entertainment events of the calendar year. On that note, the commissioner of the league, Robert Goodell, plays a key role in safeguarding the league through the best interest clause. Through the clause, Goodell has the power to punish players for improper conduct that is considered detrimental to the public confidence or integrity of NFL. The paper will examine how Goodell applied the clause after Ray Rice was implicated for domestic violence.
Description of the Instance
In 2014, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was caught in a domestic violence scandal for punching his fiancée in an elevator following an outing. The incident was made public by the tabloid chain TMZ which released footage of the incident as two separate videos (Bien, 2014). The first video only showed Rice dragging his wife out the elevator while the second had the assault was clearly recorded. As an official member of the National Football League (NFL), the organization was naturally affected and as such was expected to fully act and handle the situation accordingly. Originally, the NFL only gave the player a two game ban which was then heightened to an indefinite suspension once the second footage was released (Frank, 2014). The suspension was ultimately overturned by the legal system and Rice was finally reinstated as a member of the league eligible to play for any team ready to sign him.
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Evaluation of Goodell’s Use of the Clause in this Case
Robert Goodell did not effectively apply the best interest clause in the situation. In contrast, his ruling only acted to harm the game. The Ray Rice incident however brought out the ugly side of the sport culture industry. When the footage was initially released, Rice was only handed a two match ban despite being guilty of physical assault and his team and the league largely stood by him. This perpetuated the notion and trend where most athletes tend to get nothing more than a slap on the wrist for their transgressions because they are highly valued in the sporting world due to their revenue potential (Jenkins, 2014). Unfortunately, players continue to be overly protected at the expense of justice and their victims. Most get away with their actions and in Rice’s case the stereotypes concerning the lack of women’s worth in sports was enhanced.
Adaptations that could have Been Made
The commissioner needs to take such cases more seriously, look into them more aggressively and ensure their initial reaction is strong as it sets the tone for such incidents. He has to remain critical of the morality of situations over and above the law and issue punishments that reflect the gravity of social missteps (Gibbs, 2015). He also needs to avoid inconsistencies in his actions and the appearance of being shaky to avoid damaging their reputations. Finally, there is a need to apply stricter laws to players to show their commitment to society in full and avoid the appearance of protecting players.
References
Bien, L. (2014). A Complete Timeline of the Ray Rice Assault Case . SBNation. Retrieved from http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/5/23/5744964/ray-rice-arrest-assault-statement-apology-ravens
Frank, Vincent (2014). How Potential Ray Rice Reinstatement May Impact The NFL . Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/vincentfrank/2014/10/23/how-potentialray-rice-reinstatement-may-impact-the-nfl/#6dfa9efb33cd
Gibbs, Lindsay. (2015). After Ray Rice, the NFL Pledged Millions to Fight Domestic Violence. Here’s How the Money Was Spent . Think Progress. Retrieved from https://thinkprogress.org/after-ray-rice-the-nfl-pledged-millions-to-fight-domesticviolence-heres-how-the-money-was-spent-bd18a1777200#.bd20wktm4
Jenkins, S. (2014). Ray Rice Domestic Violence Case Shows Goodell's Willful Blindness . The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/roger-goodells-handling-of-the-ray-rice-case-willful-blindness-and-the-need-to-maintain-plausible-deniability/2014/09/08/68015714-378b-11e4-8601-97ba88884ffd_story.html
