Domestic violence accusations in NFL detract from the game

Brandon Gilden

The NFL season is back and fans are loving it, but at the same time this is probably the worst week in National Football League history when it comes to off-the-field issues.

Commissioner Roger Goodell has had to deal with multiple cases of violence with the most notable case being with three-time Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice. Rice, who plays for the Baltimore Ravens was arrested on Feb. 15 for assaulting his then-financé in an elevator. Footage was released to the public recently by TMZ and as a result, the Ravens have released him and he has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL.

Hotel security footage shows Ravens running back Ray Rice dragging his unconscious fiancé from an elevator. Photo from Creative Commons.
Hotel security footage shows Ravens running back Ray Rice dragging his unconscious fiancé from an elevator. Photo from Creative Commons.

Other recent domestic violence cases in the NFL include Greg Hardy of the Carolina Panthers and Jonathan Dwyer of the Arizona Cardinals.

As for Hardy and Dwyer, they didn’t get their violence caught on tape, but are also under fire for domestic violence. Both, according to ESPN, have been put on the exempt list, meaning they can’t participate in team activities until their issue is resolved.

One last notable incident that occurred recently was when former MVP Adrian Peterson was charged with neglect and beating his young son. Peterson allegedly beat his son with a tree branch and is now under heavy scrutiny as a result. The Minnesota Vikings too, have put their star player on the exempt list.

Hopefully, these incidents don’t continue, as these cases have been a huge distraction to an otherwise good NFL season thus far. Once the problems go away, fans should be able to focus on the sport on the field rather than off of it.