National Organization of Women v. National Football League

[dellinger63]

As pointed out on a thread in the Sports section, I find it amazing and a bit disingenuous that the National Organization of Women would target the NFL for its lack of punishment regarding the Ray Rice battery while at the same time completely ignoring the court system. You know the agency ultimately responsible for punishment that saw fit to release Rice without serving a single day in prison? Had the court done its job Rice would have been sitting in a jail cell without the option of playing football.

What’s truly unfortunate is NOW missed an ideal opportunity to make the case that all over the country abusers like Rice are all too often released leaving their victims with nothing but a piece of paper as some sort of assurance the abuser won’t return for X amount of days.

Had NOW been able to focus on the real culprit, the justice system, for fumbling the football, real change might have occurred. A restraining order issued by the court is worth less than the paper it is printed on. Jail time not only serves the purpose of being a real punishment but also acts as the ultimate restraining order protecting not only the victim but in many occasions the friends and family of the victim.

How ironic and sickening is it that the court system saw fit to hand down a sentence of 23 months for fighting dogs yet ruled a professional athlete fighting a woman deserved no time?

[Benny]

Originally Posted by dellinger63

As pointed out on a thread in the Sports section, I find it amazing and a bit disingenuous that the National Organization of Women would target the NFL for its lack of punishment regarding the Ray Rice battery while at the same time completely ignoring the court system. You know the agency ultimately responsible for punishment that saw fit to release Rice without serving a single day in prison? Had the court done its job Rice would have been sitting in a jail cell without the option of playing football.

What’s truly unfortunate is NOW missed an ideal opportunity to make the case that all over the country abusers like Rice are all too often released leaving their victims with nothing but a piece of paper as some sort of assurance the abuser won’t return for X amount of days.

Had NOW been able to focus on the real culprit, the justice system, for fumbling the football, real change might have occurred. A restraining order issued by the court is worth less than the paper it is printed on. Jail time not only serves the purpose of being a real punishment but also acts as the ultimate restraining order protecting not only the victim but in many occasions the friends and family of the victim.

How ironic and sickening is it that the court system saw fit to hand down a sentence of 23 months for fighting dogs yet ruled a professional athlete fighting a woman deserved no time?

And how about Plaxico Burress who shot himself in the leg at a night club and served jail time. Apperently he visited the NYG this summer trying to get back in, fortunately he ws not brought in. I just cannot fathom the Carolina Hardy case as he was convicted by a judge and is appealing it, yet they were going to let him play until pressured to not ?

" The visit, on Burress’ 37th birthday, could be the first step toward reconciliation with the team he played for from 2005-08, right up until he famously shot himself at The Latin Quarter nightclub in November of that final season. He went to prison for nearly two years after that incident"

[GenuineRisk]

Dell, the culture often changes first, and then the law follows. Biden just gave a talk to Today about that very thing- he was asked about the Violence Against Women Act, which is now barely 20 years old, and how the culture changed first, to make the law possible (and it was ardently opposed by quite a few conservatives). First, I seriously doubt, if you look back at NOW's advocacy that you'll find silence on the subject of punishment for domestic abusers, but that said, pushing to change the culture of the NFL is probably more beneficial to the actual women getting the sh*t kicked out of them.

Likewise the NFL player just indicted on hitting his kid with a switch (I'm sorry I don't know the name; I don't follow the game of sports all that closely, other than horse racing). Chances are, he's innocent in the eyes of the law, because the law gives great leeway to parents to beat their children (we lag far behind other first world nations in that respect). It's a cultural thing that needs to be changed, and then the law will follow.

The best response I read yesterday, to people who say, "My parents spanked me and I turned out fine" is, "No, they just turned you into a person who thinks it's okay to hit little kids." (full disclosure: my mother used spanking as a disciplinary tool. She died when I was ten and my brother eight and his only memories of her are of her hitting him)

[dellinger63]

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

Dell, the culture often changes first, and then the law follows. Biden just gave a talk to Today about that very thing- he was asked about the Violence Against Women Act, which is now barely 20 years old, and how the culture changed first, to make the law possible (and it was ardently opposed by quite a few conservatives). First, I seriously doubt, if you look back at NOW's advocacy that you'll find silence on the subject of punishment for domestic abusers, but that said, pushing to change the culture of the NFL is probably more beneficial to the actual women getting the sh*t kicked out of them.

My point is had NOW decided to push to change the culture of prosecutors and judges on the court to enforce laws already on the books to their fullest instead of the NFL they'd be benefitting far more women than the NFL wives.

Personally I think NOW, while the incident is fresh, should follow the trail blazed by MADD. Had MADD decided to target changing the culture of drinkers rather the culture of the court system I think DUI related accidents and fatalities would be exponentially larger than they currently are.

I don't believe the excuse Ray Rice hit his fiancé because he thought it culturally OK to do so. However had he known he would almost certainly be going to jail for a substantial period of time I'm not sure the incident would have ever happened. One thing that is for sure is an abuser can't physically harm a victim while behind bars. And as Martha Stewart would say, 'It's a good thing'

[dellinger63]

The judge was charged in August with misdemeanor battery after allegedly throwing his wife to the floor, pulling her hair and kicking her at an Atlanta hotel, according to the police report obtained by the Advertiser. Earlier this month, the judge accepted a plea deal to have the arrest removed if he undergoes a domestic violence counseling program.

By all means give this guy some domestic violence counseling, just do it behind bars, and if domestic violence is to be taken seriously 'having the arrest removed' should never be an option!

Stop protecting the abuser and neglecting the victim both past and future.

The next poor woman the judge gets involved with should have arrest information available to her not shredded and forgotten.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/0...090.html?hp=l7