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In February, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice allegedly assaulted his then-fiancée, Janay Rice (née Palmer), in an Atlantic City hotel elevator. The footage of him dragging her unconscious body out of the elevator went viral after TMZ posted it. Rice pleaded not guilty to third-degree aggravated assault and avoided a trial by entering a counseling program. Rice and Palmer were married the day after his indictment.
The NFL handed down its punishment for violating its personal conduct rules — and only suspended Rice for two games. They also fined him an additional $58,823, what he made from one game in the 2013 football season.
If Rice used steroids, he would have been suspended for a minimum of four games. Had he smoked marijuana during the offseason, he would have faced a three-game suspension. But knocking a woman unconscious? Only two.
On his ESPN show, Olbermann slammed the NFL's decision: "The National Football League's concern for Janay Palmer-Rice is slightly less than the concern for her that Ray Rice showed on that tape." He went on to say that the NFL has the gall to slap Rice on the wrist, while simultaneously selling a bright pink women's T-shirt with his number on the front.
Olbermann calls this out as a symptom of the sexist culture of professional sports. Incidents like this make "another generation of athletes and fans begin to view the women in sports as just a little less human than then men."
(Warning: The below clip features footage of the aftermath of domestic violence, which may be considered disturbing to watch.)
