Ray Rice: Cutting Rice Was Not The Answer

Oct 6, 2013; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice (27) before a game against the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

Update 2:21 p.m. September 8, 2014: Ray Rice has been cut from the Baltimore Ravens, per the team’s official twitter account.

Let’s start with some things that should go without saying. Ray Rice did something reprehensible. Rice should be punished much harder than he has been, both by the judicial system and by the NFL. Rice’s then-fiance, now-wife did nothing to garner any blame for the events that night. And nothing, repeat, nothing I am about to say means I condone what Rice did, or even how the NFL Commissioner and Ravens PR staff have addressed it.

All that said, the Baltimore Ravens should not have cut Ray Rice. It is the coward’s way out, and cutting Rice does nothing to help the situation. All it would do is assuage the blood lust of social media users.

Where most would see cutting Rice as an appropriate punishment, I see it as cutting off a violent young man from his support system. How does that help prevent domestic violence in the future? How does that help Janay Palmer?

It doesn’t.

Cutting Rice unleashes a man with proven violent tendencies on the world and his wife with less of a support system, and thus, more opportunity to give in to violence.

Not cutting Rice isn’t a football question. In fact, I would have supported a suspension of any length, including multiple years, as long as Rice had access to team psychologists to attempt to address his aggression.

I admire John Harbaugh and Ozzie Newsome for having the courage to stand up and support Rice for so long, despite the overwhelming criticism they have faced as a result.

As a coach, Harbaugh has been responsible for stoking the flames of his players aggressiveness. That’s not a criticism, it’s just part of the job description.

But because Harbaugh has the responsibility to encourage aggression in his players, he also has responsibility to do what he can to lessen their aggression off the field. The same goes for Newsome.

Both of them have embraced this role. Before today, they’ve outwardly both been a support for Rice and have encouraged him to grow. And Rice, as a player with a spotless record before his reprehensible action, deserved that chance to grow past the violence.

That doesn’t mean Rice should not have been punished further. From the moment the NFL’s suspension was released and from the moment Rice was given a slap on the wrist by the judicial system, we as observers knew it was not enough. That was true then, and it hasn’t changed since new video footage was released. So few perpetrators of domestic violence get the punishment they deserve, and Rice was no exception.

The Ravens should have punished Rice by taking away the game he loves with a suspension. Even a multiple year suspension would have been fair based on what we know. But don’t punish his wife, his daughters and his chance to be a better person by taking away his support system.