By MATTHEW WOODS
Staff Writer
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1. The Ray Rice Domestic Violence Situation
We’ve known since April that now-former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was involved in a domestic violence incident with his then-girlfriend Janay Palmer in an Atlantic City hotel and casino. The story has recently picked up into perhaps one of the worst off-the-field weeks in NFL history.
The recent blow-up stems off of the suspension that was handed down from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, which suspended Rice for only 2 games, as well as a freshly released TMZ videotape from the elevator in the hotel. The video shows Rice punching his wife twice, the second blow knocking her unconscious.
There is only one place to start with this incident, and that is bringing to light and raising awareness for domestic violence. The NFL has clearly turned a blind eye towards domestic violence and women in general. Although the NFL is denying reports that they saw the videotape from inside the elevator, the Associated Press is reporting that the videotape was indeed sent to the NFL and that there is a voicemail confirming it.
Rice’s disgusting acts have caused outrage around the country, especially with groups like the National Organization for Women (NOW), who are calling for the right thing to be done which in this case. This includes that those responsible should be held accountable, including Ray Rice, Roger Goodell, and other NFL executives.
There is currently an ongoing independent investigation looking into whether the NFL was indeed negligent in their punishment of Rice.
2. Buffalo Bills to Stay In Buffalo with New Owner
There was more good news for the city of Buffalo this past week. After learning that former Bills great Jim Kelly was cancer-free, then upsetting the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, the Bills were finally sold. The new owners, Terry and Kim Pegula, also own the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League.
This only means one thing for the city of Buffalo: the Bills are here to stay. Over the course of the past few years, there were many rumors about how the NFL wanted to move a team to either Los Angeles or Canada. The Bills were always one of the teams mentioned in the conversation, mainly due to the team’s sub-par efforts the last decade or so.
Finally this team and organization can focus on football; and the way they’ve started so far this year, it looks like they’re doing just that.
3. NFL and NFLPA Agree on New Drug Policy
Continuing with the NFL theme, over the course of this past offseason there were a few stories that dominated the conversation. One of these was the NFL’s handling of suspensions, while the other focused on the outdated NFL drug policies. The old drug policy was called outdated for a reason; there was no testing for HGH, no testing organization, and the threshold for positive drug tests was incredibly low. The NFL was basically that old man that yells at the neighborhood kids to get off his lawn.
The new policy is one that will definitely benefit the players. There is a higher threshold for positive drug tests, more specifically marijuana, perhaps due to the Josh Gordon fallout. There is also testing for HGH which is undoubtedly the most important part in this agreement. The NFL will most likely hire an agency to take care of the tests, much like the Olympics. With this agreement going through, many suspended players can play right away while others will have a reduced suspension.
4. Penn State’s Football Program gets Reinstated
A few years after the Jerry Sandusky incident that entailed major sanctions on the school’s football team, the NCAA has lifted those sanctions and made Penn State’s Nittany Lions eligible for postseason play once again.
It’s not very often that we hear of the NCAA reinstating programs with major suspensions- just ask SMU and USC. However, this one seems well deserved. There is no reason to punish the athletes and coaches on this team when they were not involved whatsoever in the incidents that have taken place. Many coaches within Penn State’s conference are applauding the move as well.
The sanctions that were in place had many restrictions on what the team could do, one being recruiting, which is vital when playing in such a difficult conference like the Big 10. Now, with the sanctions lifted, Penn State is allowed to resume normal recruitment practices and finally try to restore the football program back to the level they were once at.
5. Oscar Pistorius Guilty of Culpable Homicide
Oscar Pistorius, double amputee and former South African Paralympian, was found guilty of culpable homicide in the shooting death of his then-girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
After learning the news I was curious to understand what exactly “culpable homicide” was, since he was convicted in South Africa. Culpable homicide is roughly the equivalent to manslaughter in the US.
Pistorius faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in jail; however, there is no minimum penalty for his crime. This result is a huge sigh of relief on the part of Pistorius after he was previously found not guilty of murder. The sentencing is still a ways away, but let’s say that his penalty is less than 2 years. In that case, Pistorius would be allowed to compete in the 2016 Paralympic Games.
