Janay Rice's chilling Instagram message

I could not have said it better than Taylor Marsh regarding Janay Palmer Rice's Instagram defending her husband Ray Rice who knocked her out and dragged her from an elevator. Initially, the NFL gave this domestic abuser a two-game suspension for his horrific treatment of Janay. As Marsh points out, it was only after a video of the knockout blow was made public that Rice was kicked out of the NFL.

Marsh begins her coverage with a screen shot of Janay's Instagram and continues from there:

 Janay Palmer, Ray Rice’s wife, writes chilling Instagram message that sends horrific signals to abused women, while revealing why Ben Carson’s apologist statement on behalf of her husband is representative of the NFL culture that let the football “hero” off the hook in the first place.

IT’S IMPORTANT to remember that the NFL‘s initial reaction to Ray Rice coldcocking Janay Palmer, now Janay Rice, was a mild two-game suspension. The Ravens even sent out a tweet where Palmer took part of the blame for her own unconsciousness! If you want to know why this was allowed to stand for so long see Republican Ben Carson‘s apologist statement for Ray Rice, which perfectly represents the NFL’s dereliction in this tale of domestic violence.

It wasn’t until the public saw the raw video footage that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the Ravens acted.

The reaction of Janay Palmer (Rice) the day after sends a chilling signal to women who make excuses for their abusers instead of fleeing the scene, walking away from the relationship that’s built on extremes of emotion that has no relationship to love she is claiming exists.

The outcome leaves Janay Palmer (Rice) in an even worse situation, because now her husband has lost his livelihood in the NFL and at some point the furor will die down leaving her vulnerable again.
The sports writer for the New York Times, Juliet Macur, wrote a terrific piece emphasizing that it took a video to make the public react, because the facts of the case, known long ago, weren’t enough.

But it never should have taken this long. Not long after the assault, the police investigated and determined that Rice had knocked out Palmer. An earlier video showed Rice dragging Palmer out of the elevator as if he were hauling a trash bag to the curb.

That alone should have been enough for the N.F.L. to suspend Rice for a good, long time, or for the Ravens to get rid of him. It should have prompted the league to send a message to other players — as well as to its fans — that domestic violence will not be tolerated. But Rice was a star, and excuses are made for stars.

If you don’t understand how Ray Rice was allowed to initially escape prosecution, accepting a much lesser punishment of therapy from the court, nothing illustrates the culture of protecting the abusers of women better than Republican Ben Carson’s statement on behalf of Ray Rice.

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