Janay Palmer-Rice Blames Media Over Ray Rice Suspension

Janay Palmer is not happy with the media after Ray Rice was cut from the Baltimore Ravens and then subsequently suspended from the NFL indefinitely. In an instagram post she took out her frustration on the media and what it has done to her family.

Now, here’s my issue. Janay has a point. It is the media (TMZ) that lit the PR fire under the NFL that caused them to re-evaluate the punishment they previously gave Rice. At first the NFL said they never saw the elevator footage but according to the Revel casino, they never asked and had they asked they would have turned over the footage.  Janay and Ray were arrested and the NFL decided to take their word for it that it was a mutual fight and only gave Rice a 2 game suspension, a much lighter punishment than other players who popped a molly or smoked weed during the off season.  The problem lies when video surfaced and not only was there nothing “mutual” about it, Rice’s blatant disregard for his future wife’s life was apparent and disgusting. Now the NFL, who just implemented a new domestic violence policy, has to make a tough decision. Do they say “Oh well, we already kind of punished him” or do they stand by their zero tolerance rule and make an example out of Rice, who in all honesty inspired their new policy to begin with. They do the latter. The PR backlash if they didn’t would have been entirely too much to deal with. That said, can you blame the media for doing their job then subsequently forcing the NFL to do theirs? No, you can’t. If embarrassment is ALL Janay is concerned about, she should have asked herself why her fiance would pummel her then drag her lifeless body down the hallway of a popular Atlantic City casino/hotel. If there was any time to be embarrassed, THAT was it. 

Janay decided to be in a relationship with a public figure and in doing so, everything you do is under a microscope. All of your dirty laundry is aired. If your life is not important to you and all you care about is being “embarrassed” then kindly ask your abusive husband to beat you at home next time. But just because Janay doesn’t have a job to lose, and her husband does, doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be punished upon the inclusion of new evidence. The law may not be able to do anything but it doesn’t mean an employer can’t. That’s not the media’s problem.

I hope Janay can get help. Regardless of whether or not Ray is abusive or they abuse each other. Their relationship is volatile and you should never be in a relationship with someone if they push you to that point in the first place.