Reversed Call on Head Injury

The sports world is a-buzz with the Ray Rice suspension. If you live in a no-sports zone, Ray is a promising young running back. He got in a scuffle with his fiancee in a hotel elevator. He side-armed her. Her head hit the wall so hard she was knocked unconscious.

His fiancee married him anyhow. Ray was suspended for 2 games. All was settled until today. The media got access to the security tape of the incident, and keep showing it. People were more shocked seeing it than hearing about it. Rice was suspended indefinitely.

Hubby was watching sports last night, so when I turned on the TV this morning the sports channel was playing the tape. I idly wondered, as I changed the channel, why a woman would marry a man after that incident.

Then I felt ashamed for being judgemental. I have no idea of what preceded and followed the incident. Was alcohol involved? If so, how much? Was violence typical in the relationship, or not? I had no idea. I've never met either of them. She chose to marry him, so she must have her reasons. Maybe it really wasn't typical behavior.

Maybe it was the money thing. Using words from Jane Austin's Elizabeth Bennett, "... in a prudential light, it is certainly a very good match for her." How often do you have a chance at money like that? Opportunities for a 7-figure income are few and far between. If she's been with him all this time, why would she abandon ship when it's finally pay day?

Besides money, there is love. This couple has a 3-year-old, so it's not like they don't have a commitment. If they were both willing, they could turn things around. They would have the means and motivation to get the best counseling, life-coaching, and therapy possible.

They'd also have the whole NFL audience keeping an eye on them, which would be annoying, but also would be a great deterrent for any future missteps.

This isn't the NFL's finest hour. They reversed their previous decision. They pretended that they hadn't seen how violent the incident was before, but it's more likely that they're 'dancing a little sidestep' because of public opinion.

So because of the NFL's new found outrage over how this woman was treated, her life will be ruined instead of fixed. I will never understand football.