Why Ray Rice's Two Game Suspension Isn't Enough

For a league that tries to put out the notion they hold their players to the highest standards, and that there will be consequences if and when players fall behind those standards, the NFL has failed miserably in their handling of the Ray Rice situation.

Like most people, I was born and raised to not only respect other human beings, but women in general, regardless of their actions towards me. That first and foremost includes never laying a hand on a woman even if she hits first or comes at me in a violent manner. Something Ray Rice allegedly couldn't do.

As the story goes, Rice and his then fiancé, Janay Rice (they've since married, which is another story in itself I won't get into), were in an elevator where a confrontation of some kind took place. While there's no video of Rice actually striking her, there is the now infamous TMZ video showing him dragging her unconscious body out of the elevator.

Rice plead not guilty to a charge of aggravated assault back in May, and avoided trial by being accepted into a pretrial intervention program. In the eyes of the law, he was never convicted of the charge therefore we all have to use the word, "allegedly" when discussing the case, however, in the court of public opinion, his willingness to enter this program appears to me to be a veiled admission of guilt.

Earlier this week, the NFL reviewed Rice's case and handed down a two game suspension, which many, myself included, isn't nearly enough.

I've been married for 12 years, and while my wife have built a fantastic relationship over those years, we do have our disagreements from time to time, but there has NEVER been a time in our nearly 16 total years together that the thought of hitting her has crossed my mind. Much less to the point where it knocks her unconscious.

For a league that will suspend a player four games in a heartbeat for marijuana possession (a drug that is now legal in some states, and being decriminalized in others, including our nation's capitol), a two game suspension for knocking a woman unconscious tells me the league has their priorities completely out of whack.

I have absolutely zero tolerance for a man who beats a woman. Zero. People make mistakes, I get that, but this is more than a mistake in my mind. This is a guy who couldn't control his temper and (allegedly) put everything he had into striking a woman with the intent of hurting her. This (allegedly) wasn't just a slap across the face. It (allegedly) was a closed fist punch that knocked her out, and knocked her out long enough that he had to physically attempt to remove her from the elevator.

This is at minimum an eight game suspension in my mind. At minimum. Truth be told, it should be longer. The NFL had an opportunity in this case to set an example to all the players in the league that this type of horrendous behavior would not be tolerated, and they missed it. Badly.

What do you think? Am I being too harsh on Rice? It is his first offense after all. Weigh in with your thoughts in comments below.