Week 1: NFL Highlights

The good:
Top 5 Throws

Top 5 Runs

Top 5 Catches

Primetime


The bad:
In March video was released on TMZ that showed Ravens Running Back Ray Rice dragging his unconscious fiance out of an elevator at a hotel. He was charged with assault but was put into a program instead of jail. The NFL umm'd and ahhh'd about how to deal with him and eventually suspended him for 2 weeks. That decision was massively criticised by, well, everyone. A player in Denver can get 6 weeks for possession of weed, which is legal in Denver, but Rice can beat his fiance and get 2 weeks?

The NFL came out 2 weeks ago with a new domestic violence policy, 6 weeks for the first offense and indefinite for a repeat. The NFL admitted it made a massive mistake and vowed to be better.

 On Monday TMZ released footage of the elevator that showed Rice knocking his fiance out cold with a devastating punch to the head. It's cold and brutal and hard to watch. Rice was immediately dropped by the Ravens and then indefinitely suspended by the NFL.

Apparently neither the NFL nor the Ravens had seen the footage before. Word is that Rice and his fiance downplayed the incident, made out like Rice was defending himself against a psycho. The elevator footage completely belies that.

The NFL took Rice and his fiance at their word and paid a huge PR price for it. Now the truth is known Rice is paying a huge price for it. Deservedly so. The Raven's coach and players have been interviewed and are understanding confused. They wanted to believe their friend, but he beat his partner and lied to them.

There is a lot of commentary about this on the interwebs, it is worth following to see how a mega-organisation like the NFL deals with domestic violence. It will make its way to our shores, how will the AFL or NRL react?