It's obviously not the first time an NFL player has been accused of doing something heinous off the field, but the Ray Rice incident was unique. Video evidence in a domestic violence or sexual abuse case is extremely rare: Both crimes tend to occur in homes, away from the public eye. This generally allows perpetrators to do a quick PR side-step. The footage of Rice's assault meant that the "truth"—usually impossible to uncover, as far as the League is concerned—was there to see in grisly objectivity.A rhinestoned pink-and-white Ray Rice "women's jersey" for sale from the NFL attracted widespread derision after Rice's suspension; eventually, most of the Rice merchandise was listed as "discontinued" on the NFLshop.com store. Goodell, a man who's not had the best track record dealing with domestic violence cases, wrote in a letter to every player in the League that the NFL would strive to become "a leader in the domestic violence space," wording that he presumably regrets.The message from the League, to many of its critics, was clear: Violence against women is unpopular enough to be bad for the brand.
Ben came back with his penis out of his pants. I told him it wasn't OK, no, we don't need to do this and I proceeded to get up and try to leave. I went to the first door I saw, which happened to be a bathroom. He followed me into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. I still said no, this is not OK, and then he had sex with me. He said it was OK. He then left without saying anything. I went out of the hallway/door to the side where I saw my friends.
After taking Jane's statement, the officer went straight to Roethlisberger's party to let them know what was going on. He told Roethlisberger and his entourage about the accusations in vulgar and dismissive terms. Anthony J. Barravecchio, an off-duty police officer traveling with Roethlisberger's entourage, reported that the officer said something along the lines of, "We have a problem. This drunken bitch, drunk off her ass, is accusing Ben of rape. This pisses me off. Women can't do this. It's bullshit, but we've got to do this, we've got to do a report. This is BS. She's making shit up." (The officer later resigned from the force.)She advised me that while in Capitol City (the club), she was sexually assaulted or sexually manipulated by the suspect around 1 30 hours. She also stated that one of the suspect's bodyguards escorted her to the back room/hallway area where the suspect was. Once there she stated the suspect asked her for sex. At this time it is unclear to what happened after this point due to the complainant's recollection being foggy from to [sic] her intoxication. However she did write a statement of what she thought happened…
The real issue is whether [NFL culture says to its players], 'We're not going to look too hard on this,' or, 'We'll look the other way or leave it to the authorities.
Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy was suspended for four games this summer after he was accused of strangling his then-girlfriend, Nicole Holder, and "slamming" her onto a futon couch covered in assault weapons. He was convicted of the assault last year, but the conviction was overturned on appeal after Holder couldn't be located to testify. The charges were later expunged. Despite Hardy's domestic violence charges and other explosively violent behavior, Cowboy's millionaire owner Jerry Jones has only positive things to say of the star. "He's, of course, one of the real leaders on this team and he earns it," said Jones. "He earns it with respect from all of his teammates, and that's the kind of thing that inspires a football team."Several weeks ago, a Deadspin investigative report compiled the extensive evidence against Hardy; in the article, graphic police photos of Holder's bruised and battered body appear alongside never-before-seen interviews with detectives, police statements, and 911 call transcripts. A friend of Holder's who was a witness to the assault told police, "If she ever did anything to damage his career he would kill her." In a later interview with a Detective Faye Strother, Holder says at the time of the assault, she was thinking "He was gonna kill me, this is it…this is the time. He's actually gonna do it."I don't have confidence that [the NFL] really has done anything meaningful except, from their point of view, really trying to tamp down public outrage.
Gloria Allred has worked on her fair share of rape cases against NFL players. "I have no confidence in the NFL at this point," she said. "I have spent a great deal of time with the NFL investigators, and all I can say is I have no confidence in the NFL that they will do the right thing unless there is public pressure for them to do the right thing."Last year, Allred acted as an alleged victim's representative in a case against Dallas Cowboys safety C.J. Spillman, in which a woman accused Spillman of sexually assaulting her at the Cowboys' hotel in Texas on September 20, 2014. The case is currently ongoing. Spillman played with the Cowboys the next day in Saint Louis. Allred was brought on to represent the plaintiff; she says she sent a letter to Roger Goodell informing him of the charges and police report on September 26. Spillman played with the Cowboys at home against the Saints on September 28.Ironically, it was on September 19—just one day before the alleged rape—that Goodell had called a 45-minute press conference in New York to promise the League would be implementing a new personal conduct policy and to reiterate that he's sorry about that whole Ray Rice thing.Allred issued a statement after Spillman was indicted on a sexual assault charge this June, nearly a year after the police report was filed, chastising Commissioner Goodell for his long inaction. "Despite the fact that on September 26, 2014, I delivered a letter to Commissioner Goodell's office advising him of the police report alleging rape made to the Texas police on September 20, 2014, and despite the fact that after that I spent countless hours both in New York and California with NFL investigators who were investigating allegations against Mr. Spillman, the NFL appeared to do nothing and never informed me that they would take any action or impose any discipline at all against Mr. Spillman," she wrote. Spillman is currently an unsigned free agent.I have no confidence in the NFL that they will do the right thing unless there is public pressure for them to do the right thing.
"It took the courage of my client, a very brave young woman, to take action in the justice system," Allred added. "Clearly there is no justice in the NFL system for alleged victims of NFL players. Unfortunately, winning seems to be far more important to the NFL than taking appropriate action for alleged victims of NFL players."Allred, who said she consults with a lot of alleged victims of NFL players, told me that she has little faith in the League's ability to change. "Given my experience with the NFL and what they've failed to do, in general I would not be inclined to invest much time cooperating with the NFL or having my clients speak to the NFL. Because I think it's just a waste of time," Allred said. "And it's a disappointment to my clients, because [the NFL's] deeds have not matched their words. That's my feeling. I haven't said it before. I'm now saying it to you."I ask Ms. Allred if she thinks it's worthwhile for a plaintiff to take a meeting with the NFL. "They've reached out and had sit-downs with my clients," she says. "You'd have to ask the NFL what they've done. Or failed to do. You ask them. See if they'll give you any kind of answer at all, besides 'no comment.'"The NFL did not respond to requests to comment for this story.Unfortunately, winning seems to be far more important to the NFL than taking appropriate action for alleged victims of NFL players.