Baltimore Ravens ‘respect’ NFL’s new domestic violence policy

Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nearly everyone in the NFL community agreed that the league and commissioner Roger Goodell made a grave error earlier this year when they suspended Pro Bowl Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice for only two games stemming from an incident where a video camera caught him moments after knocking out his then fiancee and dragging her from a casino elevator unconscious.

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The suspension levied against Rice showed a carelessness by the NFL in regards to their personnel engaging in domestic violence. Pundits and fans alike bemoaned the lenient suspension, especially considering players are constantly being suspended for four games for smoking marijuana.

Needless to say, the NFL understood they needed a change and quickly. They did so yesterday when it was announced that the NFL will begin a new domestic violence policy for all NFL personnel.

The NFL will suspend any personnel involved in domestic violence six games for the first offense. The second offense will incur a potential lifetime ban for any player or personnel.

Once the new rule was set in stone, the Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh discussed the new policy with the Baltimore Sun.

“I haven’t seen any of the comments or anything like that, but we respect the decisions that the commissioner has made in the past,” Harbaugh told the Baltimore Sun after Week 4 of the preseason. “We said we would respect his decisions throughout this whole thing and we will respect his decisions going forward in the future.”

Yesterday, Goodell admitted that he “didn’t get it right” in regards to Ray Rice’s suspension, and the new domestic violence policy proved the NFL has heeded the advice of so many around the community.