The video of Ray Rice knocking out his then-fiance that surfaced Monday was disgusting, terrifying and deeply troubling.
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However, there has been some good to come from it. First of all, the Baltimore Ravens and the NFL finally stepped up and did the right thing, with the team releasing him and the league suspending him indefinitely.
Also, as a result of the graphic video’s release, The National Domestic Violence Hotline has seen an 84 percent increase in phone calls, according to the Huffington Post.
"Katie Ray-Jones, the CEO of the hotline, said it normally receives 500 to 600 calls a day from domestic violence victims and their concerned friends or family members. But after the Rice video was circulated online Monday, the hotline received over 1,000 phone calls. The numbers continued to climb on Tuesday.“We had an outpouring of women saying, ‘Oh my god, I didn’t realize this happened to other people.’ They thought they were living a life that was very unique to them,” Ray-Jones told The Huffington Post. “One woman called in who is married to a [mixed martial arts] fighter. She said, ‘I just saw that video, and I know my husband could do worse, and I need help.”"
That women are more willing to report domestic violence after seeing just how it can get is great. The video of Rice could be a huge turning point in how society views domestic violence and it appears it’s already having a major impact.
In six seasons, Rice rushed for 6,180 yards and 37 touchdowns.