Lee Geiger

Violence isn’t always evil. What’s evil is the infatuation with violence.

Jim Morrison

In response to NFL defensive end Ray McDonald’s latest arrest on suspicion of child endangerment and domestic violence, former NFL quarterback and ESPN commentator Matt Hasselbeck (and husband of Fox News talk show hostess Elisabeth Hasselbeck) said, “If this had happened to Ray McDonald five years ago…nobody would have cared.” He’s right, of course. Last year’s videotaped evidence of Ray Rice knocking out his then-fiancée inside a hotel elevator brought the issue of domestic violence to the forefront of public debate. The ensuing national outrage helps explain why McDonald’s team, the Chicago Bears, released him from the team within hours of his arrest.

But here’s the rub. Has the NFL done enough? Better yet, have we done enough?

Filed in the Marginal Prophet archives under the “It’s Been Established” rule is my stance on domestic violence; there’s no justification for it. Ever. Last summer, I shared my zero-policy thoughts on the subject by comparing the initial discipline handed down to Ray Rice with the adjudication process favored by my mother. A two-game suspension decreed by the NFL was no deterrent compared to the threat of castration at the end of a machete wielded by Mama Geiger. One punishment treats the symptom, while the other helps cure the problem.

By virtue of revising and strengthening the Personal Conduct Policy for all NFL employees, the knee-jerk reaction by the Bears should come as no surprise. But I would caution the NFL to pause and think before patting itself on the back. Progress has indeed been made, but inhibiting future cases of domestic violence is far from a sure thing. Whereas the present policy can deter a player from such behavior, the thirty-two teams that comprise the NFL are not discouraged from pursuing players accused of domestic violence (By the way, I’m not talking about due process of law. My company has the right to fire me if I’m accused of a crime). There is no penalty, no repercussions for a team providing a player with a second or third chance who clearly doesn’t deserve one. That’s why I believe the present policy falls short of solving the problem.

What if the Bears were fined a million dollars for not doing their due diligence and signing McDonald? My guess is the team would consider this the cost of doing business. But what if the Bears were docked future draft choices as well? That, I believe, would change their behavior. But there are those who argue the Bears are not at fault, that the NFL is negligent for allowing players like McDonald to remain in the league. I believe there’s a solution for that as well. Imagine the NFL’s response if corporate sponsors like Budweiser, Ford, and Nike pulled the plug on their TV ad dollars, distancing themselves from an industry that it believes hasn’t done enough? When it comes to an institutional cash cows like the NFL, nothing speaks louder than he sound of money walking out the door.

According the San Jose Mercury News, the mother of Ray McDonald’s ex-fiancée called 911 at 3:48am Monday morning to report that the inebriated 6-foot-3, 290-pound McDonald had broken down a locked bedroom door and allegedly struck her while she was holding their baby. This came nine months after McDonald was arrested and accused of assaulting his ex-fiancée while she was still pregnant, a charge that was dropped after she got cold feet and refused to cooperate with the investigation. Guys like McDonald should be locked up in a cage, not glorified on a football field. And if I had the power to expedite that process, I wouldn’t hesitate to use it. The NFL has been a leader in this movement, but there is so much more it can do.

I’m just saying.