In February 2013, Ray Rice was caught on video assaulting his then fiancee, now wife, Janay Palmer, in the Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City elevator.
In early September, the video footage was released to the public, beginning one of the worst weeks in NFL media history.
“When I saw the video of Ray Rice dragging his girlfriend” senior Megha Patel said, “it made me sick to my stomach that a guy could treat a girl like that.”
On Sept. 15 it was announced that Rice has been released by the Baltimore Ravens football team and suspended indefinitely by the NFL.
“I think it’s ridiculous that they just suspended him,” senior Arienne Patano said. “The team should have taken action in the beginning.”
Initially, the NFL cover up dominated the news, however other player indiscretions and previous arrest reports quickly began to surface. Rice is not the only NFL star who has been in trouble off the field.
“My opinion on NFL players has completely changed since the Rice video came out,” sophomore Chris Suszynski said. “He set a bad example for all the kids that looked up to him.”
The Ray Rice incident has sparked a discussion around the country about domestic violence, forcing people to question, how often does this get swept under the rug?
Many believe that it all starts at home, where parents need to be having conversations with their kids about the dangers of dating violence. Nearly 80 percent of parents report talking with their children about abuse, but students are wondering, is it enough?
“It is the parents’ responsibility to teach kids that this is not okay,” Suszynski said, “because we look up to our parents as role models.”