There's good news, too, in football

You need not be a football fan to recognize the name of NFL running back Ray Rice. If you watch television at any point in the day or night recently, you have probably seen a video clip of him and his wife during and following a quarrel on an elevator in Atlantic City, N.J. This event, and all the sub-plots has replaced the Ferguson, Mo., shooting as the most force-viewed event in the news today. No matter which channel or what the show is about, you will likely see the "complete" video run and rerun, or if it is supposed to be a talk show, sports show or even an unrelated program, it can still come into the show's conversation with a team of analysts offering their views of the events. The video's exposé is now a separate topic -- did the NFL ignore the complete video to avoid a conflict with the NFL's image? Another investigation has been initiated using a former top law enforcement director to try to vindicate Commissioner Roger Goodell who has now, through a great deal of media coverage, been accused of ignoring the seriousness of the content of the video and being "soft" on domestic violence.

Personally, I am not into judging who is at fault in events that produce the most media coverage because it appears to me that the coverage is intended not to inform us but to prolong the life of the event by following as many potentially related issues as possible. This situation is now leading to a review of the NFL's past practices in football player domestic violence problems. The fact that the NFL did not have a policy on domestic violence also is being discussed; and it seems every potential topic that can be presented to a panel of lawyers from special interest groups is being given an opportunity to express their views. I thought domestic abuse was a crime. Where is law enforcement in all of this?

In no way can Rice's physical attack of his wife be truly justified. That, however, no longer seems to be the issue. More important to the media is apparently the issues of "cover up" and should the athlete be deprived of his ability to earn a living playing professional football in the NFL. With all the child abuse cases reported in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette's local issues couldn't that problem get a little of the attention devoted to the "Rice Scandal?"

Football is a violent game -- even for the quarterbacks. We promote this violence by sitting in front of our television sets or attending the game and cheering a particularly "good hit" of one player to another. Only the "illegal" violence is "unsportsmanlike." Why don't we see and hear Mrs. Rice's side of the situation instead of continuing to beat this incident to death for its media value?

Not all football players and football teams deserve to be dragged into this widely seen coverage. In the sports section of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Sunday, Sept. 7, two articles should be more widely reported than the Rice case but were probably overlooked except by the most absorbed of us football fans. In the "Second Thoughts" section, Tim Cooper reported the case of DeVon Still, defensive tackle of the Cincinnati Bengals. The first sentence caught my eye -- "The Cincinnati Bengals made arguably the greatest move of the season this week." They re-signed Still to their practice squad to help him pay for his 4-year-old daughter's cancer treatments. He had missed parts of organized team activities to be with his daughter as she fights stage four pediatric cancer. The signing provides him with health insurance and a $6,300 weekly salary instead of just releasing him and letting him and his family work it out on their own. Now the team has gone further and put him back on the active roster with a $405,000 per year salary. And the media attention has led to other efforts to help him and his family through this crisis. Not only did he make good choices about his family responsibilities, but the Cincinnati Bengals team and other NFL organizations are making fantastic choices in his behalf. Praise the Lord and Bless the Bengals and the NFL.

Another story in the same section of the same newspaper concerned former Arkansas and retired NFL safety Kenoy Kennedy who is about to be inducted into the U of A Sports Hall of Honor. Kennedy retired in 2007 after being released by the Detroit Lions over his salary. The Lions as well as other teams wanted him for less than his contract called for. By preparing for retirement during his playing years, he was able to make meaningful choices for his family and his post-football life. Kennedy, who is black, is a financial success after his playing days ended, but more important is his decision to put his family first. We need to applaud the men like Still and Kennedy who are the true celebrities and invaluable role models for the black community. They are not slaves to the game of football and their contribution to society extends beyond football jerseys and what negative images are conjured up by a sensation hungry news media.

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Editor's note: Leo Lynch is an award-winning columnist. He is a native of Benton County has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Editorial on 09/17/2014