The video showing Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice beating his girlfriend unconscious, combined with the recent indictment of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson for child abuse, has put the
NFL in the hot seat for treating domestic abuse too lightly, former prosecutor Dan Hochheiser and defense attorney Michelle Suskauer said Tuesday on
Newsmax TV's "America's Forum."
"They have to do something in a real hurry because now they have Ray Rice, they have Adrian Peterson, we have beating women, we have beating children, and they really need to get this PR mess under control before a lawsuit is filed by say, a Ray Rice, and [NFL Commissioner] Roger Goodell finds themselves at a deposition testifying under oath about what he knew about the TMZ video tape and when he knew it," Hochheiser said. "So they really need to settle this quickly."
Story continues below video.
Note: Watch Newsmax TV now on
DIRECTV Ch. 349 and
DISH Ch. 223
Get Newsmax TV on your cable system –
Click Here Now
The NFL, which before the video surfaced issued a two-game suspension for Rice, has since suspended him indefinitely. The Ravens, after the video went public, let him go.
Had the video never hit the Internet, Rice would have already returned to the field, according to Suskauer.
"This is selective prosecution by the NFL and it's because of this video, which has blown everything up," she said. "Are we saying that players have not committed or allegedly committed acts since time or memoriam? I mean, are you kidding? This has been going on, it's just that we have this video. There are players who have done this and have done significantly worse and continue to play because their teams want to protect them, to keep them on the field so they can continue to make money."
Both lawyers predicted Rice will play again in the near future, arguing that he has a strong case per a provision in players' collective bargaining agreement that precludes a player from being punished twice for the same offense.
"There is a big case for Ray Rice here in terms of this double jeopardy, in terms of being punished twice," said Suskauer.
Because it won't want to "air its dirty laundry" in a court of law, the NFL will allow Rice to return, Hochheiser predicted.
"The leverage is on his side," he said. "I don't know if he'll play with the Ravens, but Ray Rice will play with an NFL team this year."