Dr. Ben Carson is "tone deaf" for saying Ray Rice should not be "demonized" for the vicious beating of his wife-to-be, says David Swerdlick, contributing editor for TheRoot.com, an African American news blog.
"[Carson's] a very smart guy and he's a charismatic guy and a lot of people like him. There's no question that he's tops in his medical field," Swerdlick said Friday on
Newsmax TV's "The Steve Malzberg Show."
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"When it comes to being a pundit and an amateur politician that he's evolving into, the guy is really tone deaf on a lot of these issues …
"I don't think Ben Carson condones what Ray Rice did. I'm sure he doesn't, and I'm sure he's appalled. But when you start to come out with this idea that you don't demonize him, it's like, wait a minute."
Rice was suspended indefinitely by the NFL and his $35 million contract voided by the Baltimore Ravens after TMZ Sports released a video showing the running back punching out Janay Palmer, his fiancee, in an Atlantic City casino elevator.
Carson — former head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children's Center and a rising conservative star who's mulling a run for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016 — made his controversial comment to Malzberg this week:
"Let's not all jump on the bandwagon of demonizing this guy. He obviously has some real problems. And his wife obviously knows that because she subsequently married him. So they both need some help," Carson said.
Swerdlick countered: "Ray Rice did something that was awful and we all saw it on videotape. It's unfortunate for Ray and Janay Rice, their kid and their family, what they're going through right now.
"But Ray Rice's actions are what brought this on. That's where Dr. Carson's statements sounded tone deaf …
"There's no extenuating circumstances for hitting a woman," Swerdlick said.
Carson stuck by his comments in an appearance Thursday on Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor."
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