Hannah Storm, ESPN anchor and mother of three, has a question for the NFL … What do you stand for?
At the end of Sunday’s episode of SportsCenter, the sportscaster took the opportunity to comment on the Ray Rice controversy and how it has prompted difficult questions from her three young daughters.
“At breakfast this week, instead of discussing how her team was doing, we watched the Ray Rice video play out again in all of its ugliness,” Storm said teary-eyed. “I spent this week answering seemingly impossible questions about the league’s biggest stars. ‘Mom, why did he do that? Why isn’t he in jail? Why didn’t he get fired?’ And yesterday, ‘Why don’t they even have control of their own players?’
“So here’s a question,” she added. “What does all of this mean for the future? What does it mean for female fans, whose dollars are so coveted by the NFL, who make up an estimated 45 percent of the NFL’s fan base? Are fans and are families, are we as parents supposed to compartmentalize everything that’s happening? Are we supposed to simply separate a violent game on the field from violent acts off the field? And if we do, what message does that send?”
Rice is still a free man, which speaks to the critical issue of inadequacy in the prosecution of domestic violence in this case, and others.
— Hannah Storm (@HannahStormESPN) September 8, 2014
Rice, the former Baltimore Ravens running back, was indicted in March for allegedly punching his now wife Janay Rice. He was charged with third-degree aggravated assault, but the charges were later dropped. Rice was only suspended for two games.
The newly released Ray Rice video is sickening, chilling, disturbing and frightening… And the question becomes: who exactly saw this?
— Hannah Storm (@HannahStormESPN) September 8, 2014
Last week, TMZ released the video of the incident causing an uproar from fans. Once the video was released, the Ravens released Rice and the NFL suspended him indefinitely.
“In the NFL, apparently seeing is believing,” Storm said. “If the NFL and the Ravens had to see that video to be moved to significant action, then shouldn’t those who support the league demand the same? To see action? To see change before believing, as we all wait on the answer to the central question: What exactly does the NFL stand for?”
Do you agree with Storm’s stance? Leave your comments below.