Congress Sticks Its Nose Into The Ray Rice Situation

TMZ Sports is reporting that 12 Congressmen from the House Judiciary Committee have sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for some reason or other to demand that he come clean on exactly what he did or didn't see in regards to the video of Ravens running back Ray Rice knocking his wife unconscious in the elevator of an Atlantic City casino prior to Rice's initial 2 game suspension.

The letter -- signed by 12 members of the Committee and obtained by TMZ Sports -- notes that Goodell has said he had requested the video but never got it.   But the Committee is skeptical, writing, "To our knowledge the public has not been informed as to specifically how and in what context the request was made, and specifically how relevant law enforcement responded."

This presumes that the public needs to know and that it's the government's job to make sure that they get the full scoop. There are two issues with this: A) The public doesn't need to know, and B: it's not the government's job to get in the middle of this.The NFL is a private organization and as such can do pretty much whatever it likes in regards to disciplining its employees so long as it follows the collective bargaining agreement in place with the NFL Player's Association. Goodell's reaction after "seeing the video" in suspending Rice indefinitely was a reaction to the public outcry against his bungling of the situation the first time, when Rice was only given a 2 game suspension for what was obviously a case of domestic abuse. This decision of course was amplified by the insane decision to suspend receiver Josh Gordon for an entire season for testing positive (albeit, for a third time) for a fractional amount of marijuana in his system (another victim of the idiotic "War on Drugs.")

The Committee goes on, "Nor has there been a full explanation as to whether the video was requested of others, such as Mr. Rice's attorney or the casino where the incident occurred (and if not, why not), or whether any employees, agents, or consultants of the league or any of its teams outside of your office had access of the video prior to September 8."

Why the hell is Congress involved in this in any way? Yes, the NFL is one of the largest beneficiaries of crony capitalism, enjoying tax-exempt status as a nonprofit and an exemption to monopoly laws, but that doesn't dictate that a House Judiciary Committee take time out of whatever other pointless endeavors it's involved in to stick its nose into this situation. This is yet another example of government getting involved where it has no right, nor any reason.

The Committee is demanding "greater transparency and explanations on these matters."

Not to takes side with Roger Goodell, but in this situation I would tell the Committee that it can stick its demands where the sun don't shine.Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!