There but for the Grace of God Goeth I

Arians said,"I think anyone who touches a woman or child, in my opinion, needs to go to jail for a long time." I agree IF the person is charged with criminal actions, brought to trial, and found guilty by a jury trial of his/her peers.

I do not condone violence, but I have been out of control on occasion during my lifetime. I’m going to guess that most people have had at least one episode wherein s/he lost his/her cool and did something stupid, like throwing a punch at a peer or spanking a child too harshly. We’re human, and we sometimes react without thinking through the consequences of our actions. Sometimes, we cannot take back what we’ve done because we go too far in the heat of the moment, but more often than not, we can apologize and strive to be better in control if there ever is a next time.

The courts are capable of handling the assessment of guilt, as well as assigning punishment, for the times when things go too far. Slapping someone across the face is very different from punching someone in the face; the difference is in the moderation of the motive that results in the slap or the punch. Same with spanking with the hand and using a leather belt: one is meant to get the child’s attention and change the behavior, while the other is often meant to harshly punish a child. I probably would not object to a spanking that involved a couple of swats to the butt, but I would become violently against the use of a belt as I grew up in a house where the belt was used liberally.

But what we all have in common in this democracy is the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. If we follow the guidelines of the media, however, we are guilty, guilty, guilty on one person’s say-so, and the punishment is meted out before any trial takes place. Since when has the Commissioner of Football taken precedence over a court of law? Someone tells him something, maybe shows him some film evidence – and he decides to terminate an employee’s contract? Even if that’s the ultimate outcome, should there not be a fair process to arrive at that termination? We accept the word of one in some instances to determine guilt even though most juries have at least six and more often twelve of our peers to determine guilt and innocence.

Again, I do not condone violence, and the filmed evidence of a football player knocking his girlfriend out in an elevator seems pretty clear-cut, BUT we are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Perhaps the courts would terminate an employment contract if that were an option, but there are laws for meting out punishment. Sometimes, people are given a “one strike” break and serve probation and community service in the event of a single incident. Repeat offenders are treated more harshly and should be, which could lead to the termination of an employee’s contract. In professional sports, however, it’s one and done.

I just think that professional sports put the cart before the horse in recent weeks and needs to stand back, think through the entire cause/effect sequence, and be really sure about what is fair and just before determining guilt and assessing punishment, especially when that punishment does not just terminate today’s employment, but makes the player a pariah for whatever rest of his/her career was left.