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Letters: The Ray Rice story is part of a bigger problem

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice sits next to his wife, Janay, during a news conference in May. Ray Rice was cut by the Ravens and suspended indefinitely by the NFL on Monday.
(Rob Carr / Getty Images)
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So I saw the disturbing video of Ray Rice knocking his then-fiancee unconscious and sat with it for a few days. Vicious. Then I asked myself what was really bothering me. Apathy.

The victim? Blames the media for re-victimizing her. The NFL? Two games, good enough, till it went public. Law enforcement? Diversion program and we will expunge it, never happened.

This guy is an animal, and as a civilized society we should at least aspire to be better. We have the tools.

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Marcelo Barreiro

Manhattan Beach

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We clearly live in a much different world now. It took a TMZ audio recording leak of Donald Sterling’s racist rant to oust him as an NBA owner, when he should’ve been banned long before that. It took a TMZ security video recording leak of Ray Rice knocking his fiancee unconscious to receive an indefinite suspension when he should’ve been banned already.

Geoff Skurnik

Laguna Niguel

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Those who believe Roger Goodell’s fable about not viewing the Ray Rice assault video until this week are the same people who believe there is no issue of performance-enhancing drugs in the NFL.

Bud Chapman

Northridge

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How convenient is it that just two weeks before the Ray Rice video, the puppeteer NFL commissioner announces a stronger ban for players that are involved in domestic violence? Is it possible that he had advance warning that the video was going to be made public, so he announced in advance a take-charge stance to hopefully offset what was coming out?

Richard Whorton

Studio City

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Spygate. Bountygate. Now Elevatorgate. Isn’t it time Goodell got the gate?

Gary H. Miller

Encino

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Amid the circus that is the NFL, could there actually be a last remaining shred of credibility, Roger? What’s that, you say? You didn’t have a second video? Or you had it and didn’t bother looking at it? Which one are you going with today, Rog? So you busy folks down at the NFL just got around to looking at it at the same time TMZ showed it on TV and the onslaught of wrath from the rest of the human beings interested in, well, humanity came crashing down?

News bulletin, Mr. Commissioner: On behalf of those of us born at night, heads up — it wasn’t last night!

Dan Johnson

Burbank

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We all recognize the failings of the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell in the handling of the despicable act committed by Ray Rice. But, did not Atlantic City and New Jersey law enforcement also fail back in February? Why is Rice not in jail or prison? Why did law enforcement hand evidence over to the NFL? Would the same thing be done if Rice was an employee of Burger King? Ford Motor Company? Microsoft? Just asking.

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Larry Joe

Irvine

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Ray Rice committed a horrible offense against his future wife and accepted his responsibility for his actions. We live in a society that accepts the ability to rehabilitate people, yet the pundits all seem to want to deny him the ability to do this. What do these people want done?

Sol Bialeck

Van Nuys

And these guys ...

Explaining why San Francisco defensive tackle Ray McDonald was allowed to play one week after being arrested on suspicion of domestic violence against his pregnant fiancee, 49ers Chief Executive Jed York tells a Bay Area radio station he would not punish a player “until we see evidence something should be done or until an entire police investigation shows us something.”

I’ve got a suggestion for you, York. If you’re serious about fighting domestic violence in the NFL and wanting to see evidence, get a copy of the arrest report.

David Medrano

Alhambra

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If Danny Ferry doesn’t want to resign and the Hawks management does not fire him, can’t Adam Silver banish him from the NBA? Just wondering.

Willie Vicedo

Carson

No clue at all, again

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The NCAA reeks of hypocrisy. Two USC athletes take some money and the NCAA fully enforces one of its harshest penalties ever, a near death sentence on Trojan football. A Penn State coach sexually abuses children on campus, the FBI alleges a cover-up by university administrators and the NCAA cuts Penn State’s four-year penalty in half. If that alone doesn’t spin your head, consider the timing: Penn State’s commutation comes just two days after the total collapse of the Big Ten, when all its other potential contenders for the first-ever playoffs were, in effect, eliminated.

Mark Emmert’s tenure as NCAA president has produced a stench that now engulfs the entire collegiate landscape, from Paterno’s Pennsylvania to Carroll’s California.

Cy Bolton

Rancho Cucamonga

Bad call?

Ah, baseball. One of the nice things about a new season is that you still have a chance at the World Series. And no matter how badly your season has gone, by September you get to see some of the young guys in your organization. That can be very exciting.

So, why in the world are we Dodgers fans being subjected to the likes of Roger Bernadina? Is it because of his youth? No, he’s 30. Is it because of his future promise? No, he hit .153 for the Reds this year before we somehow pried him away. He hit .187 for the Phillies and .178 for the Nationals last year. We’re in a pennant race and this guy is taking up playing time, filling space.

Ned Colletti, you’re an idiot for putting this guy on the team. And Don Mattingly, you’re a bigger one for playing him.

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Eric Monson

Temecula

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A quick question for Donnie Baseball: Why is Yasiel Puig still playing while Andre Either sits?

Steve Bass

Bakersfield

Hit back

Mike Trout gets hit by pitches three times in two consecutive games in Texas and the Angels don’t retaliate? I remember when the Angels played the Red Sox in the playoffs and the first thing the Sox did was hit Vladdy Guerrero. The Angels were stunned and played scared the whole series, which they lost. They better take Kobe’s advice and put their “big boy pants” on before the playoffs start.

David Waldowski

Alta Loma

Not 2-0 bad

UCLA football is being unfairly criticized for not winning the first two games by blowouts. The teams that lost to UCLA, Virginia and Memphis, have taken care of their own business by beating their other opponents by a combined score of 108-13. Only time will tell how good all the teams are, but in the meantime, give the Bruins and Coach Mora a break and be happy that they started the season at 2-0.

Don Geller

Irvine

Troy stories

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USC practiced Thursday and then left for a Saturday night game in Boston, forfeiting two days of classes to be better prepared to play an overmatched Boston College team. That says a lot about the Trojans’ priorities. Would they skip a whole week of classes if they had to play a strong team on the East Coast with an earlier kickoff time?

Gerry Swider

Sherman Oaks

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Sadly, the sight of Pat Haden rushing across the football field and berating the officials reminded me of the worst kind of parental behavior at a youth sporting event. Not quite what you would expect from someone hired to bring dignity and respect back to USC athletics.

George Pisano

Rancho Palos Verdes

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Pat Haden — along with every member of the Trojan Nation currently praising his purported benevolence — needs to dust off his old Funk & Wagnalls and learn the definition of the word “fine.” It is a financial penalty assessed against someone for his wrongdoing — not an opportunity to make a tax-deductible donation to the charity of one’s choice.

Marcy Rothenberg

Porter Ranch

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Lost in the overreactions to the Pat Haden sideline story is the fact that maybe it’s time for the nation to be enlightened to what Pac-12 (and Pac-10) fans have known for many years — the utter incompetence of its football (and I’d add basketball) officials. Larry Scott has done zero to rectify this embarrassing situation.

Pete Griffith

Arcadia

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I have liked Pat Haden ever since I used to deliver YMCA Christmas tree to his home each year. We see far too little of him now that he’s not quarterbacking or calling NFL games, so it was a pleasant surprise to see him on the sidelines last weekend. My official reaction to the fine thing: Whatever. Oh, and go Bruins.

Bob Warnock

Eagle Rock

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Hey Sark,

I sometimes have problems getting my grandson to sleep. The next time this happens can I ask you to send over Haden to read him a bedtime story and tuck him in?

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Gary Engstrom

Mission Viejo

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