WASHINGTON — African American residents of the greater D.C. area are more likely to think Ray Rice’s punishment for knocking out his then-fiance last year was too harsh, compared to white respondents, a new survey shows.
Video released last week shows the Ravens running back punching his then-fiance and knocking her unconscious inside a hotel elevator. Following the video’s release, the Ravens cancelled Rice’s contract and the National Football League announced he was suspended indefinitely.
Some 46 percent of African Americans who participated in the WTOP Beltway Poll say the NFL’s treatment of Rice was too harsh, compared to 25 percent of whites who said the same. On the other hand, 32 percent of whites said the punishment was too light, compared to 16 percent of black respondents who said the same.
This divide carried over to their thoughts on how the NFL has been handling criminal activity by players overall. Some 69 percent of white respondents said the NFL’s treatment of players who commit criminal acts is too light, compared to 49 percent of African American respondents who said the same.
Despite the way they responded on the questions regarding Rice, more black than white respondents said they have been a victim, or personally know a victim, of domestic violence, 56 percent to 36 percent.
Rice was also charged in New Jersey with third-degree aggravated assault and agreed to take part in a pretrial intervention program, which allows suspects to avoid incarceration and keep their records clean if they meet certain requirements.
Rice was initially suspended just two games after the release of the first video in February, which showed him dragging his prone fiance out of the elevator but not the punch itself.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said that he had not seen the second video when the league ruled on Rice’s initial punishment.
But the racial divide doesn’t mean that the responses were wildly divergent overall. When taken altogether, most (41 percent) said they felt the punishment was “just right,” compared to 28 percent who said it was “too light,” and 31 percent who said it was “too harsh.” Furthermore, they felt Rice should play NFL football again (60 percent) and will play again (68 percent).
In addition, most polled believe the NFL has been too light on criminal activity in its ranks (62 percent) and 71 percent don’t believe the NFL never saw the second surveillance video until recently. However, 60 percent don’t think Goodell should lose his job over it, compared to 40 percent who do.
Of course when broken down, it would seem that Virginia residents are much harsher on Rice, the NFL and Goodell, than D.C. and Maryland residents, but that’s likely the result of the racial component again: 78 percent of Virginia respondents were white in this poll, and 7 percent black, while 54 percent of the respondents in D.C. were black and 37 percent white. Among the Maryland respondents, 21 percent were black and 58 percent white.
Perhaps not too surprisingly, most greater Washington, D.C. respondents are not Ravens fans. While 64 percent of the total say they are NFL fans, only 24 percent professed loyalty to Rice’s former team. Almost half — 42 percent — of those polled said they had been, or know someone who has been, the victim of domestic violence.
Heart and Mind Strategies conducted the poll between Sept. 11 and Sept. 16 among 619 adults living in Virginia, Maryland and D.C.
Related Stories:
- Union expects to file Rice appeal
- Goodell says NFL didn’t see video before this week
- Ravens cut Rice after release of video
- NJ police: Ravens’ Rice knocked out fiancee
- What’s next for the NFL’s Ray Rice investigation
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