Fair Justice Or Villianized

As you know there has been a controversy about domestic violence and child abuse within the NFL, and police brutality. These cases are the invisible narratives that I found interesting and have been controversial over several months now. We as people can justify that these actions are wrong, However, the media is painting an image that race plays a part on creating an perspective on the color of a person's skin.

In the case for domestic violence within the NFL, the media has taken shots at Ray Rice (running back for Baltimore Ravens) about his altercation with his wife. He was caught on an elevator’s surveillance punching his wife then dragging her unconscious body off the elevator. It was stated that the video was taken in Atlantic City a month before they had gotten married. And the video surfaced on September 8th on TMZ. As result to this video Ray Rice has been suspended with no pay from the NFL and his wife briefly says that the media ruined their lives, stating, “No one knows the pain that the media & unwanted [opinions] from the public has caused my family. To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing”.

 

Another case like Rice, NFL football player Adrian Peterson suffered the same treatment but not for domestic violence but for child abuse. Minnesota Viking's running back, Peterson was arrested for disciplining his son the wrong way. He states that he used a switch to spank his son, just like he was disciplined growing up in East Texas. It was reported that Peterson had sent texts to his mother's child saying he felt bad for hitting his son in the private area. As a result to this incident, Peterson turned himself in to Montgomery County near Houston, where he was processed. Shortly after he was processed, he posted bail of 15,000 dollars but Peterson was then suspended from the Vikings officially September 12th. 

We can all agree that these predicaments that these two African American men did was wrong, however if these two men were white, would there be a big difference. Media has been taking a lot of shots at these two men, making them look like monsters but a man that is white and actually killed a young man is being defended. Is he not viewed as a monster because of his skin color. Darren Wilson, a St. Louis white police officer, killed an unarmed 18 year old young African American man named Michael Brown. Some people might justify that it was self-defense on Wilson's side but in actually reality it was not self-defense. As an police officer, who's been in the field for six years should know the procedure when it is right to pull out his/her weapon. All three of these individuals are equal in many ways. All three are role models to others around them for being an athlete or an authority figure to their state/community. These individuals all did make mistakes but two of them are being ridiculed because of their mistake but in actually reality its because they are African American and we are viewed as monsters. If they were white, of course they would get some type of punishment but not as harsh as what they would get if they were black. Darren Wilson killed somebody and is being rewarded with supporters and paid leave. Supporters rallied and fundraised money to help pay for Wilson's legal fees but these two NFL players are suspended with no pay and both have families and legal fees to pay as well.

Race plays a huge part on how society looks at each other, and that the color of your skin will justify the treatment that you will get in society.