Domestic Violence in the NFL
by Jesse J. Lewis, Sr.
One of the major issues right now is the Ray and Janay Rice spectacle. The NFL suspended Ray Rice for two games before looking at the tape of what happened inside the elevator. After looking at the tape, they suspended him indefinitely.
Janay says in spite of him kicking and spitting on her, that the NFL treated her husband disrespectfully. For she is the one who made her husband knock her out and drag her out of the elevator. It’s amazing to me how women can let men mistreat them and then say it is their fault.
My concern is whether or not the NFL should take the responsibility of being judge and jury. I would rather the court system decide Ray Rice’s fate. In the event he is found guilty by the courts, then the NFL should take disciplinary action.
Now they want to terminate Roger Goodell because he didn’t make the decision to fire Ray Rice for life without hearing from the courts. For the record, I state emphatically, I know no reason why a man should punch a woman, kick her, and spit on her, even if she had a pistol in his face. He might have to hit her, but not kick her.
Another reason the NFL can suspend you is for whipping your children. Here again, this is an issue for the domestic court system. I think it’s wrong to whip a four-year-old until he bleeds. I recall when I was a kid in school, every Friday, there was a spelling competition. If you mis-spelled a word, a teacher or student gave you five licks with a strap. I got many of those licks. The upside of this is if you pronounce it correctly, I can spell it. Teachers could whip students then and if I went home to tell on the teacher, my grandmother would whip me again.
I realize that times have changed and some people can take whipping too far, but my grandmother raised seven children; they all finished college and none have been involved in domestic violence or illegal matters. In other words, those seven children worked with discipline, were taught to respect other people’s property and did not turn out too badly.
Back to the NFL, my guess would be there will be all kinds of rules and regulations to make sure their brand gets protected and still make billions and billions of dollars. This PR nightmare happening today will last another two-three weeks.
The City’s Land Bank Program
The City of Birmingham has established a land bank program that can really make an impact on the growth and development of the City. They can go into a community and find buildings and property that they can condemn, tear down, give to the neighbors next door, sell the property or develop it.
Sometimes when people pay x-number of dollars for a piece of property, the first thing they want to do is sell if for a profit or try to make their money back and end up with nothing. A friend of mine purchased a piece of property on Graymont Avenue for $10,000, tried to sell it for $40,000. He had an offer for $30,000 and refused it. Today, the value of the property is less than $5,000 because the roof fell through to the inside. This was a piece of property that could send the owner to court; the courts will make him tear the building down at a cost of $8,000. When buying and selling property, you’ve got to know when to hold it, know when to fold it, and in some instances, take a loss before you lose it all.
We need to tear everything down in the City that is deteriorating and make use of the land. This organization will serve a meaningful purpose as the City moves forward.
Donald Trump is a Dummy
Donald Trump is one of those persons that I can never understand how he makes money and continues to make money. He’s one of the most controversial figures in New York and the last statement he made is the dumbest I have ever heard. He said: “If Barack Obama resigns from the Presidency, I will let him play free on my many golf courses,” in response to the fact that the President was turned away from a tee-time on Labor Day.
Not only is it stupid, it’s disrespectful to the office of the President. Both white and Black people should be criticizing Donald Trump for this statement. He has consistently made derogatory remarks about the President and anyone connected to the President who happens to be someone of color.
New Evidence in the Michael Brown Shooting
Two contractors doing construction work were about 50 feet away from Darren Wilson when he opened fire. Shocked at what they saw, they described an unarmed teenager with his hands up in the air as he was gunned down by a police officer.
“The cop didn’t say get on the ground. He just kept shooting.”
The construction workers said they don’t live in Ferguson and don’t know the Brown family, but their account squares with accounts from several other witnesses. A grand jury is hearing the case and will determine whether Wilson will face any charges.
