By Alex Rea

It is quite clear that the National Football League is under intense fire due to multiple off-the-field activities performed by a handful of players.

With some of the league’s most notable players committing crimes, people are beginning to question the NFL’s integrity. My concern is why now? Professional athletes have been on the wrong side of the legal system for decades, but all of a sudden, people are now looking at the league differently.

Take the case of Ray Rice, who has been suspended indefinitely due to domestic violence. Rice was originally suspended for two games, but when TMZ released a second video of Ray Rice hitting his then fiance and now current wife, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made the decision to suspend Rice indefinitely.

My opinion is that Rice should have been suspended indefinitely from the start, the purpose of the second video is unclear. Maybe the image of domestic violence is wrongly interpreted by the NFL and the public. Goodell specifically received criticism due to his late call on the case. The leaders of the National Organization for Women asked that Goodell step down as Commissioner.

This is a prime example of the NFL and its integrity being at risk, if the second video wasn’t released, then Ray Rice would have been suspended for two games the same amount of time as Wes Welker was suspended for his abuse of amphetamines, not a very accurate system.

Adrian Peterson, one of the NFL’s biggest stars, was recently moved to the Minnesota Viking’s exempt list while waiting on the legal process to deal with his child abuse charges. Peterson is one of many players that have contributed to the standard view of despair towards the NFL. This view is more of a generalization or stereotypical aspect than anything. If the actions of the players off the field continue to escalate, the standard view of the players could be compromised. The general integrity is the big problem for the league. They are one of the biggest economic factors, bringing thousands of jobs and billions of dollars to the economy. It would truly be a shame if the NFL became corrupt due to their mistakes.

The NFL needs to fix this problem of criminal presence within their employment, along with the processing of certain cases that possibly require suspension. The league office has already taken the first steps to correction; they identified their problem and mistake of handling the Ray Rice case. Goodell admitted his wrongs and announced the hiring of four female advisers that will dispute domestic violence type cases. Goodell also announced how the NFL added former head of the FBI, Robert S. Mueller to study Rice’s case specifically. The league also hired Cynthia C. Hogan, a former deputy assistant in the White House, as its senior vice president of public policy and government affairs. Goodell also announced how the NFL added former head of the FBI to study Rice’s case.

The NFL is heading in the right direction, but they still have more to do. I think they really need to enforce off the field issues such as domestic violence/physical abuse, drugs and alcohol, and any other violation to the law. If a certain player has multiple offenses, threaten the idea of banishment. Repeating an offense should never happen if players are punished correctly.  Playing in the NFL is a privilege. Don’t take it for granted.