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Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice is washed up in the NFL. He finally got what he deserved. Rice was suspended indefinitely by the Ravens — and the NFL — after a disturbing video emerged showing a cold and brutal Rice punching his then-fiancée in the head and knocking her unconscious in a hotel elevator in Atlantic City seven months ago.

It was a hard video to watch as Rice punches Janay Rice, now his wife, so hard that she falls to the floor where she remained motionless for a short time. And what was equally troubling was watching Rice drag her out of the elevator like a sack of potatoes and left her lying on the floor. He showed absolutely no compassion or remorse, although he has since apologized for his behavior. Rice is fortunate he is not in jail. The legal system allowed Rice to roam free and the NFL only suspended him for two games – which explains a lot about how the American legal system and the NFL values women and manages domestic violence cases.

Hitting a woman is absolutely unacceptable and an NFL player who strikes a woman, in my view, should be automatically and immediately suspended indefinitely. No discussion. No appeal. No arbitration. Just pack up and get out.

“We have a lot of people praying for us,” Rice, 27, told ESPN Tuesday. “I have to be there for (Janay) and my family right now and work through this.”

I didn’t watch the video alone – I reviewed it with my 17-year-old daughter, Ariane, who will be off to college next year and away from home. As we watched the video together, she covered her mouth and cringed while watching Rice knock his then fiancé out cold. As a father, I talked to my daughter about domestic violence, how many men who hit women once often repeat their violent behavior despite promises to stop and seek counseling.

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