By University of the Fraser Valley - https://www.flickr.com/photos/ufv/26698611215/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54051612

Domestic abuse.  Also called domestic violence or family violence.  It happens everyday in every town in every city, country and state.

What is domestic abuse really?  The following is from wikipedia.org:

"Domestic violence (also named domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse by one person against another in a domestic setting, such as in marriage or cohabitation. It may be termed intimate partner violence when committed by a spouse or partner in an intimate relationship against the other spouse or partner, and can take place in heterosexual or same-sex relationships, or between former spouses or partners. Domestic violence can also involve violence against children, parents, or the elderly. It takes a number of forms, including physical, verbal, emotional, economic, religious, reproductive, and sexual abuse, which can range from subtle, coercive forms to marital rape and to violent physical abuse such as choking, beating, female genital mutilation, and acid throwing that results in disfigurement or death."

So now that we know what it is, and that it is committed everyday, let's see the statistics that back it up: 

Thirty-five percent of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence, according to the United Nations.  source:  United Nations

According to the CDC, 1 million women reported being raped in a year and over 6 million women and men were victims of stalking in a year  Source: The CDC's National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey.

According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, which includes crimes that were not reported to the police, 232,960 women in the U.S. were raped or sexually assaulted in 2006. That’s more than 600 women every day.  Source:  Bureau of Justice Statistics (table 2, page 15), Criminal Victimization in the United States, 2006 Statistical Tables

Now these statistics are for the population at large and not athletes.  We can extrapolate that the percentages would be similar however. 

The face of domestic abuse for the sports world is Ray Rice, former running back for the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL.  He was suspended for 2 games initially prior to the 2014 season for the incident in the elevator in Atlantic City with his then girlfriend, now wife.  After the video of the incident came out, he was then indefinitely suspended by the NFL.  Ray Rice sued and won, claiming he was punished twice for the same incident.  However, he has not played in the NFL since.

http://www.tmz.com/2017/04/04/ray-rice-isnt-interesting-in-coaching-wants-to-help-kids-instead/

The NFL has learned from that incident and are going to the other extreme.  They have now suspended cornerback Jimmy Smith of the Ravens 4 games for the start of this season for "threatening and emotionally abusive behaviors by Jimmy toward his former girlfriend that showed a pattern of improper conduct."

While the league could not provide evidence of physical contact, they said he showed  "threatening and emotionally abusive behaviors toward his former girlfriend that showed a pattern of improper conduct".

Jimmy Smith, Baltimore Ravens

So, basically, he was suspended for arguing with her. 

I don't know what is right or wrong, since I wasn't there.  But are we really going to take away their jobs for arguing?  Hundreds of thousands of dollars will be lost by Mr Smith for arguing with a woman? 

This takes it a little too far for me.  We have to take action when someone breaks the law.  Of course.  But when is it going too far?

What do you think?  Should the NFL be involved in their players lives if no law has been broken?  They want them to be violent on the field but expect them to be calm off the field?  Please weigh in.