They never saw the video. Until Monday, of course, when all of us saw it.
They never saw Ray Rice smash his girlfriend in the face with a left hook -- insert all appropriate 'allegedly' references, if you must -- then drag her out of the elevator, then just plop her there, face down on the floor. The man just stood there and looked at her.
Correction: That's no man. No real man behaves that way.
It's cowardly, it's contemptible and, above all, it's criminal.
But the emergence of the already infamous TMZ video also could be a blessing, however depressingly disguised. Because this could, if the right people respond the right way, make a real difference not just in the Baltimore backfield -- and don't kid yourself, that's the impact a lot of folks are no doubt discussing -- and not just in the NFL, but in society as a whole.
Or not.
Who am I kidding?
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