Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice is at the center of a media firestorm this week after TMZ released disturbing footage of the NFL star knocking his now-wife unconscious in an Atlantic City casino elevator.
Everyone from celebrities to fellow NFL players have expressed their disgust with Rice’s actions, and now, so has the White House. In a statement made Monday night, press secretary Josh Earnest delivered President Obama‘s condemnation of Rice’s actions:
“The President is the father of two daughters. And like any American, he believes that domestic violence is contemptible and unacceptable in a civilized society. Hitting a woman is not something a real man does, and that’s true whether or not an act of violence happens in the public eye, or, far too often, behind closed doors. Stopping domestic violence is something that’s bigger than football – and all of us have a responsibility to put a stop to it.”
Vice President Joe Biden also sounded off about Ray Rice on NBC’s TODAY show:
“The Ravens did the right thing: fired him, immediately. Now you can argue: They should have done it sooner, they didn’t want it. Whatever the reason is, it’s happening.”
For Biden, this issue is one that has close ties to his political policies. As a Senator, Biden wrote the Violence Against Women Act, which devoted hundred of millions of dollars to combat crimes against women and imposed sharper penalties for the perpetrators.
