Ex-NFL star Ray Rice has domestic violence charges dismissed

Having completed the one-year course, Rice saw the charges against him dropped Thursday following an order signed by Atlantic City Judge Michael Donio. Under the terms of the program, the arrest will remain on the former NFL player’s record but there will be no conviction.

However, allowing Rice to participate in the state's pretrial interview program has drawn criticism because only 70 of the more than 15,000 domestic violence assault cases adjudicated from 2010 to 2013 in New Jersey's Superior Court were admitted into the pretrial intervention program, according to records obtained by the Associated Press.

Shortly after the news that the charges would be dropped, Christine Brennan, a USA TODAY columnist tweeted "...with no real punishment, shouldn't we ask why NJ authorities went so soft on him? They saw the videos." 

But Katie Ray-Jones, chief executive officer at the National Domestic Violence Hotline, told Al Jazeera in a statement it was "not uncommon for first-time offenders, like Ray Rice, to have charges dropped" after completing similar programs. 

"For the past year, this case has brought the dynamics of domestic violence to the forefront of national conversation. It is our hope that these important conversations about the complexity of domestic violence do not end with this decision," Ray-Jones said. "It is important that people living in violent situations do not view this decision as evidence that the abusive partner prevails or goes unpunished."

The Rice case also triggered a wave of criticism against NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for what was seen as light penalties he gave to Rice and other players in domestic abuse cases.

Goodell initially gave Rice a two-game suspension for the incident, which Rice later apologized for.  But months later — after video of the so-called "knockout punch" was released by TMZ — Goodell decided to suspended the then-Ravens running back indefinitely. The commissioner has since admitted "he didn't get it right" and has overhauled the league's policies concerning domestic violence, including a 6-game suspension for a first-time offense and lifetime ban for the second offense (PDF). 

But the criticism has continued. Last week, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey criticized the NFL for what she saw as the league spending more time probing the so-called “Deflategate” scandal — in which an investigation found the New England Patriots likely used under-inflated footballs in violation of rules during the AFC Championship game en route to winning Super Bowl XLIX — than allegations of players’ domestic abuse.

"If they just spent an ounce of the time that they spent on 'Deflategate' on investigating the very real issues of domestic violence and sexual assault, that would send a much better signal and a much better message," said Healey. "What message is the league sending to young people, to kids in high schools, to college students?" 

Rice, meanwhile, filed a wrongful termination grievance after he was cut from the Ravens, ultimately settling with the team for a reported $1.6 million. He also had his indefinite suspension from the NFL overturned by an arbitrator and is a free agent, hoping to land a job with another team.

With the Associated Press