Angry and disgusted at Rice affair, fans remain devoted to football

Die-hard football fans aren't about to turn their backs on the NFL.

Yes, they're disgusted about Ray Rice's knockout punch to his fiancée. And they're angry that the league fumbled its initial response, meting out only minor punishment to the star running back.

But football is sacred.

"I grew up watching football with my folks," Ashley Peterson said Thursday at Mac's Industrial Sports Bar in northeast Minneapolis, while watching her beloved Pittsburgh Steelers face off against Rice's former team, the Baltimore Ravens. "That's what we did on Sundays and Mondays. And now on Thursdays."

But like a lot of fans, Peterson and her friend Christina Landrum were dismayed by the revelations that overshadowed this week's NFL games. And like many others who were horrified by the violent images and halfhearted response, they hope for change.

"On the upside, it's given a platform for [anti-violence advocates] who barely ever get media attention to have awareness and a serious discussion about this," said Nicole LaVoi, associate director of the Tucker Center at the University of Minnesota, which looks at how sport affects the lives of girls and women.

"Let's not kid ourselves, Ray Rice is not the first athlete in the NFL to have domestic abuse issues," LaVoi said. "The reason this case is so prominent is because there's proof and video footage of one of the most prominent players in [the] league. That's a big deal."

After the latest video showing the actual punch made its way around the Internet, the Ravens cut Rice and the league barred him indefinitely. Originally, he had been suspended for only two games after he was arrested for aggravated assault and accepted to a pretrial diversion program.

The firestorm of fan reaction engulfing NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and prosecutors flared anew when reports suggested the league, as well as police, had seen the dramatic video months ago.

But fans and observers say the tougher stance the league took this week likely had little to do with appeasing its growing number of female fans — women make up about 45 percent of the NFL's fan base and 33 percent of its viewing audience.

It's much bigger than that, LaVoi said of the outrage that has transcended gender and team loyalty.

"It's damaging to the NFL brand and the Ravens franchise. Period," she said.

As a football fan, Kat Nordhaus is "frustrated."

"It's more men protecting men," she said. "It's bad for the league. It's bad for the sport of football. It dirties" the game. But Nordhaus, a Packers fan, will keep watching despite calls for a boycott of the league.

Because for football fans like her and Phuong Nguyen, Amanda Baker and Jimmy Brigham, the game is much larger than Rice or Goodell.

"I'm not done with the NFL," Nguyen said. "There are plenty of good guys playing the game."

For Brigham, a self-described intense Vikings fan minus face paint, there's anger when players who are seen as role models to young kids punch out a woman or drive drunk. And there's disgust that the NFL was quick to "sweep the bad PR under the rug. … But the vast majority of players follow the rules and are good family men."

But even as they continue to watch, many want to see the league get serious about domestic violence. Landrum and Peterson both agreed the Rice episode could be a teaching moment. As role models, football players may need a code of conduct, they said.

And the NFL could be more active in preventing abuse, LaVoi said. It could put its money and muscle into educating athletes and providing public service outreach on combating domestic violence.

"The NFL has a large amount of resources and the perfect platform to push for social change on this issue," she said. My guess is that's not what is going to happen. The domestic violence issue will get swept aside and they will have missed an opportunity for actual, meaningful change. It will be a missed opportunity.''

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Mary Lynn Smith • 612-673-4788