Coming hours after a video was published by TMZ depicting him knocking his wife unconscious with a punch, running back Ray Rice has been cut by the Baltimore Ravens and indefinitely suspended by the NFL.
The 27-year-old had initially been given a two-game ban for that assault on his now wife at an Atlantic City Casino in March - the length of which was much-criticised for its brevity at the time it was issued.
That had come after TMZ published a video showing him dragging his unconscious then-fiancé Janay Palmer out of an elevator where the assault has taken place.
But it is the release of the second video showing events from within the elevator which seems to have sparked the Ravens and NFL to take stronger action against the player.
However, there are questions about how much the NFL knew about the incident in the lead up to issuing the two-game suspension.
We were joined on the line by sports journalist and professor Kevin Blackistone to discuss the case and the reaction of the stakeholders involved.
But did the NFL really need to see the video of the assault before acting more harshly against Rice?
"This is clearly a public relations move on the part of the Baltimore Ravens as well as the NFL. There's absolutely no question about it. [NFL Commissioner] Roger Goodell admitted as much a week or so ago when he instituted a new policy in the NFL which would suspend any player found guilty of domestic violence for six games at the minimum. So this has all been a public relations strategy by the league and the team," opined Blackistone, who also added that it is a "shame" that video evidence is needed before harsh penalties are taken against perpetrators of domestic violence.
He also feels the most recent developments in the Rice situation makes the rules and sanctions appear less clear.
"So it's really not clear right now what the policy of the NFL is on domestic violence because just a week or so ago, it was a six-game suspension automatically for first time offenders. Now it seems to be indefinite suspension from the league."
Blackistone also gave his take on the perception of the sport which seems to have a higher proportion of DUI and domestic violence cases as well as other cases of violence.
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