Most people would agree that domestic violence is a major problem in the world of professional football. Between the shocking video of Ray Rice beating his fiancee into unconsciousness, Adrian Peterson going to court for whipping his four year old son, or Greg Hardy threatening to kill his wife, news of professional football players assaulting their loved ones dominates today’s headlines. This epidemic of violence threatens to alienate some of the National Football League’s most dedicated fans, and it needs a cure.

According to Benjamin Morris at the website Fivethirthyeight.com, 55 percent of all crimes committed by professional football players are domestic in nature, which translates to 83 instances since 2000. The national average for domestic abuse is actually much lower among pro football players than the average population. In addition, the NFLPA (National Football League Player’s Association) has put together an expert group of eleven individuals to provide advice to the NFL on how best to combat domestic violence, according to NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith. In fact, Morris said, “NFL players’ arrest rate is just thirteen percent of the national average,” showing that these pro football players who abuse their loved ones are extremely small minority, with most of the NFL functioning as law-abiding citizens. On the other hand, the NFL has a duty to stamp out these bad apples once and for all.

Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the National Football League, has been accused of dealing out punishments with too much leniency for players convicted of domestic violence. There is a lot of truth behind those accusations. When Rice was first accused of assaulting his fiancee, he received only a two game suspension, which is only half of the league’s punishment for drug abuse. Goodell has also been accused of seeing the full video proving Rice’s guilt well before it was released to the public. A former FBI director has been hired to investigate whether or not Goodell and the executives of the NFL knew of the video before the public. If it is found that the video was made available to Goodell, he will likely lose his job as NFL commissioner. In light of these accusations,  Goodell admitted that both he and the NFL have made mistakes.

“At our best, the NFL sets an example that makes a positive difference. Unfortunately over the past several weeks we have seen all too much of the NFL doing wrong and that starts with me,” Goodell said at a news conference in New York. However, when the full video revealing absolute proof of Rice’s guilt was made public, Rice was immediately suspended by the NFL indefinitely. Adrian Peterson was also suspended indefinitely after being charged with child abuse. Greg Hardy has been deactivated by the Carolina Panthers since the second week of the current football season.

To discourage other players from following the example of these players, the consequences should be more severe. Rice and Peterson both can appeal to the NFL directly to be reinstated, and Greg Hardy is still being paid his full salary. If Roger Goodell does not institute harsher consequences for players who abuse their families, the problem will only get worse. The majority of NFL players do not beat on women and children, and if harsher consequences are instituted by the National Football League leadership, the problem of domestic abuse in professional football will most likely disappear entirely.