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< | It is strongly recommended that you include your outline in the body of your essay by using the outline as section titles. The headings below are there to remind you how section and subsection titles are formatted. |
| | Rational Actors, Where Art Thou? Ray Rice, Floyd Mayweather, and $180 million. |
| | Ray Rice, An Atlantic City Casino Elevator, and a Grainy Surveillance Tape |
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< | On September 8, 2014, TMZ published footage of then-NFL running back Ray Rice burying a left haymaker into his fiancée’s jaw aboard an Atlantic City casino elevator. The incident occurred in the early morning hours of February 15, while Rice and Janay Palmer were returning to their room after a night on the town. Palmer was unconscious before her head landed on the tiles. |
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> | In September 2014, TMZ published footage of then-NFL running back Ray Rice burying a left haymaker into his fiancée’s jaw. Janay Palmer was unconscious before her head careened off the Atlantic City Casino’s elevator tiles. Rice was indicted for third-degree assault in March, and the NFL issued a suspension for one-eighth of the upcoming season in July. |
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< | Rice was indicted for third-degree assault in March, and the NFL issued a suspension for one-eighth of the upcoming season in July. Everything changed on September 8. The footage sparked a firestorm that consumed the attention of the country’s leading media outlets and the public alike. While futilely attempting to explain Rice’s initially light punishment, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell denied any prior knowledge of the video’s contents. The New York Times’ editorial board labeled the affair “disgraceful.” Bill Simmons called Goodell “a fucking liar” and likened the commissioner’s demeanor while addressing the press to that of Enron CEO Ken Lay in the wake of the 2001 scandal. |
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> | Everything changed on September 8. The footage sparked a firestorm that consumed the attention of the country’s leading media outlets and the public alike. The New York Times’ Editorial Board labeled the affair “disgraceful.” The media demanded a revised, just punishment for Rice. This demand was bolstered by the general public, who broadcast matching sentiments across social media. The NFL wasted little time with parliamentary procedure. On the same day the video was released, Rice’s contract was terminated and the NFL turned the two-game suspension into an indefinite ban. Yet, as Rice’s self-induced destruction accelerated in the days after the footage was released, some voiced support. |
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< | The media demanded a revised, just punishment for Rice. This demand was bolstered by the general public, who broadcast matching sentiments across social media. The NFL wasted little time with parliamentary procedure. On the same day the video was released, Rice’s contract was terminated and the NFL turned a two-game suspension into an indefinite ban. Yet, as Rice’s self-destruction accelerated in the days after the footage was released, some voiced support. |
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> | Floyd Mayweather was perhaps the most noteworthy of Rice’s defenders. Mayweather is best known for the $420 million he has earned fighting inside of a boxing ring. On September 10, he told the Associated Press that the NFL had “overreacted:” “I think there's a lot worse things that go on in other people's households . . . it’s just not caught on video.” |
| | The Unfortunate History of Floyd Mayweather |
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< | Floyd “Money” Mayweather was perhaps the most noteworthy of Rice’s defenders. Mayweather is best known for the $420 million he has earned fighting inside of a boxing ring. On September 10, Mayweather told the Associated Press that the NFL had “overreacted:” “I think there's a lot worse things that go on in other people's households . . . it’s just not caught on video.” That is probably true, but perhaps “Money” should have danced with the one that brung him. |
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> | Between 2002 and 2011, Mayweather faced seven sets of criminal charges related to domestic violence. The most notorious of these seven episodes came in 2010, when Mayweather ruthlessly attacked the mother of three of his children and kept mistress, Josie Harris. The police, Harris, and the children all corroborated the details that follow - No specific point has ever been contradicted. |
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< | Between 2002 and 2011, Mayweather faced seven sets of criminal charges related to domestic violence. The most notorious of these seven episodes came in September 2010, when Mayweather ruthlessly attacked the mother of three of his children and kept mistress, Josie Harris. The police, Harris, and the children all corroborated the details that follow - No specific point has ever been contradicted. |
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> | Although Mayweather took up with another woman, he maintained a home for Harris and his children. It was that home which Mayweather entered at 5 a.m. one Sunday morning, parsed through Harris’s cell phone, and discovered texts from another man. Enraged, Mayweather launched a brutal assault upon Harris. He wrestled her to the floor and repeatedly struck the back of her head - This is known as “rabbit punching,” and it is both extremely dangerous and certain to leave no facial bruising. The children were startled awake by their mother’s cries and raced into the living room, where they watched their father continue the assault unabated. The eldest child eventually eluded Mayweather’s entourage, fled the home, and dialed 911 from a neighbor’s kitchen. Mayweather pled guilty to domestic assault that December and was sentenced to 90 days in jail. Outside of court, Mayweather has denied any fault in the incident to this day: When questioned, he will retort, “show me the bruises on her face.” |
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< | Although Mayweather took up with another woman, he maintained a home for Harris and his children. It was that home which Mayweather entered at 5 a.m. one Sunday morning, parsed through Harris’s cell phone, and discovered texts from another man. Enraged, Mayweather launched a brutal assault upon Harris. He wrestled her to the floor and repeatedly struck the back of her head - This is known as “rabbit punching,” and is both extremely dangerous and certain to leave no facial bruising. The children were startled awake by their mother’s cries and raced into the living room. With his children looking on, Mayweather continued unabated. The eldest child eventually eluded Mayweather’s entourage, fled the home, and dialed 911 from a neighbor’s kitchen. Mayweather pled guilty to domestic assault that December. He was sentenced to only 90 days in jail. Outside of court, Mayweather denied any fault in the incident. To this day, when questioned, he will retort, “show me the bruises on her face.” Sure thing, Floyd – And what if there was a camera in that townhome? |
| | 440 Million Orders. The Rational Who?
The Largest Payday in the History of Pay-Per-View Broadcasting |
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< | Four years after Mayweather was imprisoned for assaulting Harris, and nine months after he came to Rice’s defense, “Money” squared off against Manny Pacquiao in the “Fight of the Century.” In the months leading up to the bout, the wolf was stripped of his tattered sheep’s clothing. Spurred on by a public that had for months held itself out as against domestic abusers, the media hammered Mayweather: His past was exposed and his behavior was excoriated. More than 20,000 articles documenting Mayweather’s history of domestic violence hit the web in the month leading up to the fight. |
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> | Four years after Mayweather was imprisoned for assaulting Harris, he squared off against Manny Pacquiao in the “Fight of the Century.” In the months leading up to the bout, the wolf was stripped of his tattered sheep’s clothing. Spurred on by a public that had for months held itself out as staunch opponents of domestic abusers, the media hammered Mayweather’s past. More than 20,000 articles documenting his history of domestic violence hit the web in the month leading up to the fight. But Mayweather proceeded unfazed. |
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< | But Mayweather proceeded unfazed. When questioned about Harris at a pre-fight press conference, he challenged, “show me the bruises on her face.” After two female reporters persisted in exposing and castigating Mayweather’s history, he had their press credentials were revoked. This attracted further scrutiny, but, as always, Mayweather persisted. This should come as no surprise– he stood to make a lot of money. For the Pacquiao bout, Mayweather contracted for 42% of all pay-per-view revenues. The fact that Mayweather would receive this slice of the pie was easily accessible information: every relevant news outlet published the figure. |
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> | When questioned about Harris at a pre-fight press conference, he challenged, “show me the bruises on her face.” This attracted further scrutiny, but, as always, Mayweather persisted. This should come as no surprise– he stood to make a lot of money. For the Pacquiao bout, Mayweather contracted for 42% of all pay-per-view revenues. The fact that Mayweather would receive this slice of the pie was published by every relevant news outlet prior to the fight. |
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> | Even after Mayweather was exposed, even after the fact that he was expected to make nine figures from pay-per-view sales became a matter of common knowledge, something inexplicable happened. Americans purchased more than 4.4 million pay-per-views, which priced in at $99.50 each. Mayweather took home $180,000,000. One hundred and eighty million dollars in one night. A boundless mass – surely populated by many of the same individuals who demanded retribution for Rice in September - paid $180 million to Mayweather. That is a joke. |
| | Hedonistic Impulse and Status Anxiety: What Even Weber and Hedstrom cannot rationalize. |
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< | Even after Mayweather was exposed, even after the fact that he was expected to make nine figures from pay-per-view sales became a matter of common knowledge, something inexplicable happened. Americans purchased more than 4.4 million pay-per-view packages, which priced in at $99.50 each. Mayweather took home $180,000,000. One hundred and eighty million dollars in one night. A boundless mass – surely populated by many of the same individuals who demanded retribution for Rice in September - paid $180 million to Mayweather. That is a joke. And it inescapably evinces a lapse of rational choice theory. |
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> | A certain self-satisfaction is attendant to taking-up with the angry mob, professing outrage, and advertising your morality by way of tweets or statuses. And it’s not so hard when someone else – someone like Roger Goodell – is the bad guy, the one condoning domestic violence. But things sure do get a bit tougher when a boycott of Saturday night’s trendy happening is required. What is one to do? Be one of those people who is not at that gathering? Why not just chip-in for the pay-per-view, forget about how much you said you hate domestic violence, and become one of the people who witnessed that thing. Personal values and stated ideals are trumped by hedonistic impulse and status anxiety. Rational actors, where art thou? |
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< | If Weber’s and Hedstrom’s theory holds true, then most people are rational actors: They utilize available information, take account of alternatives, and select the option most consistent with their values. Great. So, what happened here? I have spent a lot of time thinking about that question. I have found no satisfying answer. Here are three non-starters. First, Immediacy of contribution? No. Mayweather received a defined percentage of every purchase; people who watch football on TV pass money along to players like Rice only through six other changing-of-the-hands. Second, prospect of rehabilitation? Negative. Rice was a first-time offender; Mayweather has been charged seven-times. Third, remorse? Another non-starter. Rice repeatedly apologized; Mayweather continues with his preposterous denial to this day. |
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> | A Touch of Moderation - Perhaps Due and Perhaps Unnecessary |
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< | The truth is as somber as it is clear. A certain self-satisfaction is attendant to taking-up with the angry mob, professing outrage, and advertising your morality by way of tweets or statuses. And it’s not so hard when someone else – someone like Roger Goodell – is the bad guy, the one condoning domestic violence. But things sure do get a bit tougher when a boycott of Saturday night’s trendy happening is required. What is one to do? Be one of those people who is not at that gathering? Why not just chip-in for the pay-per-view, forget about how much you said you hate domestic violence, and become one of the people who witnessed that thing. Personal values and stated ideals are trumped by hedonistic impulse and status anxiety. Rational actors, where art thou? |
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> | I am no rational actor. Although I make an effort to ‘vote with my dollars,’ there is no doubt I have contributed money to things or people I despise. But there is no rational actor. There is no identifiable value system lying at the bottom of the human psyche. No one can fully explain why we do what we do. Obviously, some of our decisions reflect personal experiences. I am the product of a home that was first marred by violence, and next single parent. I am more sensitive to the issues discussed above than most. Nonetheless, I watched countless acquaintances execute a full 180-degree turn from social media activists in September to social gathering connoisseurs in May. And that should matter. |