As a sister of Alpha Chi Omega, our philanthropy is to support and bring awareness to the issue of domestic violence. With the Ray Rice scandal in the media hot spot it is bringing our philanthropy to the limelight. And unfortunately in a way that we don't want.

For those who may not have heard about the Ray Rice and NFL situation, I’ll catch you up. During the offseason, an elevator security camera tape was released that showed Baltimore Ravens player, Ray Rice, dragging his unconscious wife from the elevator.

He received a two-game suspension after this, until a second videotape was recently released by TMZ that showed Rice’s wife Janay punching him and he in turn retaliated, knocking her out. This caused Rice to receive an indefinite suspension from the NFL. Janay and Ray Rice have since married and she has also posted on Instagram blaming the media for putting her husband through this nightmare.

The bigger problem is that the NFL has had a history of domestic violence among their players and has been lax about controlling them. The other issue is that it took a second video to be released for the NFL to take significant action. What does this mean for women who are currently in abusive relationships? Does this mean that it will take video evidence to prove they are being abused and that no one will believe victims otherwise? 

One in three women - and one in four men - have been victims of physical and sexual abuse by an intimate partner in their lifetime. According to the CDC, on average, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States; that is more than 12 million women and men over the course of a year. A recent survey went out to 500 men and the results showed that almost one in five men have hit an intimate partner at least once.

What exactly does this mean? It means that when you are looking around in your classrooms at college there is a chance that almost half of the people there have been, or will be, in an abusive relationship in their lifetime, either as victim or aggressor. 

The scariest part is that people still don’t have a complete understanding of domestic violence. When Janay posted on Instagram and defended her husband, people said that it was “as much her fault for staying with him and that she obviously deserves it.” Abusive relationships are often controlled by manipulation and the victims have reasons that they cannot leave. They could have tried and were threatened with their life or they have kids and don’t know how to get them out of the situation. Never judge someone for staying; you don’t know the hell they may have been through.

What role does the NFL play in all of this? The National Football League is an organization that many children and young adults look up to. These players are their heroes and role models and when one of them messes up the children need to know what they did was wrong. By being tolerant of cases, such as domestic abuse, what kind of lesson is the NFL teaching? Domestic violence is okay as long as you’re a famous football player?

The NFL needs to have a reputation of zero-tolerance for cases such as these. They need to show that they support their fan base, 45 percent of whom are women, as well as the health and safety of players and their families. By making one player an example, the NFL can start to make a difference. Players may think twice, next time, before something like this happens and they will also raise awareness for the issue of domestic violence, which is much bigger than just the NFL.

As Hannah Storm said in her very powerful speech recently, “What exactly does the NFL stand for?” It's time to feel safe, again.

If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Thehotline.org also has live chat on their website and there is someone available 24/7.