In the past few years, there has been an increase in media coverage regarding domestic violence cases among athletes and celebrities.

It's hard to forget the public domestic disputes between A-list celebrities like Rihanna and Chris Brown or Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson. Recently, one of the most talked about incidents involves former Baltimore Ravens' running back, Ray Rice and his then-fiancé, Janay Palmer.

Back in February, a video was released by TMZ Sports showed Rice dragging Palmer across the entrance of an elevator.  The incident occurred at a casino hotel in Atlantic City. In the video, the victim appeared to be unconscious.  

Instantly, the video went viral. Initially, the NFL and Rice’s lawyers downplayed the incident and Rice was suspended for two games. They made it seem like the incident was a minor offense, instead of the assault that it truly was. 

On May 23, a press conference was held where Rice and his wife both apologized for the incident. In the following months after the incident the NFL, which was being criticized for its initial response to the incident, took steps to clean up the mess and try to appease the public. 

According to sbnation.com the incident sparked change with the NFL’s domestic violence policy. The new policy provides that a player having a first time offense will be suspended for six games and if there is a second offense that player will be dismissed permanently. The NFL was hopeful this would stamp out domestic violence in the League and improve its public image. 

It wasn’t until this month that the situation went south for the NFL and Rice when a second video of the incident was released. This new video contained footage from inside the elevator, and what really occurred between Rice and Palmer.  

Rice punched Palmer causing her to fall to the ground. This video proved that Rice was responsible for Palmer’s unconsciousness. Rice then proceeded to drag the body across the entrance of the elevator.  

The big mystery question is did the NFL know about this second video before it came out? They claim to not have known about it. Are they covering their tracks or did they really just not know? There has been an allegation that the video had previously been provided to an executive of the NFL. 

What we do know is that after much pressure, following the release of the second video, the NFL finally suspended Rice indefinitely. However, because the suspension is “indefinite” and not “permanent”, it leaves open the possibility that Rice can return to the NFL.  

However, according to abcnews.com, Rice plans to appeal his indefinite suspension. Ray and Janay are now married and have a child together. Janay has defended Ray over the past several months, and even took to social media this past week to address the incident.

This case has created a lot of media attention for the NFL and has made domestic abuse a hot topic. Hopefully this case, as well as others will cause more awareness of the issue.