End run for football

You are forgiven if your first reaction on hearing that New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney appeared on two nationally broadcast sports radio shows Wednesday was to assume he never misses a chance to raise his profile ahead of an expected run for governor. But Sweeney made an important point on ESPN's Mike and Mike and Michael Kay shows, noting that the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office deserves as much scrutiny as the National Football League for its handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence case.

Rice was given a plea deal that allowed him to enter an intervention program and avoid a criminal record. Heaven help us if that's standard treatment for alleged spouse beaters. Yet Atlantic County Prosecutor James P. McClain insists that he wasn't influenced by the former Baltimore Ravens star's celebrity.

McClain told the Atlantic City Press that he recommended Rice for pretrial intervention, or PTI, after considering the facts, the law, and the victim's statements. He said that if Rice were tried and convicted, he likely would have received no more than probation. "People need to understand, the choice was not PTI vs. five years state prison," said McClain.

People do understand that there are times when it is appropriate for a prosecutor to give a defendant a break, particularly when that person is accused of a minor, nonviolent crime and has no prior record. But when there is clear evidence of a violent crime, the case should be adjudicated, even if the victim would prefer otherwise.

Unlike the NFL, which has been caught in an apparent lie about when it obtained video showing Rice punching his now-wife, Janay, inside an elevator at Atlantic City's Revel casino, McClain is not disputing that he had that evidence. So he should have prosecuted the case and let a judge or jury decide Rice's fate.

By not following that course, the prosecutor, like the Ravens and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, invited accusations that he let Rice's pro football profile guide his decision rather than the need to take a strong stand against domestic violence.

The Ravens didn't fire Rice until the video was obtained by TMZ. Nor did the NFL suspend Rice indefinitely until the video was made public. Even a video released earlier, which showed Rice dragging Palmer from the elevator but did not include the attack itself, was enough to surmise what had occurred.

The NFL is investigating Goodell's handling of the affair. A review of McClain's actions would be appropriate, too. Many domestic violence victims would prefer to be left alone to mend their relationships. But for their sake and for others who have been or will be battered, abusers must face more than a wrist slap.