ESPN Anchor Makes Emotional Address on NFL and Domestic Abuse

In an emotional address on SportsCenter on Sunday, ESPN anchor Hannah Storm discussed the tough questions that have been raised, in her household and within the NFL, in the wake of the league’s domestic assault scandal.

Seemingly near tears, Storm said that the release of elevator surveillance footage, which showed then-Baltimore Ravens running back Rice slugging his then-fiancée and current wife, Janay, in an Atlantic City hotel, has prompted “impossible” questions from her own daughter. Questions that Storm found herself struggling to answer, such as, “Mom, why did he do that? Why isn’t he in jail? Why didn’t he get fired?”

Apart from Rice’s actions, Storm also addressed the actions — or, rather, the inaction — of the NFL and the Ravens, who waited until the video was leaked before kicking Rice out of the league.

“In the NFL, apparently seeing is believing,” Storm went on. “If the NFL and the Ravens had to see that video to be moved to significant action, then shouldn’t those who support the league demand the same? To see action? To see change before believing, as we all wait on the answer to the central question: what exactly does the NFL stand for?”