The NFL does not take crime and punishment seriously. The way they choose to punish players who make mistakes is driven entirely by fiscal concerns, and not the severity of the crimes committed and their player’s victims.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was suspended for four regular-season games without pay as of May 11 for allegedly being involved in a scandal in which footballs were deflated to aid the Patriots in winning last season’s AFC Championship game. Brady denies any knowledge or involvement regarding the crime and has appealed the ruling, but he has become the number one scapegoat for the incident.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said a four-game suspension was a fit punishment for the crime he committed as of July 28, despite Brady’s appeal attempt. Maybe it’s just me, but deflating footballs is nothing compared to strident offenses such as brutal domestic violence and child endangerment, which some NFL players have been guilty of.

In December, former San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Ray McDonald was released after being arrested on felony suspicion of sexual assault of his then pregnant fiancée. The Chicago Bears signed him in March, but he was then released from the Bears just two months later following charges for child endangerment and domestic violence.

In March, 49ers fullback Bruce Miller was charged for a misdemeanor offense after he allegedly pushed his ex-fiancé out of his car and smashed her cellphone. Even with his anger issues and clear instability, the NFL did not suspend or punish him.

The only reason the NFL has even changed their punishment rules on the players in the slightest is due to the media uproar of Baltimore Ravens player, Ray Rice. On Feb. 15, 2014, Rice was arrested and charged with third-degree aggravated assault while intoxicated. The NFL only sentenced him to a mind blowing two-game suspension.

When the video of Rice beating his fiancé in the elevator and dragging her out by her hair went viral, the Baltimore Ravens finally decided to drop him from the team because of the furious public reaction, not due to any personal moral the team had. The NFL’s motive for keeping Ray Rice and only suspending him for two games initially was due him being a popular player within the top 20. They would have risked losing jersey sales, ticket sales, endorsements, etc.

The fact that Tom Brady is being denied the right to play based off the assumption of a few mere deflated footballs but Ray Rice was only given a two-game suspension with the initial ethics of the NFL with the severe aggravated charge that was actually proven is beyond any decent human’s sense.

The NFL needs to change the rules and regulations that are within the league to crack down on these criminals that remain within them and for future players who want to enter. The lack of care they have for morals are disgustingly flawed, wholesome ethics must be placed within the rules of the league. Players who commit crimes regarding domestic violence, child endangerment, battery or any other violent offenses should immediately be banned from the NFL.

The NFL pretends to care about the victims of these heinous crimes, however, the way the NFL commissioner and league as a whole react to them is strategic and tactful, not genuine. These cases just bring up the never-ending issue that the NFL does not take crime and punishment seriously.

Rather than blowing deflated footballs out of proportion, the NFL should focus their anger on more serious manners such as battered women and child endangerment.