( CNN ) -- The video showing Ray Rice punching Janay Palmer inside an elevator was released Monday . And everyone should watch it . In fact , you should show it to your daughters and your sons , as hard as it is to witness . We already knew that Ray Rice punched his wife and she was knocked unconscious , but when you witness the violence you can no longer turn this `` incident '' into a tiff between drunk lovers or blame the victim : Janay Palmer . Many people had done just that , and speculated on whether she had provoked Rice . The Baltimore Ravens blamed her when they suggested in a tweet that she had played a role in the incident . The tweet , which was taken down on Monday , read : `` Janay Rice says she deeply regrets the role that she played the night of the incident . '' What role was that exactly ? Her role as punching bag ? Her role lying unconscious ? Her role , as this FOX News anchor said after seeing her punched , `` in not taking the stairs . '' Domestic violence usually takes place behind closed doors ; that 's because batterers typically hide the abuse . No surprise that Rice did n't assault her in the lobby but waited until they were alone in the elevator before he punched his wife . Victims are afraid of their batterers , and now that you 've seen the video , you understand why . I 'm sure Palmer was terrified of getting him in trouble with the police or the NFL , but thankfully Ray Rice was wrong : They were n't alone , the world was watching . We were watching as he knocked her cold onto the floor with one punch to her face , causing her to smash into the railing of the elevator and fall lifeless on the ground . We were watching as he dragged her limp body partway out of elevator and dumped her with her skirt up and bum showing to the audience in the lobby . We watch as he appeared to kicked her with his shoes on , perhaps to see if she would wake up . And as she regains consciousness , we watch her sit up then flop back down , head between the elevator doors as they are about to close . It is a stranger who kneels down and cradles her . Not only is the punch shocking , but Rice 's complete lack of care , remorse or concern for her as she 's lying unconscious is what sticks out . He 's a batterer and she 's a victim of abuse . Opinion : NFL , apologize to women for Ray Rice . I 'm sure he apologized later to her and felt sorry . That 's part of the cycle of abuse : violence then a honeymoon period , only to be followed by violence again . Katie Ray-Jones , president of the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the National Dating Abuse Helpline , has said an abused woman will leave a relationship approximately seven times before she leaves for good because of the psychological damage that batterers inflict . There are countless reasons victims recant their stories or stay in an abusive relationship : low self-worth , financial worries , fear , even love . Instead of wondering why a victim stays , the world would do better to focus on punishing the batterer . The NFL , faced with new evidence that proves Janay Palmer had no role in this incident , regardless of what she might have said to downplay it , are doing what they should have done after the first video showed her unconscious on a lobby floor and Rice admitted he had assaulted her . The Ravens just released Ray Rice and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended him indefinitely . It 's sad that it takes a Pennsylvania daily newspaper to remove a child molester from the locker rooms of Penn State and TMZ Sports to remove an admitted batterer from their ranks . The NFL completely screwed this up from the beginning by interviewing Janay Rice with her batterer present and not using common sense and seeking the full video to begin with . The victim blaming has to end and the world must learn a lesson for the sake of all victims of domestic abuse . NFL officials knew what he did , but it was only when they had to watch it that they did the right thing . Janay , wherever you are , and despite what some will say , you need to know you have done nothing wrong . You are a victim . And when Ray Rice made the choice to punch you , he made a choice that will forever determine his fate .
Judge Robbins : Everyone should watch the video of Jerry Rice with his then - fiance . Seeing it , you should n't say , as some have ( including the judge ) that she was culpable . She says domestic violence happens behind closed doors ; there Rice was terrible . Robbins : NFL dumped Rice . Victim abuse has to stop . Janay , you were the victim here .