National Football League

Poll finds most Americans would have suspended Ray Rice for full season

Published Jul. 31, 2014 11:40 p.m. ET

foxsports

The NFL has been on the receiving end of a lot of backlash from the media after Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was suspended just two games for assaulting his now-wife in a casino elevator in Atlantic City, N.J.

Now, a HuffPost/YouGov poll is showing that Americans agree with that backlash.

When asked what they believed was the most appropriate punishment for an NFL player caught assaulting his partner with no prior offense, most Americans (31 percent) were in favor of a season-long ban. The next most popular choice was a lifetime ban, with 23 percent of respondents in favor. Another 17 percent was in favor of a half-season ban, meaning 71 percent of those polled believed Rice's punishment was too short.

Just 12 percent believed a suspension of a few games was enough, and 5 percent said no punishment or fine. The remaining percentage said they were not sure.

Respondents who identified themselves as supporters of the NFL had nearly identical results.

HuffPost noted that the poll was conducted "among 1,000 U.S. adults using a sample selected...to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population."