Dr. Phil: Chris Johnson On Ray Rice Scandal & Stop Blaming The Victim

Dr. Phil: Ray Rice Scandal

Dr. Phil has been talking about the Ray Rice scandal and domestic violence against women on his show. Now, he sits down with Chris Johnson, Ray Rice’s former Baltimore Ravens teammate, as well as his wife Mioshi Johnson, founder of the organization Pretty Smart Girls. Chris and Mioshi are both good friends with Ray Rice. Chris is now retired, but he was once a teammate of his. Chris’s sister was a victim of domestic violence and was even shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend. This issue really hits home for him.

Chris Johnson said that he thinks the NFL should make a program to teach their incoming NFL players about domestic violence. There’s one program a year called the Rookie Symposium which teaches them about a number of things, including finances. He said it should move toward including things about domestic violence.

Dr. Phil: Chris Johnson On Ray Rice

Chris Johnson also said that he was at a loss for words when he saw the video of Ray Rice hitting his then-fiance, because he was in a locker room with Ray Rice for two years and he never saw that side of him. He didn’t think he was a violent guy.

“I think in that instance there was alcohol was involved and some tempers flared and he made a terrible mistake. The nation right now is trying to put his face on domestic violence,” he said. “It’s a nationwide issue. Not a NFL or Ray Rice issue.”

Dr. Phil: Criticism Of Janay Rice

Mioshi Johnson said that it’s been hard going through this with Janay Rice, Ray Rice’s wife. She’s been by her side having hard conversations and crying with her and praying together. She said they were going through therapy to get through this.

Robin McGraw said that she didn’t feel Janay was getting the support from the nation she needs. Instead, people are tearing her down for staying and criticizing her intelligence because of it. Robin said we all need to support her because she’s a victim.

“This whole media frenzy has put so much emphasis on exploiting Janay as a victim that we miss we miss the whole teaching point of domestic violence being a terrible epidemic,” Mioshi said.

Dr. Phil: Stop Blaming The Victim

Mioshi added that survivors of domestic violence aren’t stupid. Criticizing them doesn’t help anything at all. Mioshi had a cousin who was murdered by an abuser after they were separated and divorced.

Chris Johnson said his sister who was murdered by her abuser was also killed after leaving her situation. He said that he couldn’t understand how a man could take someone else’s life because they didn’t want to be with them. The man who killed his sister wasn’t even a physical abuser until the day he killed her.

Dr. Phil: #WhyIStayed

Dr. Phil welcomed Beverly Gooden, who heard about the Ray Rice story and was furious about the criticism of Janay. She created the hashtag #WhyIStayed, which got an incredible response.

Beverly Gooden said she was in a domestic violence marriage in the past. She said she was mad that people were focused on Janay’s actions instead of the actions of Ray Rice. She said she had many reasons for staying with her abuser and she wanted to defend victims of domestic violence and show that there are multiple reasons why they stay.

She said she stayed because she loved her husband and he controlled the finances. It took her two years to finally leave. She went on domestic violence websites and figured out how she could leave effectively, with an escape plan and an escape bag. It took her two months to plan leaving. The first time she tried to leave, her husband slept in front of the door so she couldn’t leave.

Dr. Phil: Chris Johnson’s Sister’s Abuse Story

Chris said that five months before his sister was murdered by her abuser, he warned him to leave her alone. When he got the phone call that his sister had been shot, he thought the person didn’t know what they were talking about. It turned out that the abuser had tried to kill his mother as well. When Chris got home, he felt so helpless because he couldn’t do anything. He feels like he wasn’t there when his family needed him.

He said as much as he wanted the guy to get the death penalty, he forgave him because he’s a Christian and he knew if he didn’t, he’d never be able to let go of it. But Chris has two nieces that will never see their mom again.

“If you have any rage against a woman, get help,” Chris Johnson said.