Rational Actors, Where Art Thou? Ray Rice, Floyd Mayweather, and $180 million.

-- By CMcKinney - 23 May 2015

Comparable Histories, but Disparate Reactions

Ray Rice, An Atlantic City Casino Elevator, and a Grainy Surveillance Tape

On September 8, 2014, TMZ published footage of then-NFL running back Ray Rice burying a left haymaker into his fiancée’s jaw aboard an Atlantic City casino elevator. The incident occurred in the early morning hours of February 15, while Rice and Janay Palmer were returning to their room after a night on the town. Palmer was unconscious before her head landed on the tiles.

Rice was indicted for third-degree assault in March, and the NFL issued a suspension for one-eighth of the upcoming season in July. Everything changed on September 8. The footage sparked a firestorm that consumed the attention of the country’s leading media outlets and the public alike. While futilely attempting to explain Rice’s initially light punishment, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell denied any prior knowledge of the video’s contents. The New York Times’ editorial board labeled the affair “disgraceful.” Bill Simmons called Goodell “a fucking liar” and likened the commissioner’s demeanor while addressing the press to that of Enron CEO Ken Lay in the wake of the 2001 scandal.

The media demanded a revised, just punishment for Rice. This demand was bolstered by the general public, who broadcast matching sentiments across social media. The NFL wasted little time with parliamentary procedure. On the same day the video was released, Rice’s contract was terminated and the NFL turned a two-game suspension into an indefinite ban. Yet, as Rice’s self-immolation accelerated in the days after the footage was released, some voiced support.

The Unfortunate History of Floyd Mayweather

Floyd “Money” Mayweather was perhaps the most noteworthy of Rice’s defenders. Mayweather is best known for the $420 million he has earned fighting inside of a boxing ring. On September 10, Mayweather told the Associated Press that the NFL had “overreacted:” “I think there's a lot worse things that go on in other people's households . . . it’s just not caught on video.” That is probably true, but perhaps “Money” should have danced with the one that brung him.

Between 2002 and 2011, Mayweather faced seven sets of criminal charges related to domestic violence. The most notorious of these seven episodes came in September 2010, when Mayweather ruthlessly attacked the mother of three of his children and kept mistress, Josie Harris. The police, Harris, and the children all corroborated the details that follow - No specific point has ever been contradicted.

Although Mayweather took up with another woman, he maintained a home for Harris and his children. It was that home which Mayweather entered at 5 a.m. one Sunday morning, parsed through Harris’s cell phone, and discovered texts from another man. Enraged, Mayweather launched a brutal assault upon Harris. He wrestled her to the floor and repeatedly struck the back of her head - This is known as “rabbit punching,” and is both extremely dangerous and certain to leave no facial bruising. The children were startled awake by their mother’s cries and raced into the living room. With his children looking on, Mayweather continued unabated. The eldest child eventually eluded Mayweather’s entourage, fled the home, and dialed 911 from a neighbor’s kitchen. Mayweather pled guilty to domestic assault that December. He was sentenced to only 90 days in jail. Outside of court, Mayweather denied any fault in the incident. To this day, when questioned, he will retort, “show me the bruises on her face.” Sure thing, Floyd – And what if there was a camera in that townhome?

440 Million Orders. The Rational Who?

The Largest Payday in the History of Pay-Per-View Broadcasting

Four years after Mayweather was imprisoned for assaulting Harris, and nine months after he came to Rice’s defense, “Money” squared off against Manny Pacquiao in the “Fight of the Century.” In the months leading up to the bout, the wolf was stripped of his tattered sheep’s clothing. Spurred on by a public that had for months held itself out as against domestic abusers, the media hammered Mayweather: His past was exposed and his behavior was excoriated. More than 20,000 articles documenting Mayweather’s history of domestic violence hit the web in the month leading up to the fight.

But Mayweather proceeded unfazed. When questioned about Harris at a pre-fight press conference, he challenged, “show me the bruises on her face.” After two female reporters persisted in exposing and castigating Mayweather’s history, he had their press credentials were revoked. This attracted further scrutiny, but, as always, Mayweather persisted. This should come as no surprise– he stood to make a lot of money. For the Pacquiao bout, Mayweather contracted for 42% of all pay-per-view revenues. The fact that Mayweather would receive this slice of the pie was easily accessible information: every relevant news outlet published the figure.

Hedonistic Impulse and Status Anxiety: What Even Weber and Hedstrom cannot rationalize.

Even after Mayweather was exposed, even after the fact that he was expected to make nine figures from pay-per-view sales became a matter of common knowledge, something inexplicable happened. Americans purchased more than 4.4 million pay-per-view packages, which priced in at $99.50 each. Mayweather took home $180,000,000. One hundred and eighty million dollars in one night. A boundless mass – surely populated by many of the same individuals who demanded retribution for Rice in September - paid $180 million to Mayweather. That is a joke. And it inescapably evinces a lapse of rational choice theory.

If Weber’s and Hedstrom’s theory holds true, then most people are rational actors: They utilize available information, take account of alternatives, and select the option most consistent with their values. Great. So, what happened here? I have spent a lot of time thinking about that question. I have found no satisfying answer. Here are three non-starters. First, Immediacy of contribution? No. Mayweather received a defined percentage of every purchase; people who watch football on TV pass money along to players like Rice only through six other changing-of-the-hands. Second, prospect of rehabilitation? Negative. Rice was a first-time offender; Mayweather has been charged seven-times. Third, remorse? Another non-starter. Rice repeatedly apologized; Mayweather continues with his preposterous denial to this day.

The truth is as somber as it is clear. A certain self-satisfaction is attendant to taking-up with the angry mob, professing outrage, and advertising your morality by way of tweets or statuses. And it’s not so hard when someone else – someone like Roger Goodell – is the bad guy, the one condoning domestic violence. But things sure do get a bit tougher when a boycott of Saturday night’s trendy happening is required. What is one to do? Be one of those people who is not at that gathering? Why not just chip-in for the pay-per-view, forget about how much you said you hate domestic violence, and become one of the people who witnessed that thing. Personal values and stated ideals are trumped by hedonistic impulse and status anxiety. Rational actors, where art thou?