An Unpopular Opinion

Someone much smarter than me is going to have to explain the uproar over the NFL, in particular, regarding the recent domestic violence and child rearing practices. It seems like the players, even before being fully investigated by law enforcement, are supposed to be suspended and/or permanently kicked out of the league.
My problem is that I don't believe that is fair. I believe domestic violence is horrible, but it is also rampant in society, not restricted to the NFL. I think for these players the courtroom, jail time if so determined, counseling is appropriate. Taking their job away makes no sense. I work at MCC. If I did the unspeakable and hit Jan and she turned me in to police, they would handle the situation. MCC would only be involved if I had to go to jail and miss substantial work time. Otherwise my job would be fine.
It should be the same for the NFL and other sports leagues. The players illegal behavior needs to be dealt with, but by the proper authorities, not the league. If the Ray Rice case, the current poster child for domestic abuse (which was extraordinarily heinous), had been handled correctly and Rice punished to the full extent of the law, why should the Ravens and/or NFL in general have to do more? I don't believe it's any different than if Rice had been working for General Motors. Are you telling me no one, man or woman, in the tens of thousands who work there, didn't commit the same crime? But yet they keep their job.
I don't believe it is up to the league, any sports league, to do more than offer counseling or other employee assistance in these cases, the same as most medium to large corporations we work for would do. These people aren't role models, they are entertainers. They represent a cross-section of our population and will do good and bad things just like the rest of us. Only some believe taking their jobs away will make a difference. For whom? Not the player, his family or others who make money from him.
By the way, if Rice had been an offensive tackle or other low-profile position, no one would have cared. He has issues, as does his wife, but that is for the them, the courts and counseling to work through, not the NFL or the rest of us.