Covering the Ray Rice scandal

Bernie Goldberg weighs in on the media coverage of the NFL domestic abuse controversy

This is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," September 11, 2014. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

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O'REILLY: Thanks for staying with us. I'm Bill O'Reilly.

In the "Weekdays with Bernie" segment tonight, the NFL-Ray Rice situation receiving major coverage in the national media. And commentators are also under pressure.

The announcer for the San Francisco 49ers, Ted Robinson, has been suspended for two games after he said, quote, "How does she marry him after that. How does she go in front of Goodell. That's pathetic to me," unquote.

And joining us now from North Carolina, the purveyor of BernardGoldberg.com, Mr. Goldberg. So, this guy, Mister -- I don't know him, out in San Francisco, I don't know why he referred to Goodell.

But he was expressing, you know, "How does she marry him." I bet millions of --

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-- Americans have asked the same question. Should he have been suspended.

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BERNIE GOLDBERG, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Millions of Americans are asking the same question. He should not have been suspended.

I mean, let's review -- this is very important -- let's review what he said. He said, "How does she marry him after that," after he knocked -- you know, --

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-- Ray Rice knocked her out cold. How does she go in front of Goodell and plead his case. And then he said, "That's pathetic to me."

O'REILLY: You know, I don't know why he's suspended for that. But I think there's a hysteria growing around the story.

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GOLDBERG: I would describe it as a feeding frenzy, as a rain of terror, as the speech police are out to destroy anybody who says things that they deem are inappropriate.

And liberals ought to be leading the offensive against this kind of thing. You have Donald Sterling, --

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-- the old fool who owned the L.A. Clippers.

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He makes racist remarks in the privacy of his house he's secretly recorded, but nothing short of the virtual death penalty. He must lose his business, will be tolerated.

This is part of the reign of terror. Just a little while ago, you, Bill O'Reilly, make a comment about a woman spokesperson at the State Department and you're called a sexist.

What you did was the opposite of sexism. You treated her as an equal because you've also criticized men. Criticizing men is OK, criticizing women is not OK.

That is part of the feeding frenzy. This is something very important going on in this country. And not enough people are paying attention to it.

O'REILLY: I do believe -- I agree with you that the speech police are now out in force. And that has been predicted by authors and many other people.

But the interesting conversation that we had with Dr. Carson, -- I do believe that Ray Rice is a villain. Now, I do --

GOLDBERG: So do I.

O'REILLY: -- also believe -- I believe that he's probably got, you know, emotional problems and all of that.

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But the point is that his villainy has to be exposed by the media and condemned so that the other people engaging in what he engaged in --

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-- stop or at least know they're going to be ruined if they don't stop. But, on the other hand, -- on the other hand, you have to be allowed -- Mr. Robinson, out in San Francisco, has to be allowed to wonder --

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-- to wonder why the woman would even marry him. I think that's a legitimate wonder.

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GOLDBERG: Exactly. And that's my position precisely. What Ray Rice did was wrong. Ray Rice needs to be punished.

What I'm saying is, this feeding frenzy requires the death penalty that he can never play in the NFL again. Well, I'm going to say something that might get me in trouble in some circles.

I think he should be allowed, at some point, to come back into the NFL. There had been drunk drivers --

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-- NFL players who were drunk drivers who killed people, killed people.

O'REILLY: Yes, Donte Stallworth.

GOLDBERG: And they were allowed back --

O'REILLY: Yes.

GOLDBERG: -- into the NFL. Listen, we are living in a time, Bill, when we are trying to stamp out all vestiges of racism and sexism. And that's a good thing.

Let me say that again -- and that's a good thing. But when Donald Sterling loses his business because he's a dumb old fool and even a racist dumb old fool, now I'm not comfortable with that.

And if Ray Rice has to lose his job forever, no, I'm not comfortable with that either. And I'm really not comfortable with those people who are leading this reign of terror.

I'm telling you, it started on college campuses. They've gotten away with that crap for way too long and it's infecting the bloodstream of the rest of America. And we better wake up to that.

O'REILLY: All right, Bernie. We appreciate it as always.

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