AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Gov. Paul LePage, outraged that National Football League player Ray Rice received only a two-game suspension for a domestic violence arrest, pledged to boycott the league and called on its commissioner to take the issue seriously.

In a scathing letter sent to Roger Goodell on Tuesday, the outspoken Republican governor said the punishment given to the Baltimore Ravens running back sends the message that it's OK "for professional athletes to beat women, just for the sake of ratings."

"Taking thugs and wife-beaters off the field may be bad for business, but you are playing games with people's lives," said LePage, who was beaten by his father when he was young and has made domestic abuse prevention and awareness a priority of his administration.

Rice was arrested after a Feb. 15 altercation in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in which he struck then-fiancee Janay Palmer, who is now his wife. He has publicly apologized and has been accepted into a court diversion program, which may lead to the charges being expunged.