Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock in recent weeks, there is no way that you’ve been able to escape the barrage of news stories about domestic abuse. The Associated Press is now reporting that a law enforcement official alleges that the video of Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee inside a casino elevator was sent to NFL Headquarters in April. The alleged recipient was none other than league security chief Jeffrey Miller.
Headline after headline, depicting horrific incidents of abuse at the hands of NFL players. The NFL has been under siege for not taking a stronger stance against domestic violence, with multiple calls for Roger Goodell’s resignation. To date, he insists that he has no intention of rendering it.
The NFL, without question, has turned a blind eye to domestic violence. With the NFL being a multi-billion dollar industry, it is a common belief that monetary interests likely superseded the physical, mental and emotional well-being of the alleged victims.
When celebrity attorney Gloria Allred called a press conference last week to blast the NFL for its handling of domestic violence issues, Brandon Marshall (Chicago Bear player linked to a 2009 case) was dragged back into the fray. During the conference it was insinuated that the NFL viewed women’s lives, safety and worth as less than those of dogs, referring back to the Michael Vick case. Some have taken it even further by accusing the NFL of ignoring the problem because it primarily affected African American women.
While I won’t delve extensively into the Marshall allegations (I’ll leave that to Ms. Allred), Marshall did give an unexpected response. “It’s not the NFL’s job to raise men,” Marshall said, via the Associated Press. “We’re kidding ourselves if we think it’s the NFL’s job to take boys from college and raise them to men. It is a problem in our marriages, a problem in our communities, a problem in the way we coach children and parenting – that’s where it starts. It doesn’t start with the NFL, it doesn’t start with the government, it starts at home.” I couldn’t agree more.
In keeping with the domestic abuse headlines, critics have screamed “double standard,” when it was revealed recently that Hope Solo, one of the biggest and most marketable stars in women’s sports, is facing domestic violence charges. The charges stem from an episode over the summer in which she is accused of punching her sister and her 17-year-old nephew at a late-night party.
Following her arrest, the court has ordered Solo to stay away from her sister and nephew and to refrain from drinking alcohol. At the same time, U.S. Soccer and the Seattle Reign, her team in the National Women’s Soccer League, have put on blinders. Solo played on as Seattle advanced to the league’s title game last month, and she played last week as the national team continued preparations for next month’s qualifiers for the 2015 Women’s World Cup. With the NFL cutting ties with several players facing similar charges, how does U.S. Soccer rationalize giving Solo the honor of playing for the national team, or of then making her its captain?
A New York Times writer says, “Maybe everyone is just too busy calling out the NFL for its ineptitude, but a light needs to shine on Solo’s legal problems, too. It shows that domestic violence isn’t committed only by men.”
The Reign rationalized their decision to keep her on the field by saying they were gathering evidence on the case. How convenient for Solo, and for them, that her trial will not start until after the United States has claimed its place in the World Cup.
It is without a doubt that domestic violence is a societal problem. There is not one segment of our population that is insulated from it. While the majority of domestic violence incidents reported are overwhelmingly perpetrated by men, there are countless cases of abuse against children, the elderly and surprising to some, against men. Sadly, it’s happening everywhere, not just within the NFL.
In fact according to an article written by Conor Friedersdorf a staff writer at The Atlantic, ”There is another American profession that has a significantly more alarming problem with domestic abuse. I’d urge everyone who believes in zero tolerance for NFL employees caught beating their wives or girlfriends to direct as much attention—or ideally, even more attention—at police officers who assault their partners. Several studies have found that the romantic partners of police officers suffer domestic abuse at rates significantly higher than the general population. And while all partner abuse is unacceptable, it is especially problematic when domestic abusers are literally the people that battered and abused women are supposed to call for help.”
Domestic abuse is not new, yet it has equaled if not surpassed every news story of the month in September. So exactly, why now is domestic abuse the “flavor of the month,” “the new black”(no pun intended)? Maybe the following paragraph will shed some light on the reasons why.
“We made a mistake, and we need to get this right. It is important to always listen to our fans, the community and our sponsors.”
Ahhhh, those much-needed sponsors.
The last three words of that quote, from Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wolf in reference to the organization’s swift 180 in their dealings with star running back Adrian Peterson, is the most telling in my opinion. When we take a step back from the sudden interest in a domestic violence issue that has coasted under the radar for years, what we see may not be organizations standing up for morality and the good of society, but corporations saving face for the almighty green.
U.S. professional football is a massive, $10-billion entertainment business, and live game telecasts — one of the last examples of television that audiences want to watch in real time — are a huge draw for advertisers, averaging 18 million viewers a game and more than 100 million for the Super Bowl.
The NFL, dubbed “the league that owns everything” in a recent Wall Street Journal article, makes $1 billion to $2 billion a year off corporate sponsorships, according to Navigate Research.
With numerous corporations vowing to pull sponsorship, do we really think the NFL was going to continue with business as usual, slapping the wrists of alleged abusers? Not likely.
When you couple the monetary impact of lost sponsorships, with the fact that the average NFL owner is already eligible for Social Security benefits, it seems more of a case of a well-known adage. “When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is.“– Oscar Wilde
It has and always will be about the money. As the investigation intensifies, I predict heads will begin to roll, but I’m just not sure whose. #scapegoat
The following are three helpful resources for victims of abuse:
National Domestic Violence Hotline
Aspire (Phone Application for Victims of Abuse)
I dedicate this post to all those around the world who have suffered abuse. I do not judge. I pray for your recovery and encourage you to get help. Let us all be reminded that we cannot sit on the sidelines silent, expecting things to change.
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