In the past weeks, many of you have heard of the reported incidents involving several NFL players all over the media and the internet sphere. First, it was the Ray Rice viral video of him assaulting his wife that made headlines, then Adrian Peterson later dominated the news cycle after being indicted on child abuse charges. Both of them are star sports personalities in the National Football League (NFL).
Naturally, most fans were shocked and disappointed over such events which have cast a shadow on the entire NFL organization and its members as the new season kicks off. However, prior to the recent high profiled incidents, social workers were already throwing flags to raise concerns on the increasing amounts of domestic violence incidents in the NFL, and recent events have spotlighted even further the darker side of the game. Like any other human beings, they aren’t perfect and struggle with different kind of personal and family issues.
Many grass roots organizations, fans, and other activists have come out publicly in opposition of how the NFL has handled these events. Pop-star singer Rihanna claims the NFL dropped her song after she issued an angry about the Ray Rice incident. For those of you who might not remember, former boyfriend and R&B singer Chris Brown has assaulted Rihanna back in 2009. You may or may not agree, but Rihanna, for her own part, has expressed in a vigorous manner her disapproval of that decision on Twitter. Meanwhile, Peterson has reacted lately to this controversy by apologizing for all the harm he has caused and has mentioned being currently seeing a psychologist to work on his difficulties.
I don’t want to conclude anything about these sad events too quickly as I do not know all the details and whole aspects of both of these situations. However, I want to relate these events to the realities of many non-famous people, who might deal with these situations on a daily basis, without having the media spotlight on their personal lives and battles.
On domestic violence : a clear definition
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, domestic violence is defined as:
The willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault and/or other abusive behavior perpetrated by an intimate partner against another. It is an epidemic affecting individuals in every community, regardless of age, economic status, race, religion, nationality or educational background. Violence against women is often accompanied by emotionally abusive and controlling behavior, and thus is part of a systemic pattern of dominance and control. Domestic violence results in physical injury, psychological trauma, and sometimes death. The consequences of domestic violence can cross generations and truly last a lifetime. For More Information
Domestic Violence can be recurrent and lasting over time, but it can also be a single event. We often tend to believe that physical violence is the only form of domestic violence and while it can lead to very dramatic consequences such as death. Other forms such as emotional abuse, economic and physical isolation can be equally damaging. According to current statistics, 1 out of 4 women in the United States will experience domestic violence in their lifespan with female young adults are at a greater risk for it happening to them. It is also important to note, the existence and suffering of male victims of domestic violence as well as domestic violence in same sex relationships.
As a result of recent events with Janay Rice, a lot of people are asking, why don’t victims of domestic violence just leave? The article #WhyIStayed: Voice for Domestic Violence Victims on Huffington Post can provide some answers to this question for you. A lot of victims will hesitate to leave (or will do and come back to their abuser) for many reasons. Some victims will fear for their lives or the lives of their romantic partner when suicide is threatened. The murder-suicide perpetrated by Jovan Belcher of Kansas City Chief against Kasandra Perkins the mother of his child.
For many others, the problem has been going on for so long that their self-esteem is completely crushed and they do not have the confidence to step up and realize that they do deserve better. Some spouses will use the children to blackmail their partner and the fear of losing custody of their kid can be strong enough for the victim to decide to stay in the relationship no matter how toxic it is. Domestic violence is a very complex issue, and there is rarely one and unique cause to it.
.@bevtgooden, creator of #WhyIStayed campaign: "It's not so easy to… walk away when the person you're with is part of your identity."
— The Last Word (@TheLastWord) September 18, 2014
What about child abuse?
Child abuse is a very sensitive issue to most of us, but abuse can take various forms to include emotional abuse as well as physical abuse. Corporal Punishment is still legal in many states with the US. However, any discipline that leaves marks and bruises lasting longer than 24 hours can range from improper discipline to severe abuse depending on the severity of injuries to the child. Children are the most vulnerable citizens of our society and protective factors should be put in place that will allow them to develop and grow into their full potential. Children who are victims of child abuse experience increased risks for being victims of domestic violence or abusers in intimate relationships.
Where can you get help for domestic violence and child abuse?
If you suspect a child to be abused or neglected, you can call the National Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD. Crisis counselors are available 24/7 to listen to you and your concerns.
If you recognize yourself in this description of domestic violence, you can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline (800) 799-SAFE or you can visit their website at NDVH.org for more information.
I hope this article has been helpful and if you want to discuss it more further, I invite you to submit your comments or to tweet with me at @kharosc.
Goodell announced that outside experts would help the league devise a new system for handling domestic violence cases (which takes away the power to act as “judge, jury and executioner”)
Rice was suspended indefinitely because the incident was caught on tape and the whole world saw it. He had to save face.
The other incidents included accusations, police arrests, trials, community service, etc. which resulted in suspensions. None that I am aware of were on tape like the Rice incident (irrefutable proof that he did it AND a huge black eye – no pun intended – to the NFL).
That may be the best article I’ve read so far. Here’s an interesting thought however; the NFL is currently capable of a life time ban for an accusation. No proof, no jury, just the chairman of the league. Poof, no more career. That’s an excessive amount of power for one individual to have. I would prefer to see a police investigation during which the player is suspended with further action dependent on an actual court verdict. It still leaves the possibility of abuse by false accusation but it protects the image of the league as well as following an actual justice system.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/20/sports/football/in-domestic-violence-cases-nfl-has-a-history-of-lenience.html?_r=0&referrer=
@ Andrew, “NFL players get arrested for domestic violence at an “extremely high [rate] relative to expectations.
“Domestic violence accounts for 48 percent of arrests for violent crimes among NFL players, compared to [an] estimated 21 percent nationally.
(Benjamin Morris)
Wow. I was going to let it go, I said what I felt needs to be said while we rush to judgement and declare all men the devil again but your racist and sexist comments require a response.
I was a victim of domestic violence for most of my first marriage. My first wife is severely mentally ill and tried to kill me more times than I can count, in fact there were only three things that were going to happen when I came home from work. She was either going to be on the couch watching tv, in the process of killing herself, or attacking me. I have been hit in the head with baseball bats, attacked with knives, she will even happily tell you that smothering someone with a pillow is not as easy as it looks on t.v.
When I used Ben as an example it was one of suggested change, these kids can’t go to a bar and engage in the process of wooing like any of us can. Everything they do is under a microscope and a better mentoring program would help them in many ways. So here’s a tip, read my comments with an open mind and stop being part of the mob mentality, rushing to judgement. You might want to look into your aggression towards white males, as well.
When you are the only one liking your comments it’s time to reassess and reframe.
Hey Andrew, you know what’s an even smaller percentage than the occurrence of DV in the NFL? False rape accusations. But you seem pretty concerned about good old Ben. If the blatant mishandling of the Ray Rice case doesn’t open your eyes to how men in positions of power and in positions of authority treat women nothing will. You didn’t even read the article you are commenting on, dude. Here’s a tip. The next time positive reform is underway at any organization but may not affect you (as a man) keep the judgement to yourself.
Imagine that, a white male who doesn’t think DV is an important issue.
Great article. Commissioner Goodell just gave a press conference, and we would love to see how #socialwork responds to it
My mistake for prejudging. As I’ve said, I have been inundated with this issue. I wonder at how well the metal health initiative has worked since it seems the numbers now are remarkably similar to the previous numbers. Still a small % but I wonder if more can be done. One thing I’d suggest for all pro sports is a better mentoring program as you have kids who are suddenly wealthy and a national spotlight that they seem ill equipped to handle. Ben Roethlesburger (sp?) Strikes me as the perfect example as it seems every time he so much as talks to a woman at a bar, he’s charged with rape. (Remember, his cases were dismissed due to a lack of evidence and the 2nd time they debated charging his accuser with filing a false police report)
This is not a new issue. Read the petition which was written almost two years ago http://swhelper.org/2013/10/18/nfl-goes-purple-social-worker-calls-domestic-violence/
Apparently, you did read the article on SWH because it made no such judgments on what the NFL should do. The article focuses on DV and Child abuse
It’s still a small percentage. We are making every nfl player out to be wife beating maniacs, I see and hear it constantly and it’s just not the case. Should there be better awareness? Yes, probably. Should we judge 2000 players based on 4? No, I can’t accept that math. We are reacting by emotion, not logic or law. The NFLPA will likely win its appeal of the Ray Rice ban because it’s clearly double jeopardy. I think that, as a nation, we are over reacting. We aren’t giving them time to change, we simply shout “you must change now”, which doesn’t sound much like social workers at all. Give them time to deal with the issue before calling for Goodell’s beheading.
You mean four with video tapped and undisputed evidence. The Kansas City has a murder suicide with several prior incidents of DV which the suicide occurring on the team’s property. It’s poor judgement to not recognize or asses in something that preventable and treatable. NFL made the same argument until NFL player literally started committed suicide in order to have their brains studied for science to prove there was something wrong. Seriously? Come on Andrew….
Like Drew Brees said, 4 out of 2000 doesn’t make an epidemic. Are we judging the entire nfl based on a small % of incidents?
and we need to keep spreading awareness and prevention in all areas of #domesticviolence