Domestic Violence in the NFL
It has been reported that around 16 million people watch each NFL game, which on a week where every one of the 32 teams play, means around 256 million people across the globe are tuning in to see their idols do battle. However, there have been even more eyes on America’s pride and joy lately than ever before, down mainly to a one Mr Colin Kaepernick whose decision to not stand for the national anthem split the nation. Donald Trump’s reaction to the problem couldn’t have been more Donald Trump if he tried, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now’ he said in a speech in Alabama at the height of the debate. My opinion is very simple with regards this, fair play, kudos, stand up – or rather kneel for whatever you believe in. Use your platform to fight for what is a very noble cause, I applaud the NFL and its players for its take on this matter. No laws have been broken, just a few angry, grumpy, middle aged, bald eagle loving, men offended, the code of conduct merely states you ‘should’ stand, so to me that’s the case closed. However, there are more serious forces at play within the NFL and unfortunately, they have been around for a very long time and are in desperate need of a serious address.
Between the 27th September 2000 and the 24st January 2017 (as per USA Today records) there were over 800 records of active NFL players being arrested. Every single team saw ten arrests or more and one team, the Minnesota Vikings had 49 separate accounts of players being apprehended. Of course, not all of these resulted in the relevant parties being found guilty and many were simply cautionary apprehensions but the number is staggering. More staggering is the fact that 104 of these accounts are of domestic violence, yet very few of these players never even received a serious punishment from their team, state or league. The NFL’s take on domestic abuse and off-field violence is perhaps best highlighted with a few examples.
The 2017 draft, every budding player’s big day, years and years of hard work in the gym and on the field would finally pay dividends as you were selected by one of the NFL’s 32 teams. Amongst the hopefuls was Joe Mixon, who just a few years earlier after walking into a diner and being given a slight push by a female student turned around and broke four bones in her face leaving her unconscious. He then turned around and walked straight back out. Mixon was drafted in the second round, lower than he would have been if the incident had never happened. He was still going to be given the privilege of playing professional sport on the biggest stage, the only downside, a smaller wage package. Following his selection ESPN broadcast a clip of Mixon after the original incident in which his first words were ‘I was young’, so not only were the NFL happy to welcome a thug in but also one who showed no remorse or ability to accept responsibility for his actions. In the same draft, Gareon Conley, accused of rape went in the first round and Caleb Brantley, widely believed to have been involved in a similar situation to that of Mixon went in the sixth to Cleveland. Mixon will now join a team that ranks third on the misdemeanour chart, hardly the right environment for a woman-beating criminal.
One of the most infamous cases of domestic abuse involved Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice. In 2014, whilst in an elevator video footage shows him sending fiancée, Janay Palmer to the floor with a single punch before dragging her body out at the next stop. Rice doesn’t wince once and there’s a horrible realisation on watching the footage that this may not be the first time this has happened. This time the NFL acted, Rice was suspended and his team, the Ravens voided his contract immediately. The abuse on this occasion sent shockwaves through America as Rice was previously regarded as one of the NFL’s ‘good guys’. He worked relentlessly with charities of all kinds and in 2012 Baltimore voted him the city’s most charitable person. Regardless of whether this was a one off or a regular occurrence, the NFL had to take responsibility. Was this the end then, would Roger Goodell, the league’s commissioner finally crack down and put a stop to this sort of behaviour?
Goodell’s response was to announce a new league policy, the crux of it being a six-game ban for such crimes subject to mitigating factors with a longer ban where necessary. Players did not have to be charged by police to be suspended and a second occurrence at any time would lead to a lifetime ban.
The first test of the new policy didn’t take long to manifest, Ray McDonald, a 300-pound defensive end was accused of beating his partner, pregnant with child. Despite black eyes, bruises and choke marks no punishment was made, instead his fiancée was painted in a negative light and offered no help. Later that year Donald was released, he’d been alleged to have raped a woman, the 49ers let him go only for him to somehow find work in Chicago with the Bears. His new lease of life didn’t last long, further incidents occurred involving fiancée Kendra Scott and it was only then that the latter was finally reached out to by the NFL offering support for herself and her child; in the pathetic form of a letter. The 49ers claimed they had done their very best to investigate the claims, as did the prosecutors, however nothing was done and a dangerous man was allowed to both walk and commit again. The NFL who had previously promised so much, sent a bit of paper to a woman and child whose life had already been scarred only when finally, Donald had made it so ridiculously obvious to them that he was a dangerous criminal, we all saw it a long time before. To me this highlights the league’s reluctance to dig themselves, to try and find out the truth. The NFL seem to lack a willingness to condemn over a fear of lost revenue or match time, even when everybody knows there’s a very good chance their star man is a criminal.
The most damning indictment of Goodell’s half-hearted attempt to cut out domestic violence lies in the sorry statistic that very few players have actually been charged with and served out a six-game suspension. Ezekiel Elliott is the current face of domestic abuse in the NFL and it didn’t take a genius to work out that neither side, team or NFL wanted to cooperate towards the end of last season when Elliott was tearing up defences, putting bums on seats, and turning heads as he helped Dallas march towards the playoffs. Although he has served some time on the sidelines, Elliott’s investigation is still looming large, this isn’t a surprise though the NFL like to take their time, its believed to take on average around a year for a criminal allegation to be made before a public NFL response is actioned. What’s going on, if anything in this time then? If you want to make it look like you actually care then you need to show transparency and act quickly. At the end of the day its difficult to ignore the fact that is a global business, Dallas Cowboys are the richest sports team in the world and Elliott is one of their star players, in situations like this it’s hard not to think that the welfare of others is being swept under the carpet for the men in their ivory towers. Perhaps we can see something similar in the fact America has elected Trump and in doing so shown the world just how many of its people have no care for women’s rights.
There are many stories of domestic abuse and violence within the NFL and the sad reality is there no light at the end of the tunnel, promises have been made to change but little is being done, Goodell has laid down his policy. I find it baffling that the backlash of a couple of players kneeling to showcase what is a national, systematic oppression of people’s rights is warranting thousands of fans to talk about boycotts and walkouts whilst all this time many of their ‘idols’ are involved in domestic violence. Whilst at the recent Wembley NFL game between the Jaguars and Ravens I spotted at least five individuals wearing Rice jerseys, I don’t for one instant believe that these people are oblivious to his past. That is the worrying thing, everyone knows about it just no-one seems to care enough to do something about it.
Henry Justice
Between the 27th September 2000 and the 24st January 2017 (as per USA Today records) there were over 800 records of active NFL players being arrested. Every single team saw ten arrests or more and one team, the Minnesota Vikings had 49 separate accounts of players being apprehended. Of course, not all of these resulted in the relevant parties being found guilty and many were simply cautionary apprehensions but the number is staggering. More staggering is the fact that 104 of these accounts are of domestic violence, yet very few of these players never even received a serious punishment from their team, state or league. The NFL’s take on domestic abuse and off-field violence is perhaps best highlighted with a few examples.
One of the most infamous cases of domestic abuse involved Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice. In 2014, whilst in an elevator video footage shows him sending fiancée, Janay Palmer to the floor with a single punch before dragging her body out at the next stop. Rice doesn’t wince once and there’s a horrible realisation on watching the footage that this may not be the first time this has happened. This time the NFL acted, Rice was suspended and his team, the Ravens voided his contract immediately. The abuse on this occasion sent shockwaves through America as Rice was previously regarded as one of the NFL’s ‘good guys’. He worked relentlessly with charities of all kinds and in 2012 Baltimore voted him the city’s most charitable person. Regardless of whether this was a one off or a regular occurrence, the NFL had to take responsibility. Was this the end then, would Roger Goodell, the league’s commissioner finally crack down and put a stop to this sort of behaviour?
Goodell’s response was to announce a new league policy, the crux of it being a six-game ban for such crimes subject to mitigating factors with a longer ban where necessary. Players did not have to be charged by police to be suspended and a second occurrence at any time would lead to a lifetime ban.
The first test of the new policy didn’t take long to manifest, Ray McDonald, a 300-pound defensive end was accused of beating his partner, pregnant with child. Despite black eyes, bruises and choke marks no punishment was made, instead his fiancée was painted in a negative light and offered no help. Later that year Donald was released, he’d been alleged to have raped a woman, the 49ers let him go only for him to somehow find work in Chicago with the Bears. His new lease of life didn’t last long, further incidents occurred involving fiancée Kendra Scott and it was only then that the latter was finally reached out to by the NFL offering support for herself and her child; in the pathetic form of a letter. The 49ers claimed they had done their very best to investigate the claims, as did the prosecutors, however nothing was done and a dangerous man was allowed to both walk and commit again. The NFL who had previously promised so much, sent a bit of paper to a woman and child whose life had already been scarred only when finally, Donald had made it so ridiculously obvious to them that he was a dangerous criminal, we all saw it a long time before. To me this highlights the league’s reluctance to dig themselves, to try and find out the truth. The NFL seem to lack a willingness to condemn over a fear of lost revenue or match time, even when everybody knows there’s a very good chance their star man is a criminal.
The most damning indictment of Goodell’s half-hearted attempt to cut out domestic violence lies in the sorry statistic that very few players have actually been charged with and served out a six-game suspension. Ezekiel Elliott is the current face of domestic abuse in the NFL and it didn’t take a genius to work out that neither side, team or NFL wanted to cooperate towards the end of last season when Elliott was tearing up defences, putting bums on seats, and turning heads as he helped Dallas march towards the playoffs. Although he has served some time on the sidelines, Elliott’s investigation is still looming large, this isn’t a surprise though the NFL like to take their time, its believed to take on average around a year for a criminal allegation to be made before a public NFL response is actioned. What’s going on, if anything in this time then? If you want to make it look like you actually care then you need to show transparency and act quickly. At the end of the day its difficult to ignore the fact that is a global business, Dallas Cowboys are the richest sports team in the world and Elliott is one of their star players, in situations like this it’s hard not to think that the welfare of others is being swept under the carpet for the men in their ivory towers. Perhaps we can see something similar in the fact America has elected Trump and in doing so shown the world just how many of its people have no care for women’s rights.
There are many stories of domestic abuse and violence within the NFL and the sad reality is there no light at the end of the tunnel, promises have been made to change but little is being done, Goodell has laid down his policy. I find it baffling that the backlash of a couple of players kneeling to showcase what is a national, systematic oppression of people’s rights is warranting thousands of fans to talk about boycotts and walkouts whilst all this time many of their ‘idols’ are involved in domestic violence. Whilst at the recent Wembley NFL game between the Jaguars and Ravens I spotted at least five individuals wearing Rice jerseys, I don’t for one instant believe that these people are oblivious to his past. That is the worrying thing, everyone knows about it just no-one seems to care enough to do something about it.
Henry Justice
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