Over the past 14 seasons, there have been a total of 87 arrests for domestic violence concerning 80 players. According to data collected by FiveThirtyEight.com, by national standards the NFL has less domestic violence issues per 100,000 men aged 25 through 29, than the national average. But these men, being paid millions of dollars every year, are seen as role models. When parents buy NFL jerseys for their children at the local sporting goods store, they condone not only what the team and the league stands for, but what the player whose number appears on the jersey stands for. And those 80 players have lost the trust of parents and fans everywhere. But the NFL has not done anything to make the punishment fit the crime.
Domestic violence is not a new issue to the National Football League. Nor is it a new issue to the country. But due to the recent high-profile cases of Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Ray McDonald, and Greg Hardy, a dark cloud has overshadowed the beginning of the new NFL season.
In an interview with The Crimson, former Minnesota Vikings punter and human rights activist Chris Kluwe said when asked about possible solutions to domestic violence, “since the NFL is so highly visible, if we make an effort to fix domestic violence in the NFL, that will have an impact on society at large, many of whose inhabitants model their behavior off NFL players.”
The NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell is faced with a harsh dilemma when faced with disciplining players after they are arrested for domestic violence. Since the NFL is a private business, it has the right to bypass the legal process and make a decision regarding the fate of a player immediately.
Kluwe voiced his issue with the owners of teams saying, “I think the owners use due process as a handy shield when they want to try and keep star players on the field for as long as possible, but they’ve shown no hesitation in cutting fringe players before due process was complete. The NFL needs to create a clear, consistent policy, and then stick to it.”
This inconsistency shown by the NFL owners creates an inequity among star players and bench players that will need to be fixed in order to even out the scales of discipline in the league.
The indecisiveness and confusion among the heads of the NFL league offices has rendered mixed results among teams and players involved. The NFL suspended Ray Rice indefinitely after TMZ released the video of him punching his wife but has not yet made decisions on the cases of Ray McDonald, Greg Hardy, Adrian Peterson and numerous others.
In a press conference held on September 19th, Roger Goodell dodged and avoided answering any tough questions posed by every major sports reporter that attended, but there was one significant take away that everyone associated with the NFL and domestic violence should have realized: there should not have to be a video in order to spur immediate action.
The former punter added that “I think it’s another unfortunate example of how our society does not value women as much as it values men, and until we can change that, these types of things are going to keep happening. The NFL has an opportunity to be part of that change, and they’re not doing a great job of it so far. Hopefully they do better going forward.”
