The downwards spiral for the NFL has continued in the
week following the Ray Rice incident. Not one, but two more players from the
NFL have been convicted of domestic abuse charges. And sadly, these NFL players
aren't the only ones involved in domestic abuse cases--just ask the 4 million
victims.
Adrian Peterson, running back for the Minnesota
Vikings, has been charged with child abuse for beating his son with a wooden
switch in May. The four year-old was taken to the hospital by his mother after
the incident occurred, with potentially scarring welts and bruises. The NFL has
placed Peterson on the exempt commissioners permission list, which means he is
suspended during the case. He will still receive the rest of his $11.75 million
salary. In addition to Peterson, Greg Hardy has also been suspended and placed
on the exempt permission list for two counts of domestic violence.
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| A before (left) and after (right) image of the Ravens model |
Unbelievable. After my last post, I didn't think
things could get much worse for the NFL. Players are dropping like flies,
finally being punished for their actions. Yet, a vast
majority of players charged with domestic violence crimes, if they were
disciplined by the league at all, received one-game suspensions even after
pleading guilty to lesser related charges or entering pretrial intervention
programs. Goodell faces
pressure to resign from the NFL due to his decisions regarding the recent
incidents this season. On September
14th, banners reading #GoodellMustGo flew over two stadiums from Ultra
Violet, a women's activist group. This issue has outraged
social media. A different activist group vandalized The CoverGirl ad campaign, Get
Your Game Face On, by photo shopping a black eye onto the Ravens model.
A woman is beaten by her husband or boyfriend every 15
seconds in the U.S. On average,
between 4 and 7 children die every day from abuse at the hands of adults. Is
this what America has come to? Physically abusing the ones we are supposed to
love and respect? The NFL needs to use this attention for good. In addition to
changing some of their laws on domestic violence, I think they should make
campaigns to help stop abuse. During games, they could have commercials raising
awareness to the issue, since millions of viewers tune in to watch Sunday night
football (my family included). It's their duty as a
profit generating organization, which entertains millions of viewers each week,
to set moral standards and act accordingly. The NFL needs to uphold laws
established by our government and follow rules of decent behavior. They are a
voice touching millions of Americans and they have an obligation to use that
power to elicit change and help.
This problem is increasing in the NFL and I agree with you that punishments should be more serious, but some are trying to abuse the issue. It was recently brought to the spotlight that our own Brandon Marshall beat his girlfriend, 8 years ago. He was already tried for it, and it was his word against hers, so he was not convicted. His girlfriend's family is clearly trying to use the tension of these other cases as a stepping stone for money, I mean it's been 8 years. However, times are changing in a good way (yet no place where they should be). Players actually being convicted is a huge step up from when Ben Roethlisberger raped two women a few years back. He had more money to pay for better lawyers and got off practically scott-free.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sarah and Rudy. While the NFL is taking steps in the right direction, it still has a ways to go in terms of it overall attitude towards crimes committed by players, and how it punished the players for their crimes. With the NFL being as popular and ubiquitous in America as it is, it is especially important for the organization to make it clear how opposed they are to crime, specifically the abuse of women. I find it almost ridiculous that America's biggest sports franchise is essentially allowing it players to get away with treating women the way that they do. It is wrong that something so representative of America, the National Football League, continues to misrepresent American values.
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