Earlier this week ESPN: Outside the Lines had a special program on "The NFL and Domestic Violence." CNN ran a similar program in September that includes an interview with the spouse of a former NFL player. The recent cases that have become headline news since the Ray Rice videotape emerged have cast a light upon what the NFL is doing to address issues of domestic violence (including the Adrian Peterson case).
Meanwhile, this Cover Girl ad calls out the NFL on domestic violence as reflected by this story.
1. What evidence is there to suggest that the NFL has shown a commitment to addressing domestic violence? On the other side, the NFLPA is pushing back against taking harsher measures. Does this potential move threaten to discredit the players union?
2. Roger Goodell admitted that he 'got it wrong' when giving a 2-game suspension for Ray Rice. One new option that has been added to deal with players who are alleged to be involved in cases of abuse is to place them on a temporarily suspended list. How effective is that solution? What other ways can the NFL deal with this issue?
3. It seems that the combined forces of the NFL and the NFLPA have brought the real issues of domestic violence to an impasse. How do you see these issues being resolved? How do you view the NFL now that these issues have surfaced?
I think that this is a very big issue in the NFL and one that needs to be addressed immediately. In regards to Question 2, I feel that this solution will be effective. Players in the NFL want to play. Anytime they are suspended, there is usually an appeal because players want to be on the field. By suspending the players, the league is sending a message that this will not be tolerated. In order to make this even more effective, the NFL needs to set the punishment to a number of games. For example, if you are proven guilty of domestic violence, you will sit out 16 games (A full NFL Season). These guidelines need to be set to make the rules more effective.
ReplyDeleteDerek Shay
I am not familiar with the material or rulings/legal issues in the NFL to really comment thoroughly on the matter. I do not know how effective the solution is or will be, but I do know that the NHL does do indefinite suspensions for similar cases. It is a difficult subject, but there needs to be a standardized disciple system in place. Like the article and the history of the legal cases themselves suggest the charges are almost completely randomized. I am sure the NFL has some sort of standardized disciple system in place already, but after all these new violent cases things my need to be accommodated accordingly. To me, the situation looks more like a PR and legal nightmare. However, I do not have the facts to really state whether or not it is hurting the NFL financially or not. One could only assume that this will only do harm to the NFL and the NFLPA, but this might have been necessary in order to fix the issues that have plagued the NFL for so many years.
ReplyDeleteI believe that overall the NFL needs stricter guidelines in all punishments concerning illegal behavior. Having specific standards in place eliminates the iffy punishments not equally doled out. Domestic violence does not start nor will it end with Ray Rice. This is more of a societal issue than a specific issue to the NFL. As a society domestic violence needs to be a bigger issue and more education needs to be given to everyone. It has always been seen as a private matter, however it needs to become a public matter so that it does not get brushed under the rug. The NFL's high profile cases could set a new movement if they were to use a swift hand of punishment and follow a zero tolerance rule. I do not think any athlete convicted of a crime should be able to put a uniform back on.
ReplyDeleteMaddy Amon
I think the NFL has shown that they are committing to changing the behaviors of their players and the perception from society about the character of their players. Recently during games I have seen commercials with NFL players talking about domestic violence and the change that needs to occur. I definitely think that they are aware of their behavioral problems. I think Roger Goodell is an idiot. The handling of that situation was mismanaged from the start. I think the suspension list could be effective. I personally feel that if you are putting yourself in a position where you are being accused of a domestic abuse crime finding out all of the details before playing again is not the worst thing. The NBA had to deal with image problems back when teams were fighting with fans and players were getting DUI after DUI. I think the NFL has to go through the same thing right now, they need to implement something that focuses on developing good behaviors. The positive in this situation now is that it has at least developed a level of awareness in our society that abuse towards other humans is not acceptable. I will be interested to see how punishments develop for similar situations that occur in the future.
ReplyDeleteI believe the NFL is taking the right steps to address the issues in creating campaigns such as the No More campaign. These commercials usually play during NFL games and are used and ran by the NFL to create awareness surrounding the domestic violence issue. I think the NFLPA will survive these issues but i think the steps they take to deal with them will say a lot about the character of the association. In addressing question two I believe that a temporary list would be good for athletes in the NFL, but only if a specific time table is set in order to avoid having life long players. I think what the NFL is doing is certainly raising awareness to not only it's viewers but society, and letting everyone know that domestic violence is a truly big issue that needs to be dealt with.
ReplyDeleteI have seen a couple different ads on TV during games that address domestic violence and how the NFL is trying to campaign to end it. It is a good campaign to raise awareness to society, but it permanently tarnished my view of the NFL. I think the NFLPA shouldn't be against harsher measures. I believe the punishments/fines/suspensions should be harsh. These players know they are in the public eye and know the risk they are taking. I can't feel bad for an athlete who got in legal trouble, to me, it just shows their lack of intelligence.
ReplyDeleteI think the tentative suspension list can be effective to a certain point, but I don't think it will completely stop NFL players from committing crimes. The NFL can deal with this issue a number of ways. It is going to be difficult for them to stick to a specific standard because not every crime or circumstance is the same.
Overall, this is a big issue today in the NFL and it will continue to be out of control if something isn't done. Roger Goodell already "got it wrong" once, I would hope he can put a plan in place to "get it right".
Mike Harrington
Brandon Silva
ReplyDelete1. I am not aware of any measures taken by the NFL to combat issues of domestic violence. However as Mike and Ashley have pointed out, there seems to be some initiatives taken by the NFL to combat domestic violence. I find it interesting that NFLPA is pushing back against harsher punishments. Similar to Mike, I believe that the punishments should be harsh for players who have not only violated legal standards but moral standards as well. If anything, the NFLPA should be pushing for more education for the players in how to deal with domestic situations in a non-violent manner.
2. I think it is a very fine line with the “temporarily suspended list” because this makes any player “alleged” to be guilty of domestic violence ineligible to play. I believe this is risky because especially given the recent cases, any accusation of domestic violence brought against an NFL player will most likely lead to that player being labeled as “guilty until proven innocent”. I am not saying that there are spouses or girlfriends who would abuse this rule but the rule leaves the door open to this possibility. Instead of immediately suspending a player, the NFL should have stronger investigative measures in place and like all criminal cases in the U.S. should remain innocent until proven guilty. If proven guilty, then there should be very harsh punishments handed down.
3. As I mentioned I think the best way to resolve these issues to provide the players with education. It seems that a decent amount of players come from single maternal households and therefore may have never been educated in how to properly conduct themselves in a domestic situation. Once this education is provided upon arriving in the NFL, then any persons guilty of domestic violence should be held to harsh punishments. Like many, I think the 2-game suspension of Ray Rice tarnished the NFL’s reputation. It will take quite a while and a few big rulings before it can establish its credibility once more.
1. The NFL has been forced to deal with several issues of domestic violence over the past few months, and have (for the most part) been fairly consistent with their punishments. With the recent season-long suspension handed down to Adrian Peterson, it seems that the NFL is standing firm against domestic abuse. I do think that the NFLPA may be causing damage to their own image by fighting against punishments for domestic abuse, but you must consider that as a union they are expected to act in the best interest of the players. I can see why the NFLPA is fighting these punishments, but I think they need to be very careful about the way they approach these issues.
ReplyDelete2. The temporary suspension list is a good move by the NFL, but it needs to have guidelines set. Again using the Adrian Peterson recent judgement, the NFL was expected to use the 10 games Peterson had already served in a team-sanctioned suspension as part of his suspension, or possibly as the entire suspension term. However, the NFL went the opposite direction and has decided to suspend "AP" for the rest of the current season AND potentially several games of next season. That, to me, does not set a good precedent for future punishments.
3. My view of the NFL has not changed because of these issues. As NFL players, these people are expected to be role models because of their public celebrity status. However, just like in "normal" society, domestic abuse (among other crimes) exists. It has existed for a long time and NFL players have finally been brought to court for it, but that does not mean that it didn't happen prior to the Ray Rice incident. I think this issue will eventually be resolved by creating a clearly defined punishment protocol for domestic violence issues. Something of this nature needs to have clear precedents set for any future incidents, and that way there won't be any "judgment calls" made on the future of an NFL player and his career.
I also feel that this is one of the biggest issues in today's NFL, if not the biggest. The 2-game suspension to Ray Rice was a black eye for Roger Goodell. I feel that Ray Rice's case, along with a number of other recent ones have not been handled properly. Some of the other professional leagues are doing a fine job of handling these domestic abuse cases. The link below shows the difference between a case that was handled by the NBA and the current cases in the NFL.
ReplyDeletehttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/11/20/nba-nails-it-on-domestic-violence-ruling-while-nfl-struggles/