and more NFL violence-Adrian Peterson

[TheHuckster]

I do not think professional sports should be banned, but I do have to wonder about the fact that there are a lot of retired football players who are dealing with some heavy brain-related injuries, including reports of violence. Connecting the dots, these violent tendencies we are seeing in football players now could be related to repeated brain injuries combined with a job that requires them to be violent.

I agree that the NFL needs to address the repeated concussion problem, and they have been instituting more and more rules to do so. Something is happening to alleviate the problem.

Combine that with the fact that professional athletes are treated like heroes and so they tend to have fairly large egos and believe they can get away with almost anything. So, yes, maybe if Peterson were not a professional athlete, maybe he wouldn't be the type of person who thinks it is okay to abuse his child. Of course, this is not something that can be proven either way since we do not have the ability to see life in an alternative universe.

I argue that professional sports rather attracts these types of people. If Adrian Peterson never made the cut, he still had the mindset to try to become a professional athlete, and part of the appeal of becoming a professional athlete is to get that "hero" status, make a name for yourself, and tap the ego you already have.

Child and spouse abusers encompass every line of work. Plumbers, doctors, receptionists, engineers, and everyone in between have people in their ranks who do the same thing Adrian Peterson did. The only reason you don't hear about it is because Adrian Peterson is famous, and anything he does is a public spectacle.

Of course, the answer isn't in banning the sport but in looking at changes that should be made within the sport, and that includes banning players like Peterson or at least suspending them until they are convicted of a crime (it may be harder to ban someone like Ray since he hasn't actually been charged with a crime, but there are other things the NFL can and should do so that he cannot play anymore).

See, but you just hit the real problem. The real problem isn't that the NFL isn't doing anything about it, but that a lot of times the law forgives these players a lot more than your average joe. Ray Rice should be in jail, and he isn't. This is a problem not only for athletes, but for anyone with celebrity status.

And, I should add, that after the most bizarre series of events (and thanks to the fact that the NFL has good PR to maintain) Rice is in fact banned from the NFL (pending appeal by the union). I'm hoping what happened in this Rice case will make the NFL think twice about doublespeaking about things like this and do the right thing next time.

[Gravekeeper]

Actually, the biggest issue for the NFL is drunk driving/DUIs. It's by far the most committed crime by the players. I don't get it since every single NFL team has a safe ride program that allows players to call for a ride free of charge, no questions asked. It's just for some reason, DUIs don't seem to be a big deal to the public.

More does not mean bigger. That's what I was talking about.

The rate of arrest for NFL players is far far below the national average. The rate of arrest for DUI vs the national average is way way below. But the rate of arrest for domestic violence amongst NFL players is much higher than that for DUI vs the national average. Domestic violence is disproportionately a larger % of the average than all other crimes for the NFL.

NFL players are arrested for DUI at a rate that is 27.7% of the national average for men of their age bracket. ( per capita ). But the highest is domestic violence at a relative arrest rate of 55.4%. DUI actually ranks 5th after domestic violence, gun related crimes, sex crimes and murder amongst NFL players. Domestic violence accounts for 48% of all annual violent crimes committed by NFL players. The national average is 21%.

NFL players are, obviously, not poor and make millions. Which is where shit really goes to hell.

The per capita ( 1000 ) arrest rate for domestic violence for males of NFL age in the US is 7.5 to 8. The per capita rate amongst NFL players is much lower at around 4.8-5 or so per capita. That sounds great until you factor in socioeconomic status.

When you factor that in its wildly disproportionate. The per capita rate of domestic violence against the average age bracket of NFL wives vs household income ( greater than $75,000 annual ) is around 1.5 per 1000.

So, 5 vs 1.5. That is shockingly higher.

See what I mean when I say its the biggest problem in the NFL?

[Gravekeeper]

I argue that professional sports rather attracts these types of people. If Adrian Peterson never made the cut, he still had the mindset to try to become a professional athlete, and part of the appeal of becoming a professional athlete is to get that "hero" status, make a name for yourself, and tap the ego you already have.

There's probably some of that going on, but it doesn't pan out statistically. The NFL and the NBA have the worst crime/arrest rates of any professional league on the planet.

The per 1000 capita annual average arrest rate for the 4 biggies since 2010 is:

NFL: 24.6
NBA: 21.5
MLB: 5.5
NHL: 1.7

Which presents an interesting problem.

If I had to take a guess, I would venture that the NFL and the NBA are both America only leagues and thus are mired completely in the American professional college / university sports mill. The one that has repeatedly demonstrated that violence against women ( and anyone else really ) is totally fine as long as you're really good at playing football or basketball. Gang raped a girl at a party? No problem! We'll sweep it under the rug and shame the victims until they're forced to move.

Its not the asshole that desperately wants the hero status, its his entire town / team / coach / school. Any flaws said asshole has are completely overlooked long as he can earn glory and $ for everyone else involved.

[the_std]

It's like they're not even trying anymore...

Jonathan Dwyer of the Arizona Cardinals arrested for allegedly headbutting his wife in the face, breaking her nose, because she refused his sexual advances.

[D_Yeti_Esquire]

There was an article on Deadspin about how the NFL has traditionally controlled media through access which meant guys like Peter King and others were at the top and if you wanted to get there you play ball with the NFL. An NFL beat writer is EXCEPTIONALLY vulnerable to that power dynamic because without his access he has no job. Those guys at the top did not break these stories or they wouldn't be the top guys.

Well, TMZ essentially kicked in the other door and now that people are watching these other organizations that don't particularly need game day access are shining a light on the NFL from the side. My guess isn't that this new incident isn't somehow a weird pattern. Rather, right now there's all sorts of money involved on breaking these stories from people other than NFL press.

That's going to be the NFL's problem. The game changed with players it can't control and now it's actually going to have to deal with it or look extremely bad for a while.

[Gravekeeper]

That's going to be the NFL's problem. The game changed with players it can't control and now it's actually going to have to deal with it or look extremely bad for a while.

That's a good point. It kind of mirrors the situation with the high school / college level as well. How many rapes, beatings, etc were swept under the rug at a local high school or college level by players before social media was able to shine the light of shame on them.

[Racket_Man]

I recently watched an small excerpt of an interview on CNN with an Ex-wife of an NFL player (did not get what team)who was an off the field abuser. Not sure how long ago this happened but with recent events it seems this kind of cover up has been going on A LOOOOONNNNGGGG time. AND it not only involves the NFL but the local level as well

In the excerpt I saw she talk at length about every time the player smacked her around and she called the local cops, they (meaning the cops) would INSIST that she keep quiet as the town did not need all the hassle or negative publicity and the nastiness of a local sports hero being portrayed in such a bad light. The cops would NOT let her press charges as was her right in most states nor were the automatic arrest laws for domestic violence enforced.



As someone mentioned above this starts well below the NFL. Look at all of the recent HS rape cases that have occurred and how the local community rallies around the local foo'ball star and shames the female.

These so-called "men" are taught from an early age they CAN get away with pretty much anything AND if caught they will be protected and coddled and "Mommy will kiss their boo=boo" and the nasty thing will just go away.


35 years ago I observed this in HS. Not the rape part but our loosing football team had in-school things "taken care of" just cause they were on the football team.

[AccountingDrone]

Actually, the biggest issue for the NFL is drunk driving/DUIs. It's by far the most committed crime by the players. I don't get it since every single NFL team has a safe ride program that allows players to call for a ride free of charge, no questions asked. It's just for some reason, DUIs don't seem to be a big deal to the public.

Same reason the dumb bimbos [both male and female] in Hollywood and the music industry keep getting picked up and hauled off in front of the papparazzi ... nobody bothers to tell them no, put them in the *slammer* and keep their sorry asses there.

Sorry, when you have more than enough money to hire a limo to haul your sorry asses around as you blow what few brain cells you have left to hell, and you *drive yourself* you should get a life sentence for DUI, not a slap on the wrist and you picture on the front of the National Enquirer [or whatever it is nowdays.]

[Greenday]

That's a good point. It kind of mirrors the situation with the high school / college level as well. How many rapes, beatings, etc were swept under the rug at a local high school or college level by players before social media was able to shine the light of shame on them.

Social media doesn't seem to do much. Jameis Winston got away with raping a woman. FSU covered it up. The police covered it up. It hit social media. He still won the Heisman and he's still playing college ball today on a full scholarship.

[crashhelmet]

Social media doesn't seem to do much. Jameis Winston got away with raping a woman. FSU covered it up. The police covered it up. It hit social media. He still won the Heisman and he's still playing college ball today on a full scholarship.

Let's not forget he is suspended for the first half of this weekend's game for standing on a table in the campus student union shouting "Fuck Her Right In the Pussy!"

In light of recent events, the rape investigation has been re-opened by the school and the local law enforcement are getting more and more pressure to re-open their investigation as well.

[Gravekeeper]

Social media doesn't seem to do much. Jameis Winston got away with raping a woman. FSU covered it up. The police covered it up. It hit social media. He still won the Heisman and he's still playing college ball today on a full scholarship.

You can't declare it doesn't do much based on a single example. Especially given the number of high profile examples. Plus we're discussing how third party media and social media can operate outside of the controlled access or local media. Social media in these cases has been effective in bringing attention from higher tiers of the justice system. Which is ultimately the goal. Gain the attention of forces outside of the sphere of influence trying to sweep it under the rug.

Also the Winston case was a lot more complicated than that. It was a complete clusterfuck really. It didn't "hit social media", it got coverage in the mainstream media and an investigative report from the New York Times by itself.

[Greenday]

Let's not forget he is suspended for the first half of this weekend's game for standing on a table in the campus student union shouting "Fuck Her Right In the Pussy!"

In light of recent events, the rape investigation has been re-opened by the school and the local law enforcement are getting more and more pressure to re-open their investigation as well.

His suspension has been updated to the full game this weekend.

Go Clemson!

[Gravekeeper]

Let us take a moment to acknowledge that the whole FHRITP thing is incredibly stupid and only the stupidest amongst us think it is in any way funny. It should be used as a barometer for who gets sterilized and sent to Sorry But Its Better This Way Island.

[Greenday]

Let us take a moment to acknowledge that the whole FHRITP thing is incredibly stupid and only the stupidest amongst us think it is in any way funny. It should be used as a barometer for who gets sterilized and sent to Sorry But Its Better This Way Island.

FHRITP? Not sure what you mean by that.

[TheHuckster]

"Fuck Her Right in the Pussy"