Random Thought - Domestic Violence Policy

[inkfreq]

Just an idea, but if the NFL is serious about cracking down on domestic violence, let's start with the most obvious solution...

Why is it the NFL seems to have such a large problem with it's player's beating their wives? I get that football is a violent sport played by violent men in a culture that breeds violence. Makes perfect sense.

But it's not a sport that teaches punching people in the mouth as one of it's most basic tenants. Yet it has a larger DV problem than MMA or Boxing, as examples.. sports where people are trained to punch other people in the mouth.

So what makes football so violent at home?

How about we get to the root of the problem, and any player arrested for Domestic Violence is required to take an olympic level steroid test, including blood screening for HGH weekly for the next two years?

I bet the rate of DV issues in the NFL declines severely, or that a high number of the players charged with DV begin missing games due to substance abuse issues.

Would it really surprise anyone to learn that the reason these guys are so damned violent at home is 'roid rage? Instead of addressing the symptom, the NFL should go after the likely disease.

 

[everyoneneedsasmil]

'Roid rage is often misunderstood. Synthetic adrenaline or testosterone does increase aggressive tendencies, but we're talking about minor degrees, not turning a normally nice, respectful person into a monster. Men have naturally high testosterone levels all their lives. The ability to "control" those tendencies is something men actually learn already throughout their lives due their inherent biology. Most studies show that very high doses of steroids can have a link to adverse mental states, but even then we are talking about less than one percent of steroid use cases.

Further, the incidence of domestic violence is not truly more apparent in the NFL than the country as a whole. NFL players are higher profile, which puts the incidents in our faces, but that does not necessarily mean it is happening more frequently. Now, you can say there is a problem with this country given the rates of domestic violence reported, but that problem simply extends to the thousands of athletes that are part of the NFL. The problem does not originate from athletes.

It's easy to point to something like steroids, or sports, or video games, or any other hot topic point of the week. But in reality, the problems we see and get worked up about are systemic to our country and culture. If we want to stop domestic violence in the NFL, for real, the answer won't be steroids (though in some cases it may help), it will be changing the entire culture of where players live and grow up. Children who learn that violence is acceptable and useful in dealing with others are liable to lash out with it later in life, regardless of other circumstances.

 

[inkfreq]

I would tend to agree that it's just reported in a wider capacity because of their celebrity status, but then why don't baseball, basketball, and hockey players have a rate of domestic violence anywhere near as high as football players?

 

[everyoneneedsasmil]

I would tend to agree that it's just reported in a wider capacity because of their celebrity status, but then why don't baseball, basketball, and hockey players have a rate of domestic violence anywhere near as high as football players?

I'm not sure they don't, to be honest. Lack of notable examples does not imply lack of actual incidents. Further, NFL incidents are actually below the national average, so comparing among the sports doesn't present a great deal of information pertinent to the whole. If Basketball is truly lower than Football, does that represent an issue with Football in general, or does that represent an issue with the type of people attracted to each sport. Chicken and egg situation. Are football players worse because Football incites worse behavior, or is it worse because people with more difficult backgrounds are more likely to make it? Does that question even have the evidence to ask it with any authority.

 

[Mitchrapp]

There is just some real bad people in the NFL. No way to prove what the cause is because lots of players don't beat their wives. I don't think it's the NFL responsibility to find out why..

And it doesn't help when you marry a guy that just beat the fuck out of you.