Violence In Sports: Violence Against Women In The Nfl

The National Football League has an undeniable problem with violence against women. It also has a problem with arrest rates of players who commit violence against women, with a rate that is only half that of the national average. Moreover, it’s 55.4% relative arrest rate is more than four times worse than the league’s arrest rate for all offenses, when domestic violence accounts for 48% of arrests for violent crimes among NFL players. Unfortunately, this violence that is not handled justly is perpetrated by the league itself, and American society, making it an extremely difficult issue to resolve. The problem with violence against women stems from many factors, including the hyper-masculinity of the NFL, the entitlement and narcissism of players, and the bigger-picture rape and domestic violence culture that exists in the United States.

The NFL has a toxic locker room setting where “being soft is a greater sin than being crazy, crude, or barbaric” (Holstein, 2015). Players feel as though they can’t be emotional or even intelligent, because “in a gladiator sport like football, intelligence can be seen as being soft” (Holstein, 2015). There is intense pressure to be aggressive, strong, and unbreakable, and anything that strays from this hyper-masculine notion is unacceptable. This denial of any sort of “softness” also carries over into off-field instances involving aggression and barbarism. This was very evident in the case of Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin, who was subject to harassment and racial slurs from teammates including Ricky Incognito. However, these off-field instances of aggression don’t simply end with locker room bullying. They escalate to domestic violence, sexual assault, and other forms of violence towards women. When football players are engrossed in a daily culture that rejects softness and idealizes crazy and crude aggression, they are unable to simply switch their thinking when they aren’t in the setting of football. These ideals are upheld in their personal lives, and have the capacity to result in violence towards women.

Moreover, combative sports like football emerged as a setting for men to express a type of masculinity that is largely rooted in physicality and domination of an opponent, including “the sanctioned use of aggression/force/violence” (Bryson, 1987). The design and strategy of football utilizes violence, and domination of an opponent is the ultimate goal. In fact, a player’s end zone celebration following a touchdown represents the ultimate physical domination of his opponents and the celebration of male superiority. The celebrations also “promote the glorification of men’s bodies as centers of physical power, where these rituals place the body as power in the center stage” (Bryson, 1987). These ideals of domination and force are consistent with masculine hegemony, which football as a sport undeniably perpetuates. Sports represent a sexist view of the world, and uphold the ideals of male supremacy. Football specifically propagates the sanctified principles of a “male-dominated, success-oriented, status seeking society” (Runfola, 1980). In this sense, the violence and masculinity that are visible throughout sports appear to reinforce misogynistic elements of male sexuality and may be related to the prevalence of violence towards women. Due to the extent that violence, aggression, domination, and physicality are rewarded in football, it’s not surprising that some players adopt versions of hyper-masculinity both on and off the field. Additionally, athletes are motivated to dominate their opponent physically, and because they do this day in and day out as part of their profession, the line is easily blurred between work and home. Until the hyper-masculine culture of the NFL and sports in general improves, it will continue to be a factor in the violence seen towards women.

Another factor that contributes to this issue of violence is the entitlement and narcissism of football players, which stems from their own accomplishments as well as the way that society views them as athletes. In 1997, a study was conducted to investigate differences among football positions and their tendency to victimize women. A list of 100 NFL players known to have committed violence against women (e.g. sexual assault, rape, domestic violence) was analyzed to explore a number of sociological and psychological factors relating to “off-the-field” aggression, and researchers came to a starking conclusion. Although there was little variety in the number of offensive and defensive players, the number of players in touchdown scoring positions represented more than a third of all players listed. In other words, players in prestigious roles as scorers were overrepresented when it came to incidents of violence against women. This highlights the significance of elevated status, prestige, and narcissism when it comes to acts of violence, as the players feel as though they have the right to commit these acts because of their success and status.

Furthermore, American society absolutely idealizes football. Players and teams are worshipped, and Sunday night football is a ritual millions of Americans partake in. Football players elevated status as sports figures or “heroes” contributes to a sense of entitlement and specialness. It is precisely this sense of entitlement and specialness that are considered to be important factors in the dynamics of sexual assault, especially “if offenders expect (or believe they deserve) sexual access or believe they have the right to physically discipline women” (Hamberger, 1986).

The way Americans heroize football players is also significant in terms of their ability to commit acts of violence, as fans have a difficult time believing that a player actually did something wrong, or they even justify their wrongdoings. Professional athletes are “immortalized by their fans” and have “substantial influence” on admirers. As a writer from the New York Times put it, “when athletes are coddled and lionized, why should they think of themselves as anything less than privileged beings, operating apart from the rules of mortal men?”. The way in which professional football players are admired and viewed as heroes/Gods not only creates a sense of entitlement, but also justifies their actions. Through both football stars accomplishments and status, as well as the glorification they receive from Americans, they are in a position to believe they have the right to physically discipline all people, especially women.

Additionally, bigger-picture rape and domestic violence culture that exists in the United States is a factor that greatly contributes to the NFL’s problem with violence towards women. Rape is one of the most underreported crimes, which results in “a gross misperception of its impact upon victims”. It is indicated through research that one of the reasons the report rates of rape are so low is because of potential victim blaming, where victims of rape “are blamed and denigrated for their role in the rape, even to the extent whereby the victim is held responsible for the assault” (Grubb, 2012). Victim blaming as a toxic part of rape culture acts as a tool for perpetrators of sexual assault to harm their victims and escape punishment. When victim blaming and an elevated status of a professional athlete are hand in hand, victims are at a great disadvantage.

Rape and domestic violence culture also bleeds into the way the NFL and college athletic departments handle cases of violence and assault. Given the stigma and negative publicity related to violence against women, teams and leagues are apprehensive to recognize and share information about abusive athletes. There is considerable evidence suggesting that college athletic departments “go to great lengths to protect violent athletes from adverse publicity, even engaging in obstruction of justice” (Welch, 1997).

In 1995, University of Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips was charged with misdemeanor assault and trespassing for attacking his girlfriend, Kate McEwen, a basketball player at the University of Nebraska. According to the police report and accounts of witnesses, McEwen “was thrown to the floor of a bathroom and dragged down three flights of stairs to the entry of an apartment complex by Phillips” (Moran, 1995). Lawrence was at first suspended from the football team following the assault, but was later reinstated after only missing six games. After he was reinstated, the university imposed other sanctions which included mandatory counseling, community service, and attendance of all classes. The lack of consequence Phillips received for the extremely violent assault demonstrates the direct effect of rape culture on football administration. It is obvious that management wants players to continue playing, even after terrible occurrences of violence, so that the team succeeds.

However, rape culture is the principal factor that allows teams to turn a blind eye to violence against women. Now more than ever is it easy for teams to lack accountability when it comes to violence, when even the President of the United States degrades women, calling them names including “horse face”, “slobs” , and “fat pigs” (Walsh, 2018). Women, especially in Trump’s America, are seen as the lesser, so in the case of domestic abuse victim blaming is very easy to get away with.

Although the hyper-masculinity of the league, entitlement and narcissism of players, and rape culture all factor into the NFL’s problem with violence against women, the league is taking steps towards resolving the issue. In 2014, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice infamously knocked out his fiancée in a hotel elevator before he dragged her into the hallway. The NFL suspended Rice for two games, but after intense public scrutiny when a TMZ video of the incident was published, the Ravens released him and the league suspended him indefinitely.

Ray Rice’s case of domestic abuse seemed to be the turning point for the NFL in terms of its disciplinary action for players. Under the NFL constitution, the commissioner may discipline players who have “violated the constitution of by-laws of the NFL” (Withers, 2010). The NFL CBA states that “any action taken against a player by the Commissioner for conduct detrimental to the integrity of, or public confidence in, the game of professional football” may only be appealed by the commissioner. There is no independent arbitrator available to review or undermine the commissioner’s disciplinary action for off-field conduct. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell strengthened the Personal Conduct Policy following the Ray Rice incident, making it clear that “violators would receive longer suspensions and larger fines and stated he would subject teams to discipline for violations of their employees (Withers, 2010). Furthermore, Goodell stated that the league is “looking at if there are a number of players that have repeat offenses” in order to determine whether “we need to act before the judicial system acts” (Withers, 2010). The NFL reported that in the first year the new Personal Conduct Policy was in effect, the number of incidents of domestic violence and sexual assault decreased by twenty percent.

The NFL must increase the severity of discipline towards athletes who commit acts of violence towards women in order to prevent these incidents. Although steps like Goodell’s Personal Conduct Policy are helpful to the matter, there needs to be societal shift in the United States in order to truly resolve the problem. Football players must somehow demasculinize the sport, and make it okay for the athletes to have emotions and be “soft” like regular people. This act of being recognized as regular people would then in turn help diminish the “God complex” that many of these players are viewed to have, which then would lessen the sense of entitlement and narcissism they have that perpetuates the violence. This would also aid in the destruction of the toxic masculine hegemony, which would prevent abuse and rape victims from being blamed. Every single factor that is responsible for football player’s violence towards women are intertwined, and once one factor is altered, the rest will follow.

Once these societal shifts come into being, the number of incidents of domestic violence and sexual assault will hopefully decrease by another twenty percent, and another, until the league has an absolute one strike policy for violence towards women. Football is American culture in itself, and once rates of violence decrease and rates of arrest increase, society will see a shift in the way women are viewed. Sports and masculinity are “virtually symbolic in American culture… In America, sports continue to be the strongest reference point for promulgating the most sacred values of a male-dominated, success-oriented, status seeking society” (Runfola, 1980). An improvement with the issue of violence against women would mean so much more than football; it would result in an improvement for our patriarchal society as a whole.

References

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