Let’s Not Forget Why the Super Bowl is Spotlighting Domestic Violence This Weekend
(I find it incredibly disheartening that topics dealing with the nfl and domestic violence and tbi receive almost no notice, but there are hundreds of responses to "deflategate" in all its manifestations.)
Let’s Not Forget Why the Super Bowl is Spotlighting Domestic Violence This Weekend
While sport enthusiasts around the world gear up for Super Bowl Sunday, I can’t help but think back to the Ray Rice scandal that erupted as last summer came to a close. It still boils my blood when I think about how quickly the NFL came to Rice’s defense and I certainly wasn’t alone. With outcries for justice following Rice’s lenient sentencing, the NFL quickly changed their tune and have been doing a great deal to repair their image.
First came a new NFL policy on domestic violence which punishes first time offenders with a six game suspension and second time offenders with a ban from the NFL for at least a year.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1422579428&v=cfto6ZXgt70&x-yt-cl=85114404&feature=player_embedded
The ad certainly is powerful and has the potential to reach millions of viewers which of course is a good — not great — thing, but to be honest I can’t help but think this is too little too late. There is a long history of domestic violence in the NFL with few consequences for players, so while the ad and campaign are well intentioned, I think this is really just a way for the NFL to clean up their image more than anything else. I’ve said before that attempts by the NFL to address the backlash after the Rice scandal were mere publicity stunts and the cynic in me says I’m right.
But maybe that shouldn’t matter. The fact is that millions upon millions of people will tune in Sunday night to view the Super Bowl and see this advertisement. This is an incredible opportunity to raise awareness about domestic violence and foster a dialogue on why we as a culture can no longer stand for it, but I for one will not forget how we got here. I will not forget that this all started with the NFL describing a man who beat his wife to the point of being unconscious as a “heck of a guy” and neither should you.
Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/lets-not-forget-why-the-super-bowl-is-spotlighting-domestic-violence-this-weekend.html#ixzz3QbapFlao
