NFL fumbles opportunity to raise awareness of domestic violence

Security camera footage of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice brutally attacking his then fiancé put the issue of domestic violence in the national spotlight. Rice may be back on the field soon. It’s been over two months since this case surfaced, resulting in calls for the NFL and its commissioner, Roger Goodell, to act and combat the issue of domestic violence. Yet, Domestic Violence Awareness Month has come and gone, and the NFL has done little to acknowledge the issue. This failure can be illustrated by the Seattle Seahawk’s star quarterback, Russell Wilson, having to look up the fact that October was Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

The public embarrassment that both NFL players and the league experienced in September forced Goodell to host a press conference unveiling how the NFL was going to deal with the issue of domestic violence immediately. He promised the NFL would be sincere in its efforts, and he assured fans that the league was committed to “righting this wrong.”

Now we’re deep into football season and fresh off the heels of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, visible most notably during football games. As a female fan, I received emails urging me to support my team (Go Pats!) by purchasing pink gear. I was constantly reminded of the breast cancer movement with a sea of pink during games. Everything from pink pom-poms and pink player gear (to be auctioned off and profited from later), to survivors making tear worthy appearances were present during every game. But here is where the NFL missed an opportunity.

Goodell publicly announced the NFL’s commitment to support the continued awareness of domestic violence. However, the only visible “efforts” by the NFL were, and still are, celebrity endorsed commercials stating that domestic violence is not solely an NFL issue, featuring current and former players. These ads fail to accomplish their goal. “She” is used throughout the ad campaign, a noticeable gendering of the violence (ironically the opposite of the “everyone is affected” message). Players speaking out that violence and victim blaming should stop does not mean it will. Until the league independently implements actions showing commitment to awareness and prevention, I won’t bat an eye at these ads.

Meanwhile, the NFL has raised more than $7 million for the American Cancer Society and breast cancer awareness. During October, walking into an NFL retailer without seeing an abundance of pink ribbons is nearly impossible. My issue with the NFL taking such a prominent stance on breast cancer awareness is not to diminish such an honorable cause. However, the national support for breast cancer research is not dependent on the NFL turning their teams’ jerseys pink. America has already settled into “going pink” every October. The CEO of the American Cancer Society earns a mere $2.1 million per year.3 Further, between the fundraising efforts of Susan Komen and the American Cancer Society, over a billion dollars is raised every year. Thankfully, the NFL has consistently promoted this cause. However, a similar need has been neglected by the NFL: domestic violence awareness, an issue both urgent and relevant to the league.

This intimacy was born from a series of incident’s where NFL players were accused, indicted, or convicted of domestic violence. However, the NFL’s bottom line has yet to impacted by the public humiliation and outrage the league has experienced. There are more people watching games than last year, and women who are fans have yet to make a profound statement in opposition to the league. If this is (as advertised) “more than an NFL issue,” the league needs to do something substantive to show that a movement will start with football, and spread nationally. Wearing purple during October would have been a small but clear statement that the NFL listens. Wearing purple would have shown that the NFL is committed to actually confronting the issue of domestic violence. Instead, we continued to fund CEOs and programming for a billon-dollar, already well-branded movement.

It is perplexing that an organization so squarely in the national spotlight is not willing to truly face its most prevalent issue. Through its ability to reach such a large percentage of the population, the NFL had a chance to raise domestic violence awareness in October. Until purple is displayed as prominently as pink, this won’t happen. Saving lives from this violence is an imperative catch that the NFL continues to drop.

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

NFL fumbles opportunity to raise awareness of domestic violence

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