+ Domestic Violence in the NFL By: Sam Jochum, Kasey Garity, Emily Kamm, and Will Kern

+ Studies on NFL Domestic Violence Table 1 shows the basic data on the number of players arrested or convicted. There are 2 explanations: 1. some players were arrested or convicted for more than one of the offenses listed. 2. the specific person offenses listed are only some of the person offenses for which players were arrested. Table 2 calculates the rate at which the events occurs based on race. The total over all is 45.

+ Studies on NFL Domestic Violence cont. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ Arrest Data Analysis Tool to find the arrest rates per 100,000 for the male population in the 25-to-29 age group. The top graph shows that NFL player have a much lower arrest rate than average. If you compare NFL players to the National Average, the NFL makes up over half the cases for Domestic Violence. In the bottom graph it shows that NFL players make up 55.4% of Domestic Violence.

+ Studies on NFL Domestic Violence Cont. On a few episodes of Playmakers they touch a little bit on violence off the field which includes domestic violence. They give an example of an aging running back named Leon.

+ Literature Little guidance on/off field Winning at all costs Warrior Mentality No consequences for actions

+ Examples:  Brandon Marshall, of the Chicago Bears, has not been arrested for this crime although he has been named in at least different instances. He has only been suspended once in 2008 and now is a spokesperson against domestic violence.  Santonio Holmes, also of the Bears, was arrested for being accused of choking the mother of his children and slamming her into a door. She later dropped the charges and his lawyers promised that he would go into counseling through the NFL.

+  Dez Bryant, of the Dallas Cowboys, was accused of hitting his mother and agreed to anger counseling in exchange for dropping the charges. He was not suspended, but the NFL gave him a curfew and counseling.  Erik Walden was suspended by the Green Bay Packers for one game in 2011 after being jailed for an alleged assault against his live-in girlfriend. In court, he submitted to a deferred judgment agreement that allowed him to avoid pleading guilty while receiving counseling.

+  Chris Cook was charged with assaulting his girlfriend in October He sat out most of the season for the Minnesota Vikings, but was later acquitted of all charges. The Vikings reinstated him, and he now is a teammate of Ray McDonald’s of the San Francisco 49er’s.  Tony McDaniel was on the Miami Dolphins in 2010 when he was arrested for shoving his girlfriend, whose head hit the pavement. He pleaded no contest, was put on probation, and the league suspended him one game.

+  Donte Whitner, of the Cleveland Browns, was accused of harassment in a domestic dispute with his girlfriend in The charges were later dropped, and the NFL imposed no punishment.  Randy Starks was charged with domestic assault on his fiancée in 2006, while he was playing for the Tennessee Titans. He was ordered to receive counseling as part of a diversion program and was suspended for one preseason game

+  Frostee Rucker, at the time Cincinnati Bengals, was arrested after a fight with his girlfriend at a party in Los Angeles in He pleaded no contest and was suspended for a game, but successfully appealed the punishment because he’d been in college at the time of the incident.  Kevin Williams was accused of domestic assault for a fight with his wife at home. He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was put on probation, but the NFL didn’t suspend him, although in 2011, Kevin was suspended for using performance enhancing drugs.

+  Ray McDonald, San Francisco 49ers, was arrested when the police came to the house and his 10 week pregnant fiancée had shown them minor bruises on her neck and arms. This was only three days after the new policy against domestic violence which was created on August 28.

+ Example of NFL Domestic Violence AJ Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings Arrested for felony of domestic assault by strangulation on his girlfriend. Suspended for 4 games, suspension lifted with no reason given, pleaded guilty to charges and served 90 days in jail

+ Example of NFL Domestic Violence Robert Reynolds, Tennessee Titans Arrested on domestic violence and assault charges relating to his now ex-wife. Suspended for one game. Later lashed out during a visit to the home of his toddler son and ex-wife. No charges were placed. Hasn’t played a game since his trial, and has been placed on injured reserve list

+ Example of NFL Domestic Violence Rod Smith, Denver Broncos Accused of beating his former live-in girlfriend by throwing her around, banging her head on the floor and choking her during an argument. Later pleaded guilty for a reduced charge of verbal harassment just a couple days before he was going to be charge for third-degree assault and harassment charges NFL fined him $25,000 and no fine if he obeyed probation.

+ Example of NFL Domestic Violence Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings Charged with injury to a child. Suspended for the rest of the year, without pay, for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy

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+ Discussion Questions Do you think the consequences are harsh enough? What do you think the NFL should do to lower domesticviolence cases among their players?

+ Works Cited Blumstein, Alfred, and Jeff Benedict. "Criminal Violence of NFL Players Compared to the General Public." 12.3 (1999): Web. 29 Nov Cimini, Rich. "Quincy Enunwa Cleared Of charge." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 15 Oct Web. 08 Dec Cimini, Rich. "Quincy Enunwa Complaint released." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 05 Sept Web. 08 Dec Fogel, Curtis A. "How Real were the Cougars? Crime and Deviance in the National Football League/ QUELLES-ONT ETAIENT LES REALITES DES COUGARS? DU CRIME ET DE LA DEVIANCE DANS LA LIGUE NATIONALE DE FOOTBALL." Cross - Cultural Communication 8.2 (2012): 1-6. ProQuest. Web. 16 Oct Johnson, Alex. "Chicago Bears' Brandon Marshall Urges Caution on NFL Violence Cases." NBC News. NBC News, 18 Sept Web. 03 Dec Lake, Thomas. "Brandon Marshall Has Had Complicated History with Domestic Violence." SI.com. Sports Illustrated, 18 Sept Web. 24 Nov Martinez, Michael. "NFL's past Penalties for Domestic Violence 'a Different Story'" CNN. N Cable News Network, 01 Jan Web. 03 Dec Morris, Benjamin. "The Rate of Domestic Violence Arrests Among NFL Players." Fivethirtyeight. 31 July Web. 29 Nov domestic-violence-arrests-among-nfl-players/ Schuppe, Jon. "Still Playing: 12 NFL Players Have Domestic Violence Arrests – NBC News." NBC News. NBC, 17 Sept Web. 22 Nov Whitmer, Michael. "Adrian Peterson Indicted on Child Injury Charge, Deactivated for Game against Patriots - The Boston Globe." BostonGlobe.com. N.p., 12 Sept Web. 08 Dec VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN BY PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYERS: A Gender Analysis of Hypermasculinity, Positional Status, Narcissism, and Entitlement. Journal of Sport & Social Issues. November Web. 28 Nov