The Super Bowl advertisement that was described by so many viewers as “powerful” is not fiction for many. In fact, the advertisement itself is not fiction. It is based off of an actual 911 phone call made by a victim of domestic violence. The NFL has received glowing reviews for its sizeable donation to air an anti-domestic violence advertisement during the Super Bowl, but it may be premature to dole out unconditional praise and accolades to the organization.
Let’s take a moment to consider the history of lenient behavior that the NFL has exhibited toward players accused (and convicted) of sexual assault and domestic violence. The uproar began when Ray Rice was caught on camera clocking his then-fiancee in an elevator. She, of course, fell to the floor and Rice was filmed dragging her unconscious body out of the elevator. His punishment? Suspended for two games.
Daryl Washington, the inside linebacker for the Cardinals, pled guilty to assaulting his ex girlfriend. According to the ex-girlfriend, Washington straddled her in a parking lot and choked her until her collar bone broke. His punishment? Suspended for the season… in a separate incident for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
Adrian Peterson was invited back to the Minnesota Vikings following allegations of child abuse. The offer was only rescinded after an outpouring of rage from fans and the loss of a number of sponsorships, including Nike. The list doesn’t stop there. Feel free to peruse this list of 14 current NFL players with a history of domestic violence at your leisure.
There is a fundamental difference between an advertisement and a policy change: the advertisement does nothing more than repair an image while the policy change repairs an issue. The NFL has begun collaborating with NO MORE, a public awareness campaign whose goal is to normalize discussions of sexual assault and domestic violence. What does this mean? It means that the NFL now has exclusive access to a marketing consultant who is responsible for salvaging the NFL’s tarnished image.
In light of the massive publicity generated by the Ray Rice controversy, Roger Goodell (NFL commissioner) “stepped up” to publicly address the NFL’s problem with domestic violence and sexual assault. The good news? A new personal conduct policy is currently undergoing negotiations. The new policy provides a more comprehensive list of prohibited conduct along with actual procedures to be followed when the policy is violated. The bad news? The new policy doesn’t actually add any new punishments, which means that it might not add up to much more than a public relations ploy. Furthermore, Goodell retains the right to make the final decision on any disciplinary action taken against a player. This is worrisome considering his record on handling domestic violence and sexual assault cases involving NFL players.
The NFL donated exactly one minute and one second of its own air time to show an anti-domestic violence advertisement, but what has the NFL truly done to crack down on sexual assault and domestic violence from its players? Just enough to say that it didn’t do nothing.