CAUTION: GRAPHIC CONTENT
The title should have you perculated with interest I would hope, but for me it is NOT a subject that I feel like I should even have to write about. The athlete and domestic violence is becoming a hot topic among those in the sports world. With names like Ray Rice and Aroldis Chapman to athletes still unnamed. Unfortunately, I will have to dive into a topic that I would much rather leave alone. So what is it with the athlete and domestic violence? Why is it happening? How can it be stopped?
So let's first take a look at domestic violence among athletes and show you numbers that are down right appauling. The statistics are worse among those in the NFL as a 14 year report by NBC reported. In a reported survey in one year of 252 athletes 14% of those athletes were football players, 7% baseball players, and 6% were professional basketball players and hockey players. These numbers are just down right appauling and the numbers are just getting worse with names of American athletes like Ray Rice and most recently Aroldis Chapman of the Cincinnati Reds was brought to light (causing his chances of being traded to practically be squandered).
Next take a look at why it is happening? This one is obvious as the professional sports league's have turned a blind eye to it for so many years. The league's have known about this for some time most notably the NFL and have NOT done anything. IF you turn a blind eye to something and don't nip it in the bud at the first sign of the problem the issue will continue to happen until you do something. Domestic violence is a real thing and needs to be stopped, but what I don't want someone to say or think is it is domestic violence to sexually spank your significant other or tie that significant other up as a sexual game(that is NOT the defintion of domestic violence so if you think that you might just stop reading). I'm confident the majority of athletes do not perform or engage in domestic violence, but for the ones that do it is time that the league's bring notice to their names and do what it can to STOP IT AND STOP IT NOW! If that is banning athletes that perform the act of domestic violence from the league's that they are attributed to then SO BE IT!
Now to the part that I briefly touched on a little bit under the last section and that is how can it be stopped? First and foremost, the athletes need to know that the leagues are watching and taking notice and won't tolerate it ONE BIT! I am a sports fan through and through and love sports, but need to see the leagues take a NO TOLERANCE stance on issues like Domestic Violence. My take is that if a player is found guilty of domestic violence they would be BANNED from that sports league they are affiliated with. This type of action would be seen throughout as being untolerable and unacceptable and players would then think twice. I'm NOT a HUGE fan of the team's doing domestic violence classes...just like health in high school it really didn't do good for girl's NOT getting pregnant these classes are USELESS in the sports world. So give these players a BAN FOR LIFE from the league they are affiliated with and after the first one or two players they would get it through their thick skulls.
In conclusion, this is again NOT a subject that I wanted to write about or EVER would have thought I would be writing about but sometimes you have to get over the hump and show the sports world the true numbers. I would like to reiterate though that the defintion of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE has nothing to do with significant others spanking each other in a erotic passion or a couple in BDSM. THAT IS NOT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE! So what are your thoughts on the domestic violence issue in sports and amongst athletes?
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