So many questions surround domestic abuse in pro sports

It’s difficult to know what to make of the domestic violence issues taking place right now in professional sports.

I say professional sports, knowing the recent spate of incidents are in the National Football League, but there are likely some in other sports too. At least, I know of one involving an athlete in Olympic women’s soccer — Hope Solo.

I know some people have already formed opinions. At least about what’s taken place in the NFL.

Judgment on (former) Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice’s guilt regarding the assault on his girlfriend Janay (now wife) has been passed, thanks to Revel Casino Hotel elevator security video footage released by TMZ. It’s hard to argue with what is seen on the tape, although it should be noted both Rice and Janay were initially charged with simple assault.

Janay’s charges were later dropped. According to reports, the Rice’s argument centered around an excess alcohol consumption fueled disagreement about guests for the upcoming wedding.

In Solo’s case, excessive drinking was also involved, resulting in an argument this past June and alleged assault of her half-sister and 17-year-old nephew. Solo pleaded not guilty in a Kirkland, Wash. municipal court to two counts of misdemeanor domestic violence.

Then there’s Minnesota running back, and potential NFL Hall of Fame inductee, Adrian Peterson, indicted for reckless or negligent injury to a child because he used a “switch” in disciplining his 4-year-old son. Peterson said he used the switch because it’s a form of discipline he was familiar with as a child. Some may argue it’s never correct to discipline one’s children by hitting.

Others, like myself, can remember occasions in our childhood when a spanking, sometimes administered with a belt or ruler, was a way our parents communicated — emphatically — to us the behavior we were engaged in was completely unacceptable.

There have been other high-profile cases involving abuse by professional athletes. In the NFL alone, 12 high-profile players have faced charges in the last nine years, and either have been proven innocent, had the charges dropped or plead guilty and faced penalties.

According to an NBC News piece by Jon Schuppe, 80 NFL players have been arrested in the past 14 years for domestic violence. The only other offense with higher results is driving under the influence.

But also according Schuppe, some research indicates the incident rate of domestic violence among NFL players is lower than the national average for men of similar age. In fact, the analysis done by FiveThirtyEight.com’s Data Lab, indicates even DUI rates among NFL players are lower than the national average, as are drug-related offenses, gun-related crimes, sex offenses, disorderly conduct, etc.

Any regular reader of the Cheney Free Press police reports knows domestic violence is a big issue. It’s likely one of the most reported incidents in the police blotter.

Yet our outrage boils over when professional athletes commit these crimes. Why? Shouldn’t we be just as steamed about the fourth-degree assault/domestic violence report from the 400 block of Fifth Street?

Part of our outrage might be a perception of a lack of proper scale of judgment. By that I mean our belief, sometimes proven correct, that professional athletes evade proper punishment for the crime, whereas the rest of us wouldn’t receive such leniency.

And there’s also the role model concept. Athletes, and other public figures, are looked up to, respected, and asked to exhibit behavior our children can emulate and the rest of us can feel good about.

The reality, as shown above, is professional athletes and public figures are just like us — capable of bad judgment and human emotions. Are we expecting too much to ask them to be otherwise?

Should we perhaps be looking more to ourselves to display better judgment? Should our role models be more like all of us, rather than the select, talented few?

It’s hard to know what to think.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].