WNBA stars Brittany Griner and Glory Johnson didn’t just get a slap on the wrist when it came to their domestic violence arrest last month. They got a 7 game suspension. This is also the leagues longest ban since its inaugural season 19 years ago.
The WNBA president Laurel?Richie said the league
“takes all acts of violence extremely seriously. . .”
when handing down a suspension that represents more than one-fifth of the leagues 34-game regular season.
Richie also called the players’ actions
“unacceptable.”
But Griner and Johnson aren’t the only offenders when it comes to domestic violence. Other athletes have also found their way into the spotlight because their poor decisions, such as the Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson incidents, both of whom have been reinstated.
As we can remember, Ray Rice was suspended twice for two games by NFL?League (lord) Commissioner Roger Goodell for Rice’s attack on his girlfriend in an elevator.
Adrian Peterson was also hit by the spotlight when he brutally beat and abused his young son with a switch (tree branch) causing his son to suffer gruesome physical and emotional injuries.
Dez Bryant had also been involved in a case of alleged domestic violence in a case of hitting his mother.
Oscar Pistorius, a disabled athlete who participated in 2012 Olympics games, made headlines when he was tried for murder and convicted of culpable homicide of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius had apparently been involved in previous altercations with her.
Professional athletes can afford to hire domestic violence lawyers that specialize in rationalizing the abuse and obtaining lighter sentencing for their clients.
While these are just a few on the list, we could go on for days. Domestic violence is most visible in professional sports because of the high profile nature of the athletes, it’s a huge problem in society.
According to ncadv.org, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been a victim of domestic physical violence. This is a startling statistic for the mind to grasp.
What we can learn from this issue is that Domestic Violence is not a joke and should never be taken lightly. We know that many times our eyes and heart see and feel what is visible with domestic violence in professional sports and the effect of sport. We need to see past?our love for the’sport and journey into common society.
If you or someone you know has been a victim, please call The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
