Off field violence in the NFL

[aceluby]

Wanted to start a thread here instead of continuing to pollute the NFL thread to discuss some of the off field crap happening around the NFL.

As a now former Vikings fan I cannot support them again after the way they have handled the Peterson abuse case. Apparently if you're an MVP you can abuse whoever the hell you want, including 4 year olds, and still play. If you're a new lineman, you are immediately dumped. IMO he deserves to be fired and probably some jail time.

[stateofdissipation]

...It is a game... it is a business...

The business of the NFL is marketing its players. The relation to the game comes second if at all.

The NFL is made up of men... larger and faster than most.. but in the end just men... The NFL markets them as role models, personalities, and heroes. The men that play the game have the same relationship to the marketing as the game itself does.

If you would hope for a hero or a good person, spend your Sundays in church. If you holding the currently popular view makes you moral or think it is your place to judge another person's shortcomings... church would do you much more good than a Viking's game. You are moral based on what you do (not your opinions of what others do). If you wear a robe and sit a bench and people call you "your honor" it is your place to judge (according to the law).

If you chase buses or women, you will get left behind. If you set a man up as a hero, he will let you down (or die before he gets the chance). Don't chase buses or women... don't set men up to be heroes...

Adrian Peterson is a man... larger and quicker than most... the man can play the game-- that is a thing of beauty. I can admire that.. I can respect that.. I recall half a hundred moments where AP utterly amazed me.. I hope to see that many again

A player's private life has never been included in my ticket price. I never expected AP to do anything other than play ball.

[N/A]

...It is a game... it is a business...

The business of the NFL is marketing its players. The relation to the game comes second if at all.

The NFL is made up of men... larger and faster than most.. but in the end just men... The NFL markets them as role models, personalities, and heroes. The men that play the game have the same relationship to the marketing as the game itself does.

If you would hope for a hero or a good person, spend your Sundays in church. If you holding the currently popular view makes you moral or think it is your place to judge another person's shortcomings... church would do you much more good than a Viking's game. You are moral based on what you do (not your opinions of what others do). If you wear a robe and sit a bench and people call you "your honor" it is your place to judge (according to the law).

If you chase buses or women, you will get left behind. If you set a man up as a hero, he will let you down (or die before he gets the chance). Don't chase buses or women... don't set men up to be heroes...

Adrian Peterson is a man... larger and quicker than most... the man can play the game-- that is a thing of beauty. I can admire that.. I can respect that.. I recall half a hundred moments where AP utterly amazed me.. I hope to see that many again

A player's private life has never been included in my ticket price. I never expected AP to do anything other than play ball.

I agree in some aspects , I watch the game because I like the sport .

I wouldn't watch it if it were filled with tim tebows all kneeling down and holding a massive prayer . :dunno:

Not because of the prayer but because the guy holds a football like he holds a frying pan and throws bricks .

I watch for what they do on the field , nothing else . I don't even read these articles about a players personal life , the first I knew about the rice and ap stuff was here .

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

sod,

If Mr. Petersen abuses children none of those admirable traits you write about should keep him out of jail.

[stateofdissipation]

sod,

If Mr. Petersen abuses children none of those admirable traits you write about should keep him out of jail.

It should not... but the legal system is another issue..

[Stannisaurus2]

I am not familiar with NFL or the case but anyone who abuses a 4-year-old should be thrown in jail

[wolverine]

Wanted to start a thread here instead of continuing to pollute the NFL thread to discuss some of the off field crap happening around the NFL.

As a now former Vikings fan I cannot support them again after the way they have handled the Peterson abuse case. Apparently if you're an MVP you can abuse whoever the hell you want, including 4 year olds, and still play. If you're a new lineman, you are immediately dumped. IMO he deserves to be fired and probably some jail time.

My wife is a social worker in child protection and her county is a lot tougher than most in the state. Without knowing every single detail of the case, he would for sure not have been arrested and would almost definitely not have any jail time. If he was your neighbor instead of AP, you would most likely not know anything happened and it would not have gone to court (unless there were custody issues) as he seems to be voluntarily willing to work a plan that involves him learning to be a better parent.

[wolverine]

I am not familiar with NFL or the case but anyone who abuses a 4-year-old should be thrown in jail

He spanked his son with a switch (slender tree branch). Corporal punishment is legal in Texas. According to texts I believe his son had pushed a kid off a bike, smothered a kid with a pillow, and would not stop swearing.

Corporal punishment is actually still legal in schools in Texas as well as 19 other states.

EDIT: I could never imagine using a switch on my son. Corporal punishment was not used on me as a child (maybe spanked twice ever). It was used extensively on Peterson. I do not say this as an excuse for his actions, but I don't think everyone should be immediately judged either. He sincerely felt that his fathers strict discipline led him to have the success and work ethic he has today instead of becoming a nobody like other kids in his community. If he is also sincerely willing to learn to be a better parent wouldn't both him and his children benefit from that?

[kairparavel]

He spanked whipped his son with a switch (slender tree branch). Corporal punishment is legal in Texas. According to texts I believe his son had pushed a kid off a bike, smothered a kid with a pillow, and would not stop swearing.

Corporal punishment is actually still legal in schools in Texas as well as 19 other states.

ftfy

Corporal punishment may be legal but abuse - open cuts and markings a week later - is not.

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/FA/htm/FA.261.htm

Also this:

Sec. 22.04. INJURY TO A CHILD, ELDERLY INDIVIDUAL, OR DISABLED INDIVIDUAL. (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence, by act or intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly by omission, causes to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual:

(1) serious bodily injury;

(2) serious mental deficiency, impairment, or injury; or

(3) bodily injury.

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/PE/htm/PE.22.htm

[ljkeane]

And he should be in jail for that anyway in my opinion but 'spanked' is a rather mild description of what he did. He beat his 4 year old son with a switch hard enough to leave cuts all over him, including his scrotum. That's clearly abuse.

[wolverine]

Corporal punishment may be legal but abuse - open cuts and markings a week later - is not.

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/FA/htm/FA.261.htm

Also this:

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/PE/htm/PE.22.htm

I was not arguing that what he did was legal or right, although it may have seemed that way. My point was that people are not prosecuted to the extent that the common public seems to think they should be in cases such as this (at least not in my 7 year experience of living with a child protection worker). Here, as in Texas, it is illegal if you leave any kind of marks. Here it is also illegal to use any kind of implement (switch, belt, paddle, etc).

But what is usually done here anyway, is the family would work a plan to learn to become better parents and learn how to discipline their child more effectively without resorting to physical punishment. Obviously if the child was in danger or if the abuse was ongoing the right to parent could be removed.

I don't like taking this position of defending someone who has obviously hurt their own child. I just don't think everything is simply black and white either. Why is this all coming out so much later and why was it originally dropped?

[Kalbear]

It wasn't originally dropped. A grand jury chose not to indict him, but the state of Texas chose to any way.

Legal stuff takes time.

It's more interesting to me to wonder why this became a media event now.

[wolverine]

It wasn't originally dropped. A grand jury chose not to indict him, but the state of Texas chose to any way.

Legal stuff takes time.

It's more interesting to me to wonder why this became a media event now.

I assume the Ray Rice stuff was a huge catalyst. I know this is the NFL thread, but how come it seems like Floyd Mayweather has seemed to come through all this unscathed when he has pounded on half a dozen women over 10 years or so?

[Larry of the Lawn]

Damn that wasn't the OP I was expecting when I clicked on the thread. I doubt going to church curbs violent tendencies.

But yeah, real NFL heroes are closer to Chris Kluwe.

Eta: whoops I read the second post as the OP. Stupid phone (operator).

[sj4iy]

Here's my problem:

People are absolutely all over the NFL about this issue, "What are they going to do?!" "How can I support them after this!" "Look at the way they handled this!"

No.

This is absolutely, utterly wrong.

They shouldn't be the ones 'handling' this. The justice system should be the one punishing these men, not the NFL. We shouldn't be looking to the NFL to 'punish' them because the justice system has failed to do so.

Ray Rice knocks his fiancee out ON VIDEO. ON VIDEO. And the judicial system drops the case when she marries him because of "spousal privilege". WHY DO THEY NEED HER TESTIMONY WHEN IT'S ALL ON VIDEO? The justice system failed to put this man away, so everyone jumps on the NFL demanding something be done.

Adrian Peterson has injured one of his sons before when he 'disciplined him' in the car and the kid ended up hitting his head on the carseat and cut his eye. That goes unreported. Now another son is injured, but people are looking at the league to see what to do about it.

I say this as someone who suffered physical abuse as a child. I don't want to see people focused on the wrong thing. There shouldn't be an outcry over what a sports league is doing about its players...there should be an outcry over the way our justice system fails to protect its most vulnerable.

Sorry, I just had to get this off of my chest.

[Castel]

We have this discussion about private entities distributing "justice' every time it comes up and every time it must be said that this is how things work. It's difficult to conceive of a way to "fix" the fact that people don't want a say...rapist representing the cable network, no matter how strongly people assert what "should" be.It probably helps that it's easy for most people to influence the NFL.

As for guiding outrage: sure. But I can walk and talk too.

[Commodore]

NFL players far less violent than the national average.

Also, domestic violence is as or more prevalent female against male, and female against child. (longish video)

[Suttree]

Also, domestic violence is as or more prevalent female against male, and female against child. (longish video)

When looking at the issue of domestic violence, it's true the ratio is close to even in terms of who initiates. To me the outcomes of said violence tells the real picutre however. Study after study has shown those to not be even remotely close.

[cdawnb]

While I would agree I would like to see the justice system handle these types of cases better, I do believe that any company or organization has the right to fire an employee that violates the law in such a way.

The Ray Rice situation doesn't really have any ambiguity to it because it was caught on film.

As far as the situation with Adrian Peterson it might be better for them to wait to see what the courts have to say before they actually fire him but you can hardly blame them when sponsors are dropping them right and left.

[sj4iy]

While I would agree I would like to see the justice system handle these types of cases better, I do believe that any company or organization has the right to fire an employee that violates the law in such a way.

The Ray Rice situation doesn't really have any ambiguity to it because it was caught on film.

As far as the situation with Adrian Peterson it might be better for them to wait to see what the courts have to say before they actually fire him but you can hardly blame them when sponsors are dropping them right and left.

I'm not saying the company doesn't have the right to suspend or fire players...I'm saying the public outcry over this is focused on what the NFL is doing instead of what the justice system has failed to do.