Making Monsters: Pro Athletes & Violence Off the Field
When I think of the sports world, what comes to mind are stars like Kobe Bryant of the NBA, Ray Rice of the NFL, and Floyd Mayweather Jr. of boxing. These men are tried and true champions of their respected sports but aside from being winners, the three of them have all been accused of some sort of violence against women.
Bryant was accused of rape nearly 20 years ago, Rice was charged with the beating of his then fiancé — and there was clear footage of him knocking her out and dragging her body out of an elevator — a little over two years ago, and Mayweather Jr. has been accused of domestic violence several times to the point of being labeled a serial batterer of women. These three men simply came off the top of my head because they were people I looked up to, and aside from Kobe Bryant’s, the remaining cases took place when I was old enough to comprehend the wrong they had done and the women they hurt.
Ray Rice was charged with aggravated assault after the video of him hitting his fiancé surfaced and he was then “indefinitely suspended” from the NFL. Charges were eventually dropped once he completed his mandatory counseling and the suspension was lifted too but no team is willing to take a chance on him as of now. Rice’s situation is different in a sense though. It isn’t the fact that he was charged with assault, or the fact that he has made considerable efforts to prove to the public he is a changed man; what makes his situation rare is the evidence that was used against him. The video is what really caused the Rice incident to be publicized as much as it was unlike any other case of the NFL. The physical evidence is why there was such a swift response on the part of law enforcement and on the part of the league, and that is usually never the case.
Leagues such as the NFL aren’t guided by the same rules as the criminal justice system. Of 84 player arrests from 2000–2013, no one received more than a 1 game suspension and in a majority of these cases, there were no convictions. Overall, conviction rates are low for athletes of all leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) and this can be due to factors such as selective enforcement and potential bias. With different treatment for an athlete compared to an average Joe, it’s no wonder why these athletes gain a sense of invincibility and begin to use physical and epistemological violence to their advantage.
Star athletes such as Floyd Mayweather Jr. are commonly compared to rock stars and movie stars, except in Mayweather’ Jr.’s case, his career is enhanced by certain aggressiveness as well as the development of brute strength. Athletes come from a place where they train constantly to be as strong as they can and they are expected to showcase that strength for as long as they possibly can. The problem begins when athletes carry violence from the field into their modern day lives. One sports radio host was quoted saying “on the field they’re mental cases” and for many, they are incapable of shutting it off when they go home or out with friends. Hatred and aggression is bred among them everyday to a point where they end up perpetuating gendered violence by physically punishing women, victimizing them, and gaining satisfaction from venting their power.
Athletes are held to a higher standard in life and due to this, the result is a creation of a class of individuals who feel above reproach. These are men who get paid millions and millions of dollars to exert their force on other men and to prove to the world that they are the alpha-male. With their big wallets and bigger egos, anyone who attempts to challenge them or deems them less than a man will ultimately become a victim of their violence.
OJ Simpson is the epitome of what sports can turn a man into. His ex-wife called the police on multiple occasions for his abuse on her but nothing was ever done. His violence off the field resulted in the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown-Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. With the assistance of the money, friends, and mass adulation he accumulated over the years as a star athlete, he was acquitted of both charges and there was no justice for Nicole and Ron. Simpson’s story has been labeled an “American Tragedy” and it perfectly portrays how the sports world is essentially a microcosm of society. We’ve been told to not hate the player, hate the game, but when it comes to violent offenders such as Simpson, Rice, etc., it’d be just fine to hate both.