Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Sports and Domestic Violence

Recently there has been major media attention focused on athletes who commit domestic violence. Experts say it’s a sad part of a culture of accepted playing field violence transferring to relationships.

“It’s not just athletes,” said Bryon Hurt, an educational speaker who lectures about gender violence prevention from grade school to college. “It’s guys at fraternities, the military. We’re all sort of trained by the culture that the way we handle conflict and disappointment and disagreement is through violence.”
The Domestic Violence Show appears Manhattan Neighborhood Network Public Access Cable TV. Our mission is to promote Domestic Violence awareness on the Internet. In order to continue our work we need your financial support. Please make your purchase at the NYC Re-use It site. Be sure to indicate Domestic Violence (DV) Show at check out screen to show your support for our work. 

One study of college athletes found they were involved in a disproportionate number of sex assaults: While athletes made up just over 3 percent of the student body, they were involved in 19 percent of the sex assaults on campus.

Yet when those athletes move to professional sports, it appears not as many are held accountable for domestic violence. An analysis of NFL athletes trend in the opposite direction.

Since 200, while one in 21 men were arrested for domestic violence, only one in 47 players faced the same charges.

Even more telling is the conviction rate: 76 percent of men in the general public were convicted of crimes. When you consider just athletes, it drops in half, to 36 percent.

“It’s a message sent to athletes that they can get away with it and something should be done to turn those numbers around,” said McLeod. “All who abuse and choose to commit a crime should be held accountable for their actions.”

Examples of ballers who have crossed the line and are guilty of domestic violence:

Brazilian goalkeeper charged with murdering ex-girlfriend.

Bruno Souza, a Brazilian goalkeeper, has been charged with the murder of his ex-girlfriend.

The Brazilian footballer, who played for Rio de Janeiro's Flamengo team, was also charged with kidnapping, hiding a body, forming a criminal gang and corrupting minors, police in the state of Minas Gerais told a media conference.

The woman, who had a four-month-old baby she claimed was fathered by Souza, was believed to have been demanding child support. The baby was found in the care of Souza's wife.

A rising young NBA player from Brooklyn, was charged after allegedly throwing his girlfriend down a flight of stairs.

Authorities say the confrontation occurred around 5 a.m. Sunday when the woman, Jasmine Williams, was returning home to her apartment building with two friends. Witnesses said Stephenson was waiting for her and yelled, "Are you kidding me?" before pushing her down the stairs.

After pushing his girlfriend down a flight of stairs, grabbed her and hit her head on the bottom step, prosecutors said.

A judge released Stephenson, 19, without bail late Sunday night after his arrest on assault, menacing and harassment charges. Prosecutors had asked for $7,500 bail.

A criminal complaint provided Monday by the Brooklyn district attorney's office said that as Williams lay at the bottom of the stairs, Stephenson picked up her head and slammed it on the bottom step.

New York Mets pitcher Francisco Rodriguez has been released without bail and told to stay away from his girlfriend's father while facing charges he assaulted the man.

The charges against him — third-degree assault and second-degree harassment. Rodriguez, the Mets’ closer, had pummeled the father of his common-law wife in an incident at Citi Field after the game against the Rockies, and that he had the father “by the neck against the wall and was basically on top of him.”

“It wasn’t until security guards heard the screaming that they were able to pull him off,” it was said.

The district attorney’s (DA) office was trying to obtain more information about other potential domestic violence incidents involving Rodriguez, at least one of which was cited to the police by his common-law wife, Daian Pena.

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