Posts Tagged ‘Domestic Abuse’

The Cesspool of CREAM called College Football

Tuesday, August 28th, 2018

by Gus Griffin

gus

 

 

 

 

UM

The investigation about the domestic abuse of Courtney Smith by her then husband, a receivers coach, institutional bystander behavior and attempts to cover up both at Ohio State is complete. As disturbing as the actual findings are, is the fact that the outcomes and “sanctions” or lack thereof, were so foreseeable?

The simple explanation for what did and did not happen is C.R.E.A.M., the acronym many of you know to mean, “Cash Rules Everything Around Me!”

To that end, the fact that there were 115 deaths statewide due to domestic violence in Ohio in 2017 played little to no role in the decisions about accountability. The fact that the football program generates about $90 million per year and is deemed by the Wall Street Journal to be worth about $1 billion if up for sale on the open market, is seemingly all that mattered. Simply put, short of Aaron Hernandez-like murder charges, there was NEVER a time when Coach Urban Meyer was in danger of losing his job. A 73-8 record with a National Title in College football is the equivalent of Teflon.
Speaking of the late convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez, Meyer actually coached him at Florida, where Hernandez was one of 31 different players arrested during Meyer’s tenure…a tenure that included two national titles. Therefore, it is safe to say that at two different venues, Urban Meyer has presided over a football culture that would seem to be relatively permissive at best.

It is hard to know where to start with this episode of ‘The Cesspool of CREAM called College Football’, but for contextual understanding, let us talk about Title 9. It was established in 1972 and largely deals with the issue of gender equity on college campuses. It has been instrumental in expanding athletic opportunities for women. Study after study has shown that women who participate in sports tend to have higher self-esteem and are less likely to find themselves in abusive relationships. It also charges a college to provide a safe and abuse-free environment by requiring any college employee to report instances of alleged abuse to the college’s compliance office. There are exceptions to this requirement called confidential reporters, which typically are counselors, health care professionals, attorneys, and their staff.

No coach or athletic director ever falls under that umbrella, and both Meyer and Athletic Director Gene Smith knew this.

As for the “punishment” of a three-game suspension for Meyer, think of it this way: when former Ohio State QB Terrell Pryor and several of his teammates traded memorabilia for tattoos, they were suspended for five games. But in a state where nearly 20 people a month die from domestic abuse, the University saw fit to sanction an enabler of such abuse with a three game suspension?

Let that sink in for a moment.

There are at least two things that Ohio State and other such programs can do about this issue immediately; 1) in the hiring process, never ignore the red flags of an abuser. Human behavior is relatively predictable IF we review the history and resist cherry picking or denying information. While there are exceptions to every rule, abusers largely do not change. Meyer knew more than enough about this assistant when he was with him at Florida, to know the risk, and even if he didn’t, a program with a $109 million budget can surely do a thorough background check…if it wants to; and 2) immediately began a college-wide ‘Bringing in the Bystander’ training sessions, which show bystanders how to effectively intervene in cases of intimate partner abuse. I am proud to say that my employer, Montgomery College, conducts these trainings for all incoming athletes and as many other students as our volunteer resources allow. But the reality is that Montgomery Community College is not generating $90 million a year through its athletics, which bring us back to the primary culprit: the Cesspool of CREAM.

In some ways, big-time college sports, like mega religious institutions, have the best of both worlds in that they can generate enormous amounts of money without being accountable in the ways commercial for-profit entities are. They pay no taxes. Short of a ‘death penalty’, such as what was endured by Southern Methodist University in the 1980’s, I do not see any deterrent or incentive for big-time college football programs that will counter the profit motive. This challenge is beyond sports and manifests itself on all levels of society, from Wall Street to Health Care. There are two kinds of verifiable power in America: organized money and organized people. Ohio State and other big college football programs are a part of organized money. It is our responsibility, be we sports fans or not, to organize as people to counter organized money interests by insuring, among other things, that the provisions of Title 9 are adhered to within the college setting. Otherwise, who will intervene on behalf of the Courtney Smiths of the world?

 

Gus Griffin, for War Room Sports

What To Make of the Tired and Disturbing Case of Ezekiel Elliott

Sunday, November 5th, 2017

by Gus Griffin

gus

 

 

 

 

EE

The only thing that I am certain of in the battle between the Dallas Cowboys star running back Ezekiel

Elliott and the NFL, which wants to suspend him for 6 games over allegations of domestic violence, is that

I am tired of it and want it to end!

Beyond that, all bets are off.

My initial thinking when pondering writing this was to rail against the self-interest obsessed Cowboy

fans, Jerry Jones’ white male wealth privilege and those apologists, mostly men, for abusers.

Then I did what I hope every opinion writer does: I actually engaged in a more detailed researching of

the “central charge” (I’ll explain why the quotations for this later) against Elliott. After doing this I have

come to the only conclusion anyone could come to, which is that I have no idea who is the victim

between Elliott and his accuser. The inquire raises more questions than it answers. To briefly summarize

the reasons for doubting the accuser are the following:

1) Text messages secured by the NFL show the accuser discussing blackmailing Elliott with a sex

tape;

2) The accuser tried to convince a friend to lie on her behalf and support her claim that Elliott was responsible for her bruises. The friend refused and cited a fight between the accuser and another lady in an affidavit as the possible source of her bruises; and

3) She verbally threatened to ruin Elliott

It’s important to be an ally of women in the fight against domestic violence. As a man, I believe that I can

play a similar role in this struggle as Whites can play in combating racism. I also believe that I have taken

concrete steps to be an ally. The data is clear in that the overwhelming number of allegations of

domestic abuse are true. Having said that, the quest to be an ally does not mean that I am obliged to

blindly endorse the allegations of everyone. Basic fairness demands that allegations, even from a

historically abused demographic, be scrutinized and when that is done in this case, the only conclusion is

that the accuser’s credibility is suspect, so much so that the NFL’s own lead investigator recommended

no suspension for Elliott.

So why is this still a pending issue dangling over the head of Elliott, you ask? There are two primary

reasons for this:

1) Ezekiel Elliott has been a knucklehead with enough documented acts that indicate a lack of

respect for women and poor impulse control and judgment in general. When the totality of his

record is considered, it is not that much of a stretch to believe Elliott is capable of what he is

being accused. The NFL collective bargaining agreement, which the players sign off on permits

the commissioner to consider such incidents in a cumulative manner when pondering discipline.

Therefore, any reviewing of the “central charge” alone is incomplete. It cannot be refuted by

“the police did not charge him” common claim because it’s not a legal process but a workplace

disciplinary process;

2) The NFL has an inconsistent track record when dealing with its players accused of violence

towards women, be it Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, or Josh Brown. As a result, there is tremendous

pressure to get this one right;

3) Elliott is the best player on the most popular team in the most popular sport in America. Anyone in that position, regardless of race, with these accusations is going to draw more scrutiny than say a punter, as was the case with kicker Josh Brown.

You may ask how the NFL can get it right if the player is literally not guilty of the accusation. That’s when

it gets even more complicated. Like it or not, there are at least 2 factors that the NFL considers BEFORE

the actual merits of the accusation. Those two are money and public relations. The actual merits of the

charges are at best a distant third . Money is easy enough to understand. Anything that the NFL deems as having the potential to dip into its bottom line must be dealt with ASAP. Then there are the public

relations of the issue, which is a direct extension of the money factor. This can be best summarized by

saying that the NFL is more concerned with damage control than it is the damage itself. That means

actually caring about domestic violence is not nearly as important to them as appearing to care about

the issue. What this all means is that in the wake of botching the Ray Rice and Josh Brown cases, they

needed a pound of flesh.

Enter Ezekiel Elliott!

So, after multiple court injunctions and stays and no clear ending to the stalemate, here we are.

Based on history, it’s highly unlikely that Elliott will avoid a suspension. It’s not a question of if he will sit

but when, and for how long. After all, even the golden boy, Tom Brady, eventually had to sit. Judges are

very hesitant to overturn provisions of a collectively bargained agreement and that is what the NFL has

as its trump card. Given that, what I have never quite understood is why the Cowboys didn’t play this

differently. Why not take the precedent of Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger back in 2010? He got the

same 6-game suspension for multiple accusations of sexual assault. It was eventually reduced to 4

games, during which the Steelers went 3-1. They would win the AFC that year, making it to the Super

Bowl, a highly unlikely accomplishment had they taken the Cowboys approach to Elliott’s situation this

year. Even if Elliott’s suspension were not reduced, the 6 games would be over by now. They could have

gone 3-3 (their record with him after 6) without him. They would have him back, healthy and rested for

the second half of the season, including both games against the high-flying, first place Eagles. Now that is all in doubt, as are the Cowboys’ playoffs hopes.

So why didn’t they take that approach? I can only come up with 3 possible reasons:

1) Jerry Jones is used to getting his way and would not back down;

2) Elliot, like most professional athletes, is programmed not to back down and is engaged in this process in the same way; or

3) He actually did not abuse her.

I do not know which one, two, or all three might have been at the heart of the Cowboys’ strategy.

That disturbs me but not nearly as much as the fact that this saga has given a platform to misogynist and

apologist for those who abuse women.

 

Gus Griffin, for War Room Sports

WHAT DOES IT TAKE?: Greg Hardy, the need for pictures, and what it says about America

Monday, November 9th, 2015

by Gus Griffin

gus

 

 

 

 

GH

I’m clear about Steven A. Smith’s  agenda: he caught a lotta flak after the Ray Rice abuse case and is now pandering to the very folks who wanted his head.
What is more useful is to discuss the threshold of proof necessary to acknowledge the mistreatment of some, particularly women, Black, and Latino folks.
On due process terms, it seems to me that only the Dallas Cowboys can take any action against Hardy and we all know that if they did cut him, more than a few teams will be lined up to sign him.  I’m clear that Greg Hardy is a bully and likely a psychopath. I would shed no tear if he never played in the league again. But I did not need to see pictures of his abuse to come to that line of thinking. The fact that anyone needed pictures to get to this level of outrage means that this is much bigger than Greg Hardy. This is about America and whose suffering is at the back of the line for addressing. It’s clear that women being brutalized by men and Black and Latino folks by police requires a certain level of visual proof beyond that of most others. In the Black man’s case, Eric Garner, sometimes even the picture isn’t enough. I’m not suggesting that alleged victims are all truthful. That “cry wolf” opportunist element is out there. But there is a distinct difference in justifiable scrutiny of the truth and hoping one is not being truthful so that we can maintain our business as usual world views about women, Black, and Latino folks being primarily responsible for their mistreatment. I say we because on the Greg Hardy issue, I am just as much of part of the problem. Certainly not for condoning violence against women but because Hardy’s arrogance and indifference is fueled by the very fundamental fact, be it conscious or subconscious, that he knows I and most of you will keep watching the NFL. Roger Goodell and Jerry Jones know it as well. So Ill climb down from my soapbox and hopefully “Screaming” A Smith will soon follow.
Gus Griffin, for War Room Sports