tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/domestic-violence-and-sports-13057/articlesDomestic violence and sports – The Conversation2018-07-11T12:17:42Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/997692018-07-11T12:17:42Z2018-07-11T12:17:42Z‘If England gets beaten, so will she’ – the link between World Cup and violence explained<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227154/original/file-20180711-27033-105gewc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.ncdv.org.uk/not-beautiful-game/">National Centre for Domestic Violence</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Historically, football has always been associated with aggression and violence. Since its emergence in the <a href="http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9780719037597/">14th century</a>, the game “on the pitch” has been gentrified. The FIFA World Cup epitomises this evolution, bringing together some of the world’s best athletes who, representing their country of origin, are pitched together in intense competition. </p>
<p>But during this time, the violence “off the pitch” has intensified. In many countries across Europe, supporters wearing national team colours have engaged in pitched battles both inside and outside stadiums. During the Euro 2016 football tournament, a new wave of violence began, as “trained” Russian hooligans battled the English in France, equipped with <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/euro-2016-russia-vs-england-violence-marseille-hooligans-clash-hospital-a7077906.html">mixed martial arts</a> gloves and gum shields.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/590355https://www.jstor.org/stable/590355">Many studies</a> have highlighted the violence which occurs near football stadiums. But further research shows that even watching football on the TV can be associated with violence. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/cks098">One study</a> on the 2010 World Cup found that there was a 37.5% rise in admission rates across 15 accident and emergency departments on England match days. </p>
<p>Major football matches have also been linked to increased violence in the home. A campaign by the <a href="http://www.nationaldomesticviolencehelpline.org.uk/">National Centre for Domestic Violence</a> draws on findings of <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022427813494843">a 2013 study</a> we conducted with our colleague Rosie O'Flaherty. </p>
<p>Examining reports of domestic abuse in Lancashire (a county of approximately <a href="http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/lancashire-insight/population-and-households/population/mid-year-population-estimates/">1.5m people</a> in Northern England), across the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cup tournaments, we discovered a 26% increase in reports of domestic abuse when England won or drew, and a 38% increase when England lost. Reports were also more frequent on weekends, and reached their peak when England exited the tournament. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227158/original/file-20180711-27021-11zrcv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227158/original/file-20180711-27021-11zrcv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227158/original/file-20180711-27021-11zrcv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227158/original/file-20180711-27021-11zrcv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227158/original/file-20180711-27021-11zrcv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227158/original/file-20180711-27021-11zrcv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/227158/original/file-20180711-27021-11zrcv7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Dashed hopes: violence worsens when England lose.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tim_ellis/4784214757/sizes/l">tim ellis/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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<p>Put simply, academics account for domestic abuse using individual or social explanations. Individual accounts suggest domestic abuse comes from individuals who lash out due to their inability to deal with anger or frustration, the consumption of drugs or alcohol, or because they witnessed the behaviour in others. Social explanations focus on wider cultural factors, such as the imbalance of power between men and women.</p>
<h2>What causes abuse?</h2>
<p>Both explanations are relevant, when it comes to watching football. The World Cup brings with it emotional and situational stressors, which create a perfect storm with regard to incidents of domestic abuse. The pastime has been associated with a surge in testosterone levels, which some researchers have linked to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/cks098">aggressive behaviour</a>. Supporters approach each match with a strong <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14608940802249965">cultural identity</a>, so they internalise wins and losses. </p>
<p>The month-long competition means there are more arguments between partners about what to watch on the television. Matches often take place on weekends and on exceptionally warm days, which again <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article/30/1/51/523870">are associated</a> with increases of violence. And the tournament is heavily marketed, with many retailers and caterers taking the opportunity to increase alcohol sales – another factor <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199912163412505">closely associated</a> with domestic violence. </p>
<p>This doesn’t just apply to soccer – <a href="http://davidcard.berkeley.edu/papers/card-dahl-family-violence.pdf">researchers</a> found that men were involved in 10% more violence against their female partner if their team lost an American National Football League game. And a <a href="https://www.routledge.com/MediaSport/Wenner/p/book/9780203014059">further study</a> found that husbands and wives argued most over which television programmes to watch when sports were being broadcast.</p>
<p>Almost 20m watched England beat Sweden in the recent quarter final – and a record global audience of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/consent/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2018/06/14/world-cup-2018-the-money-behind-the-biggest-event-in-sports/">3.4 billion</a> is expected to watch at least one game either on the TV or online. Our study found that the reports of domestic violence grew worse tournament by tournament. So while England’s extended run in the 2018 competition brings national joy for many English people, some still live in dread of match days. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>More evidence-based articles about football and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/world-cup-2018-11490?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">World Cup</a>:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/world-cup-provides-plenty-of-drama-but-football-must-not-forget-its-social-responsibility-99061?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">World Cup provides plenty of drama – but football must not forget its social responsibility</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-this-football-tournament-should-be-called-the-mens-world-cup-98348?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">Why this football tournament should be called the men’s World Cup</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="http://theconversation.com/world-cup-sexism-in-british-punditry-is-clear-for-all-to-see-98715?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">World Cup: sexism in British punditry is clear for all to see</a></em></p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99769/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian Francis has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stuart Kirby does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When England play a match, there’s a 26% increase in reports of domestic abuse. When they lose, reports go up 38%.Stuart Kirby, Professor of Policing and Criminal Investigation, University of Central LancashireBrian Francis, Professor of Social Statistics, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/536732016-03-01T15:49:56Z2016-03-01T15:49:56ZWhy sportspeople convicted of violence against women forfeit their right to be ‘stars’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110011/original/image-20160202-32247-1xar1hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> </figcaption></figure><p>When Floyd Mayweather took on Manny Pacquiao last year in what was billed as the “fight of the century”, the pair of us made the <a href="http://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/OU-Sport/?p=470">conscious decision</a> not to watch the bout, despite an interest in boxing both as spectators and participants. </p>
<p>Unlike some reporters, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/may/02/floyd-mayweather-cnn-espn-reporters-say-banned-fight">who claimed to be banned</a> from watching it – ours was a defiant choice because we were more concerned with what it must have been like for the victims of <a href="http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/7373822/floyd-mayweather-take-plea-deal-clear-two-vegas-felony-cases-officials-say">Mayweather’s domestic violence</a>. We were – and are – disappointed that a sportsperson so lacking in moral character is afforded celebrity and status. Whatever you may or may not think about the sport of boxing, violence outside the ring is never ok and yet too often the men (because it is overwhelmingly men who engage in domestic violence) are looked up to as role models.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10041091/Floyd-Mayweather-Has-everyone-forgotten-he-punched-his-girlfriend.html">Mayweather</a> was sentenced to jail for three months after being found guilty for attacking his partner, Josie Harris. The boxer, who committed the offence in front of his two children – who heard him threaten to make her “disappear” – was allowed to <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/05/01/floyd-mayweather-history-domestic-abuse-hasn-hurt-fight-hype/G5MZVOGzsCUdOCh33oPleI/story.html">return to the ring</a> where his legions of fans lionise him for doing in the ring what he was imprisoned for doing in his home. This sends altogether the wrong message on domestic violence.</p>
<p>Or take the example of premier league footballer <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3427850/Premier-League-footballer-Danny-Simpson-working-BINGO-CALLER-community-service-throttling-ex-girlfriend.html">Danny Simpson</a>, who served just 300 hours of community service for attempting to strangle his ex-girlfriend (the mother of his child). This hasn’t prevented him from turning out for his club, Leicester City, who are in poll position to win the league title and their players to make the leap to sporting superstardom.</p>
<p>This is a longstanding debate – and an important one. When <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/nov/20/ched-evans-training-offer-withdrawn-sheffield-united">Ched Evans wasn’t allowed to return to his club Sheffield United</a> in 2014 – after serving two years of a five year sentence for rape, it allowed society to question whether people who have been convicted of crimes of violence against women should be allowed to continue to occupy the exalted status of “sports star”. </p>
<p>As Charlie Webster stated in her interview, after she resigned from Sheffield United as patron when the club allowed Evans to return to training after his release: “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/nov/12/charlie-webster-sheffield-united-patron-ched-evans">rape is not a trivial subject</a>”. She argued that sexual asssault and violence against women should be taken more seriously than it is, particularly given the psychological and physical consequences of these crimes. Her argument was that whilst she believes in rehabilitation, she does not believe that it is right to put Evans back into exactly the same very privileged position where young boys and girls look up to him.</p>
<p>As it happens, Evans has not played professional football since being released on licence in October 2014 and is <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ched-evans-resurrect-football-career-7305784">appealing his conviction</a>. The case was referred to the Court of Appeal in October 2015.</p>
<p>But the question remains: after a sports star is convicted of crimes of violence against women, is it appropriate that they should be allowed to return to the privileged position they occupied before they offended, where they are undoubtedly role models for young fans? While these sportspeople are undoubtedly skilled and talented, is it fair that this ability overshadows the trauma they caused to their victims whose welfare is all-too-often forgotten. </p>
<h2>Role models</h2>
<p>If sportspeople are often seen as <a href="http://www.sportscotland.org.uk/Documents/Resources/SportingSuccessRoleModelsandParticipation.pdf">role models</a> a sportsperson cannot be judged only on their sporting success because young people who choose their role models judge them on their moral character as well. Sportspeople seem to be celebrities who hold power and are given, as David Marshall <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=OMzCDi292OwC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=celebrity+culture+and+personal+investment&ots=jaR5jrmobG&sig=KLFlESmk7S36zYVDgaj7T8YKg88#v=onepage&q=celebrity%20culture%20and%20personal%20investment&f=false">wrote in his book: Celebrity and Power</a>: “a voice above others, a voice that is channelled into the media system as being legitimately significant”. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"593212916800757761"}"></div></p>
<p>What sort of messages do we give the younger generation if we allow people who have been convicted of abuse to continue to be sporting heroes and celebrated on a world stage where they continue to hold power and be glorified? Does this merely serve to trivialise the seriousness of domestic abuse and violence against women. When we see the <a href="https://twitter.com/cptgreenbeard/status/593212916800757761">Twitter jokes</a> about Mayweather and DV during such events it’s clear that we still have a long way to go for the public to recognise the seriousness of domestic violence.</p>
<p>Journalist <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/ched-evans-has-served-his-time-and-other-misconceptions-about-the-convicted-rapist-footballer-9957849.html">Lucy Hunter Johnston</a> believes “a convicted rapist couldn’t be a teacher, doctor or police officer”. Shouldn’t “sports star” be among this list as well, given that “<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1571301/Boys-look-up-to-footballers-not-fathers.html">boys look up to footballers, not their Dads</a>” and the <a href="http://jrc.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/07/02/0022427813494843.abstract">link between</a> major football tournaments and an increase in domestic abuse. </p>
<p>And if some <a href="http://www.enable-care.org.uk/news/sports-stars-unite-to-end-violence-against-women/">sport stars</a> are uniting to support the Violence Against Women campaign then doesn’t this seem to be a valuable argument to include “sports star” among this list to recognise that any violence against women is not tolerated in sport?</p>
<p>More than 26,000 people have signed <a href="https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/child-first-safe-child-contact-saves-lives">a petition launched recently by Women’s Aid</a> that calls for better protection of children in families with a history of domestic violence – showing that there is a widespread acceptance of the serious implications of domestic violence. But at the same time, while everyone seems to believe the general principle that violence against women is wrong, public perceptions suggest that they all too often let celebrities off the hook. </p>
<p>Should we give celebrities extenuating circumstances or is it too difficult to comprehend that after years of personal investment of following a celebrity or a sportsperson, we could be wrong about them? Let’s face it, regardless of how much public information we receive about celebrities or how well we think we know sportspeople we won’t know what goes on “behind closed doors”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53673/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We mustn’t allow convicted rapists or abusers to continue as role models.Helen Owton, Lecturer in Sport & Fitness, The Open UniversityLisa Lazard, Lecturer in Psychology, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/410542015-05-01T10:02:28Z2015-05-01T10:02:28ZOff the mat: boxing’s triumphant (if brief) return in Mayweather-Pacquiao bout<p>Maybe the most interesting thing about all the hype surrounding Saturday night’s fight in Las Vegas between Floyd Mayweather, Jr and Manny Pacquiao is that we’re talking about boxing at all.</p>
<p>If sports were music, this fight would feel a lot like Elvis Presley’s 1968 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqKQ5OxYofE">comeback special</a>: that moment when an old star demanded attention again, if only for a moment.</p>
<p>But why is boxing’s moment now? And as the times have changed, should the media be obligated to focus on social issues raised by the fight, like concussions and domestic violence?</p>
<h2>A dearth of personable stars</h2>
<p>Let’s take a quick look at how we got here.</p>
<p>From John L Sullivan to Jack Johnson, from Muhammad Ali to Mike Tyson, boxing has always been a personality-driven sport. </p>
<p>The nature of the game demands it: boxing is primal – it cuts right to the core of our fight-or-flight instinct – and it’s personal. There are just two fighters in the ring; only one emerges on top. It’s natural fans want to feel a connection with the power and glory of a boxing champ. The more charismatic he is, the better. </p>
<p>But a major problem for boxing in the era after the incandescent Ali is the dearth of personalities. Tyson was the last American boxing superstar. Known for lightning-quick knockouts, he was a full-on pop culture icon, a bully built around a menacing persona – black trunks, black shoes, no socks. </p>
<p>Among his famous quotes: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” </p>
<p>But Tyson lost to the heavyweight title to Buster Douglas and was never the same. That was 25 years ago.</p>
<p>It’s not a personality deficit alone, though, that has dragged boxing down. The rise of mixed martial arts (MMA) – a quicker, full-body combat sport – has become popular, to some degree, at the expense of boxing. </p>
<p>MMA is seen as more in tune with the times: Bouts are typically shorter than boxing’s 10- or 12-rounders, and the sport offers a mix of fighting styles.</p>
<p>There are other theories about boxing’s decline. There’s no centralized governing body for awarding title belts, which would add a greater sense of legitimacy to the sport. Some have said its inherent violence is anachronistic, and there’s the new awareness of the dangers of concussions. (Such claims, however, miss that the term “punch drunk” was connected to boxing before 1930. They also don’t explain the rise of MMA.) </p>
<p>This week, Brando Simeo Starkey of The Undefeated <a href="http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/12749248/floyd-mayweather-manny-pacquiao-fight-boxing-demise">argued</a> that racial progress in the United States, as fitful as it may be, has taken the air out of the black-white tension that drove interest in boxing last century. </p>
<p>Starkey notes, for instance, how whites rioted when Johnson punded James J. Jeffries in 1910, and Joe Louis’s 1937 heavyweight title victory over James Braddock sparked celebrations in the streets of black neighborhoods.</p>
<p>It’s notable that even at a time when white fighters were not very relevant heavyweights, Muhammad Ali race baited Joe Frazier, <a href="http://deadspin.com/5207420/frazier-on-alis-health-problems-god-judges-you-know-what-im-saying">calling him</a> “a gorilla” and a “Tom.” </p>
<p>Bottom line: boxing barely registers, if at all, <a href="http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NewsRoom/HarrisPolls/tabid/447/ctl/ReadCustom%20Default/mid/1508/ArticleId/1546/Default.aspx">when Americans are asked to name their favorite sport</a>.</p>
<h2>The measure of money</h2>
<p>One way to measure the unprecedented demand and hype of this fight is the record-shattering revenue it’s predicted to generate, with <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-28/how-mayweather-pacquiao-doubled-fight-revenue-by-waiting-6-years">payout estimates</a> ranging from $300 million to $400 million.</p>
<p>Mayweather and Pacquiao, fighting as welterweights, can each make a reasonable claim to being the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. Pacquiao, though he lost twice in 2012, has won several boxer-of-the-year awards. His record stands at 57-5-2. Mayweather is undefeated at 47-0, owns most of the welterweight belts and is the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/athletes/list/">highest-paid athlete in the world</a>. (His nickname, of course, is Money.)</p>
<p>For years, fans have been clamoring for a fight between the two, but a deal could never be struck: the two sides argued over drug testing, the purse and other details. </p>
<p>The tactic, whether intentional or not, only increased demand. </p>
<p>Now, a New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/18/sports/floyd-mayweather-jrand-manny-pacquiao-to-split-fight-payday-60-40.html?action=click&contentCollection=Sports&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article">breakdown</a> predicts hundreds of millions in revenue from a pay-per-view event priced just south of $100 and jointly produced by HBO and Showtime. </p>
<p>There’s also an expected $72 million from ticket sales and another $60 million from sponsorships and closed-circuit sales to US bars and international audiences – not to mention the Super Bowl-style betting or the economic boon to host city Las Vegas. </p>
<h2>The media’s problem</h2>
<p>So for the first time in decades, there’s a large-scale bout featuring two larger-than-life personalities at the top of their sport. But it’s made things a bit tricky for the sports media, which has gone all-in on their coverage of the superfight. </p>
<p>Underdog Pacquiao is the easy one, a guy who comes with a fistful of storylines. He’s a boxer, but he also sings, acts and is now a congressman in the Philippines.</p>
<p>The problem for the media has been how to handle Mayweather. Known for flaunting his extravagant lifestyle, Mayweather also has <a href="http://deadspin.com/the-trouble-with-floyd-mayweather-1605217498">an extensive record of domestic abuse</a>. In fact, he’s been convicted five times and was incarcerated for two months in 2012 for beating Josie Harris, with whom he has three children.</p>
<p>To be sure, top boxers have had criminal records before. Sonny Liston’s <a href="http://espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/Liston_Sonny.html">was lengthy</a> and Tyson was convicted for raping a Miss Black America contestant. </p>
<p>Now, though, we’re in the post-Ray Rice era; following the video of NFL running back Ray Rice knocking out his fiancée in an Atlantic City elevator, a national conversation on domestic abuse has taken place. Should Mayweather’s abuse convictions be central to his coverage? Or is it a story many in the press are likely to skirt in favor of a boxing piece?</p>
<p>Mainstream media outlets seem to be following the lead of ESPN, which has played it both ways. The ESPN investigative show Outside the Lines <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HRd-5G8TGM">explored Mayweather’s abuse convictions</a>, with reporter John Barr asking Mayweather about his abusive past. </p>
<p>On the other hand, ESPN personality Stephen A Smith <a href="http://deadspin.com/why-is-espn-serving-as-floyd-mayweathers-pr-mouthpiece-1699694763">ignored</a> the issue in a one-on-one interview and house tour with the boxer – what Deadspin deemed a “puff piece.” </p>
<p>“The lines between entertainment and journalism, in this and other cases, are blurry,” Travis Vogan, an assistant professor of American Studies at Iowa and author of the forthcoming book <a href="http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/65gtw7be9780252039768.html">ESPN: The Making of a Sports Media Empire</a>, told me. “ESPN often seems content to keep them so and to shift those already hazy boundaries to fuel its entertainment and journalistic goals.” </p>
<h2>A fight like no other</h2>
<p>Nonetheless, on Saturday night the fight will undoubtedly be mythologized by the media.</p>
<p>For millennials (and maybe for some older fans) the fight at the MGM Grand will be like no other boxing spectacle they’ve ever seen. The hype is something akin to the first Ali-Frazier meeting in Madison Square Garden, a fight so big that Frank Sinatra served as a ringside photographer for Life magazine. The audience Saturday is sure to be star-studded, too.</p>
<p>The match itself calls to mind the second bout between Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran, the famous “No Mas” fight won by Leonard. As with Mayweather-Pacquiao, that match – fought at 146 pounds – involved an Olympic medalist from the United States against an international boxer carrying the hopes of his own country (Duran was from Panama). But those two fighters had met earlier the same year.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The last minutes of the ‘No Mas’ fight, where Sugar Ray Leonard humiliated Roberto Duran.</span></figcaption>
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<p>But when it’s all over, it will be hard to draw parallels to any other moment in boxing history. The money, the hype of the 24/7 news cycle, the impact of social media – the package will be unprecedented.</p>
<p>Boxing is ready for its comeback.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/41054/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Affleck does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A perfect storm of personalities, demand and money has created unprecedented hype. How should the media respond?John Affleck, Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/320632014-10-24T09:41:11Z2014-10-24T09:41:11ZThere is no debate about hitting children – it’s just wrong<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59816/original/2dz79j5z-1411497019.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Adrian Peterson has been indicted for injury to a child.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adrian_Peterson_Vikings.jpg">Arvee5.0</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>US sports continue to struggle with the controversies surrounding <a href="http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/11551518/how-ray-rice-scandal-unfolded-baltimore-ravens-roger-goodell-nfl">Ray Rice’s domestic violence case</a>, and the arrest of Slava Voynov on <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/21/sports/hockey/kings-defenseman-voynov-suspended-after-domestic-violence-arrest.html">suspicion of domestic violence</a>. But what has not been a matter of debate is where the line is for men hitting women.</p>
<p>The media and the public have been nearly uniform in rallying around the idea that no man should ever hit a woman, including <a href="http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2014/09/12/leonard-pitts-jr-rice-abuse-video-revealed-nothing-we-didnt-know-already/15461987/">Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr</a>, who wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>So this is not just about Palmer, but about all our mothers, sisters, daughters, lovers and friends and the violence against them that is still too common and too commonly ignored.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, after it was revealed that Minnesota Vikings player Adrian Peterson had been indicted for injuring his four-year-old son, in the wake of the NFL fumbling domestic violence, <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/09/13/3567186/peterson-child-abuse-allegations/">debate</a> is exactly what we have witnessed. </p>
<p>Barely a week after posting the words above based on his own experiences with domestic violence, <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/leonard-pitts-jr/article2171907.html">Pitts offered</a> a much different view of spanking, in substance and tone: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>No, I don’t believe all spanking is abuse … A parent must be loving, accessible, involved, but also an authority figure, the one who sets limits and imposes real and painful consequences for kids who flout them.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>‘I was spanked as a child …’</h2>
<p>Pitts offered what has become the distinctly different view of adults hitting children, when compared to men hitting women: <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/17/adrian-peterson-fathers-effect-belt">my parents spanked me and I turned out fine</a>, which is exactly the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/9/15/6153477/adrian-peterson-statement-child-abuse-arrest">explanation Peterson has offered</a> for his actions leaving a four-year-old battered and bruised.</p>
<p>I grew up in the rural South in the 1960s, and my parents smoked heavily with my sister and me in the house and car (windows up). We also were not secured with seat belts. We rode bicycles without wearing helmets. Like many white children of our time and region, we were raised in an environment of racist language and beliefs.</p>
<p>That I turned out fine does not justify those practices, just as my parents spanking me does not justify corporal punishment of any kind or degree.</p>
<h2>Unsupported by science</h2>
<p>Beyond the failure of logic in these defenses of spanking, as <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/18/adrian-peterson-corporal-punishment-science_n_5831962.html">Jessica Samakow of the Huffington Post highlights</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The word ‘debate’ should be left out of the spanking conversation, because the science against it is so clearly one-sided. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>When drawing a line between spanking and abuse, Pitts noted research on corporal punishment: “A <a href="http://prdupl02.ynet.co.il/ForumFiles/12221272.pdf">2001 study by Dr. Diana Baumrind</a> — a psychologist who opposes spanking — found that mild to moderate corporal punishment causes no lasting harm,” he wrote. But his point is incomplete because even so-called “mild corporal punishment,” while possibly not harmful, is recognized as ineffective when compared to alternative practices.</p>
<p>Referring to more than 60 years of research on corporal punishment, Elizabeth Thompson Gershoff of the National Center for Children in Poverty at Columbia University <a href="http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2002/06/spanking.aspx">concluded</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Until researchers, clinicians, and parents can definitively demonstrate the presence of positive effects of corporal punishment, including effectiveness in halting future misbehavior, not just the absence of negative effects, we as psychologists can not responsibly recommend its use.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Corporal punishment in schools</h2>
<p>Corporal punishment remains a part of homes and parenting in the US, but it also continues to be allowed in public schools by law in 19 states. As <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/09/18/19-states-still-allow-corporal-punishment-in-school/">The Washington Post’s Valerie Strauss reports</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>According to an analysis of federal data from 2009-2010, the Children’s Defense Fund reported in 2014 that 838 children were hit on average each day in public school, based on a 180-day school year, which would be 150,840 instances of corporal punishment a year.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Many adults consider themselves to have reached a safe and happy adulthood, but in many cases we are “fine” not because of how we were treated as children by our parents and our schools but <a href="http://radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/2014/09/19/how-we-raise-our-children-on-because-and-in-spite-of/">in spite of those practices</a>.</p>
<h2>A culture of violence</h2>
<p>Over the past two seasons the NFL has raised public awareness about bullying, domestic violence, and child abuse. But we have mostly failed to acknowledge the <a href="http://radicalscholarship.wordpress.com/2014/09/10/adjectives-and-video-the-willful-ignorance-of-a-violent-nation/">cultural embracing of violence in the US</a>, often for entertainment, or our willingness to tolerate harsh and punitive attitudes toward children we will not accept among adults.</p>
<p>“Our social programs for children are the hands-down worst in the industrialized world, but apparently that is just what we want,” lamented author <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/10/18/specials/kingsolver-hers.html">Barbara Kingsolver in an essay</a> on child-rearing.</p>
<p>The personal and professional consequences facing Rice and Peterson remain in question and worthy of debate. But corporal punishment itself does not. It’s very simple: we must reject adults hitting children both at home and in school.</p>
<p><em>This piece is part of a global series, Domestic violence and sports, which examines how different sports across the world are dealing with the issues of family violence and respect for women.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32063/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Thomas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>US sports continue to struggle with the controversies surrounding Ray Rice’s domestic violence case, and the arrest of Slava Voynov on suspicion of domestic violence. But what has not been a matter of…Paul Thomas, Associate Professor of Education, Furman UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/322702014-10-23T09:22:28Z2014-10-23T09:22:28ZViolence against women and sports: ethical responsibility or brand control?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62026/original/dj26bdpp-1413499025.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sporting codes need to maintain their stand opposing violence against women.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/guiseiz/7857922086">Gui Seiz/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Male sports stars perpetrating violence against women is a phenomenon that, sadly, seems to cross both international and sporting borders. In the most recent high-profile case, NFL player <a href="http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/11551518/how-ray-rice-scandal-unfolded-baltimore-ravens-roger-goodell-nfl">Ray Rice</a> was filmed in the act. Other stories then emerged about his violent behaviour, as they so often do when a well-known personality is exposed.</p>
<p>While the association between violence against women and elite athletes is not uncommon, it is not sports <em>per se</em> that are the problem. <a href="http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/Publications/Freedom-from-violence/Building-Cultures-of-Respect-and-Non-Violence.aspx">Research suggests</a> that sexist peer norms and cultures of group disrespect that are common in male team sports appear to lead some men to believe violence is acceptable. This may include rude and aggressive behaviour, pornography consumption or the encouragement of group drinking.</p>
<p>Of course, violence against women is not the exclusive domain of sports stars. It is a global problem both in public and in the domestic spheres; <a href="http://un.org.au/2013/07/10/global-and-regional-estimates-of-violence-against-women/">35% of women worldwide</a> have experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives. </p>
<p>In Australia, we are not strangers to the kind of headlines that emerged after the Ray Rice assault. But they’re a lot less common now than a decade ago. So, how did Australia work to reduce violence perpetrated by sports players against women? And is it really working? </p>
<h2>Two different approaches</h2>
<p>Australia’s sports entertainment industry supports two main football codes, Australian rules football (governed by the AFL) and rugby league (governed by the NRL). In 2004, a <a href="http://www.xyonline.net/sites/default/files/Flood%20Dyson,%20Sport%20and%20violence%20against%20women%2007.pdf">number of incidents</a> of sexual assault and intimate partner abuse involving players from both codes made headlines. This led to a perfect storm of media coverage which drew attention not only to the players involved but also to the football codes they represented. It also led to a community backlash that cast both the NRL and the AFL in a negative light.</p>
<p>The AFL quickly responded to the negative publicity and embarked on a campaign to position the organisation as socially responsible and prepared to stand up against all forms of violence against women. This was enshrined in a new policy known as <a href="http://www.afl.com.au/news/game-development/respect-and-responsibility">Respect and Responsibility</a>, and a program that delivered an annual education program for players, accompanied by anti-sexual harassment and discrimination procedures. </p>
<p>The AFL player training involved the delivery of short (90 minute), one-off sessions on respectful relationships and <a href="http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/%7E/media/ResourceCentre/PublicationsandResources/PVAW/Bystander/More-than-ready_Research%20Highlights_FINAL_WEB.ashx">pro-social bystander behaviours</a>. A key feature of the AFL’s response was that it was largely in-house, calling on the expertise and guidance of community groups. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62029/original/fr78ntcs-1413500014.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62029/original/fr78ntcs-1413500014.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62029/original/fr78ntcs-1413500014.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62029/original/fr78ntcs-1413500014.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62029/original/fr78ntcs-1413500014.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62029/original/fr78ntcs-1413500014.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62029/original/fr78ntcs-1413500014.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The AFL embraced a model of ethical responsibility to the community.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/charlot17/8069573915">Charlievdb/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The NRL response to the 2004 media storm was different. Without too much fanfare, the NRL engaged researchers to determine whether there were any aspects of rugby league culture that encouraged or condoned violence against women. According to <a href="http://search2.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/UNSWLJ/2005/21.html">Catharine Lumby</a>, co-ordinator of the research team, players unanimously denounced sexual assault and some asked for support to manage sexual and social encounters with women in ways that always ensured informed consent and didn’t result in any party feeling damaged or demeaned. </p>
<p>The findings of this research led to a collaboration between the NRL, the research team and <a href="http://www.uws.edu.au/staff_profiles/uws_profiles/professor_moira_carmody">Moira Carmody</a> from the University of Western Sydney who had developed a program for young people called <a href="http://www.sexandethics.net/">Sex and Ethics</a>. In 2009, the Sex and Ethics program was piloted with NRL players, and subsequently rolled out. The six-session participatory education program addresses attitudes, skills to negotiate sexual intimacy, the impact of alcohol and drugs on decision making, ethical consent and the law and bystander behaviour. </p>
<h2>Mixed results</h2>
<p>There are several key differences between the two approaches. The AFL introduced a short, annual training program supported by rule changes and contractual obligations, and took a public stand to position itself as a champion for women’s rights. The NRL also took a stand but focused more on supporting players to develop skills and reflect on and change attitudes through an in-depth program.</p>
<p>Although there has only been limited evaluation of both education programs, in my yet-to-be published research in the AFL we found that players were likely to “know the rules” when it came to “behaviour unbecoming” and “bringing the game into disrepute” largely because of their contractual obligations rather than as a result of the training or an increased respect for women and gender equality.</p>
<p>We also noted that some disrespectful attitudes towards women persisted, and for some players, women were seen either as “sluts” (good for casual sex) or “girlfriend material” (worthy of being treated with respect).</p>
<h2>Reducing violence against women</h2>
<p>In the decade since the media storm in 2004 there has been a major change in public discourse and media scrutiny of violence against women, so that any hint of a scandal fires the media into action and the organisations involved into harm minimisation mode. Nonetheless, since the introduction of these programs there have been far fewer incidents and the few that have occurred have been swiftly dealt with and accompanied by public statements concerning the organisation’s public stand opposing violence against women. </p>
<p>The post-2004 responses to negative media coverage by both the AFL and the NRL were borne of crisis and were no doubt driven by concerns for brand protection. In a perfect world we might expect organisations to respond to sexism, violence against women (and other social ills) because they adhere to ethical values. But is what unfolded the worst response to such events?</p>
<p>The AFL embraced a model of ethical responsibility to the community and used its profile to support social and health initiatives, including opposing violence against women. The NRL implemented a research-based, in-depth ethical relationships program for players – a program that young men in football tell us is sadly missing from school sexuality education programs. The result for both football codes has been to build a brand that stands for something positive. </p>
<p>The challenge for the sports entertainment industry is to ensure that the public stand opposing violence against women is maintained in the long term and was not simply a reaction to damaging media coverage. Not all men are violent, and it is not the sports themselves that lead to cultures of disrespect. </p>
<p>The response of the AFL and NRL shows that behaviour change can be achieved and group norms can change. Many of the players in our research reported that the training they received from the AFL was the first time they had ever had education about issues such as ethical consent and bystander behaviours. </p>
<p>Eliminating violence against women is a much broader challenge for us as a community. We need to provide young people with high-quality sexuality and relationships education, both at home and in schools, that addresses more than the results of problematic sexual behaviour, but educates young men and women to practice equal, respectful and ethical relationships.</p>
<p><em>This piece is part of a global series, <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/domestic-violence-and-sports">Domestic violence and sports</a>, which examines how different sports across the world are dealing with the issues of family violence and respect for women.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32270/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Suzanne Dyson receives funding from the Australian Research Council and her research with the AFL was partially funded but he AFL and VicHealth. </span></em></p>Male sports stars perpetrating violence against women is a phenomenon that, sadly, seems to cross both international and sporting borders. In the most recent high-profile case, NFL player Ray Rice was…Suzanne Dyson, Associate professor, principal research fellow, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/320132014-10-22T09:33:56Z2014-10-22T09:33:56ZAttitudes to violence against women in sports haven’t improved in 30 years<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/60455/original/stmypvkn-1412108673.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ray Rice has been suspended indefinitely from the NFL for domestic violence.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ray_Rice.JPG">Wallstreethotrod</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Another day, another headline about a sports player and domestic violence. LA Kings player <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/21/sports/hockey/kings-defenseman-voynov-suspended-after-domestic-violence-arrest.html">Slava Voynov</a> was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence on October 19, and has been suspended by the NHL. This comes only a two months after NFL player Ray Rice was suspended after a video of him knocking out his then fiancee surfaced online.</p>
<p>Violence against women in sports – ranging from domestic abuse to gang rape – is a long-standing problem that remained invisible until the 1980s. Before then, when the connection between violence and sports was addressed, it was rule-breaking clashes on the playing field and hooliganism in the stands that attracted attention. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.whiteribboncampaign.co.uk/sites/all/files/evaw_violence_against_women_and_sport_dr_c_palmer_july_2011.pdf">fact that members of male sports teams</a> were more likely to be perpetrators of violence eventually led to increased awareness and the introduction of codes of conduct, mentoring programs and education interventions. Yet the problem persists. </p>
<p>However, as Robin Warshaw pointed out in her 1988 book, <a href="http://www.robinwarshaw.com/i_never_called_it_rape__the_ms__report_on_recognizing__fighting_and_surviving_da_92309.htm">I Never Called it Rape</a>, statistics need to be treated with caution. The media paid more attention to sex-related offenses committed by black athletes than by “average” white students, and female victims were less likely to report attacks by popular varsity athletes than by non-athletes. </p>
<p>Having first examined these trends in the early 1990s, I find it disheartening to see the limited progress of the past two decades, as celebrity athletes continue to develop an inflated sense of personal entitlement, fostered by a system that rewards sporting success at all costs. </p>
<h2>How it happens</h2>
<p>The process begins at an early age: athletic ability represents a sure route to popularity among peers, and male athletes’ sexual prowess becomes the currency of the locker room. Socialization into the world of competitive team sports in high school often involves <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/11/nyregion/7-new-jersey-high-school-students-charged-in-sex-assaults.html">hazing rituals</a> with components that <a href="http://www.insidehazing.com/quoted.php?idno=26&articlesPage=1">symbolize</a> sexual humiliation and violence against women, including so-called “sodomy hazing”, thus setting the stage for actual violence against women.</p>
<p>In 1989, three players from Glen Ridge High School’s football team <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/08/03/reviews/970803.03bankst.html">sexually assaulted</a> a developmentally delayed 17-year-old girl. The same New Jersey high school had been investigated back in 1941, when a sociological study that concluded there was an overemphasis on producing winning teams at the expense of instilling important social values. </p>
<p>These boys join the ranks of prominent male athletes whose careers led to tragic consequences for girls and women in their lives: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/how-the-oj-simpson-murder-trial-20-years-ago-changed-the-media-landscape/2014/06/09/a6e21df8-eccf-11e3-93d2-edd4be1f5d9e_story.html">OJ Simpson</a>, <a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/09/12/robin_givens_this_is_what_happened_to_me/">Mike Tyson</a>, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/12/world/africa/oscar-pistorius-verdict/">Oscar Pistorius</a>, and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/25/sports/football/players-union-to-investigate-nfl-and-ravens-behavior-in-ray-rice-case.html">Ray Rice</a>. </p>
<p>With black players now accounting for <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/diversity-in-the-nba-the-nfl-and-mlb/">76% of NBA teams and 66% of the NFL</a>, it is not surprising that most of the high-profile incidents involve black men. In contrast to the US situation, increasing numbers of Canada’s <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/isabelle-cote/ottawa-hockey-assault_b_5846766.html">white professional and university ice hockey players</a> have been charged with violence against women in the past two decades, but with limited media exposure of their crimes. </p>
<p>Jeffrey Benedict’s book, <a href="http://www.sagepub.com/booksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book7380">Athletes and Acquaintance Rape</a>, examined how the subculture of professional and college sports promoted violence against women, while the system protected the men who committed this violence from punishment and conviction. Preferential treatment of male athletes encompassed both material and intangible benefits, including limitless sex with female “groupies”. The view of these women and, by extension, all women, as disposable, even sub-human, contributed further to their sense of entitlement. </p>
<h2>The hero myth</h2>
<p>Public adoration of professional athletes appears universal, despite the frequency with which they manage to shatter the illusion that they are heroes. </p>
<p>The mass media and the viewing public are fickle in their allegiances, apparently gaining almost as much satisfaction from these men’s fall from grace as from their initial rise to fame. Yet promoters continue to use these athletes as <a href="http://www.arsenal.com/doubleclub/the-club/community/about-arsenal-double-club">role models</a> for <a href="http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/brochure/meread/meread.pdf">educational programs</a>.</p>
<p>When NBA player Charles Barkley <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMzdAZ3TjCA">famously rejected</a> the role of role model, critics condemned him for a position that other athletes would have done well to emulate. </p>
<p>Violence is an intrinsic part of men’s team sports, and most celebrity athletes are not famous for marital fidelity or clean living. Yet they continue to be treated as positive examples for children and youth, with their athletic performances eclipsing their frequent moral failings.</p>
<p>From Glen Ridge in 1989 to the NFL in 2014, all these contexts demand new attitudes, policies and practices, starting with the consistent application of criminal charges and penalties, regardless of the star status of the player. </p>
<p>Teachers, coaches and parents need to promote critical thinking and media literacy on the part of children and adolescents, so that they recognise how values, particularly non-violence and respect for others, should shape behaviour on and off the field. If we leave moral education in the hands of multinational sporting goods companies, we cannot expect the next generation of male athletes to respect women.</p>
<p><em>This piece is part of a global series, Domestic violence and sports, which examines how different sports across the world are dealing with the issues of family violence and respect for women.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32013/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Jefferson Lenskyj does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Another day, another headline about a sports player and domestic violence. LA Kings player Slava Voynov was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence on October 19, and has been suspended by the NHL…Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, Professor Emerita of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.