Looking at another problem underlying Jovan Belcher’s murder-suicide, Amanda Marcotte goes after media coverage:
I’m deeply upset about the way that Belcher’s suicide is being forefronted in the coverage over his resorting to murder when he couldn’t control his girlfriend. Like [Ta-Nehisis] Coates, I think it’s just bad business to use terms like “tragedy” while avoiding terms like “murder” and “domestic violence”. I realize the hesitation is due in part to not knowing if Belcher was violent to Perkins prior to shooting her multiple times, but it’s still irresponsible.
She adds the context:
Death at the hands of a male partner is a leading form of murder for women. Belcher’s crime has to be understood in this context. Considering that this story is being widely reported in sports media, where domestic violence is rarely covered, it’s especially important to remind audiences that what Belcher did is sadly all too common.
Combing through the San Diego Union-Tribune’s database on arrests of NFL players, Justin Peters calculates that of the 1,700 active NFL players, around 2 percent have been charged with abuse or domestic violence charges. He reflects:
[I] think it’s stupid to say that football causes players to become abusive; after all, the vast majority of NFL players don’t take their work home with them. Last month, Craig Stevens of Northeastern University’s Sport in Society group reviewed much of the literature on the topic of male athletes and violence and concluded that there was no definitive proof that contact sports foster violent behavior.
But football can attract violent people, many of whom lack the skills to work through their anger. Many of the NFL players charged with domestic violence had traumatic-sounding childhoods.
Peters points to an important – and, so far, neglected – step the NFL might take:
After the Jovan Belcher murder/suicide, there’s been a lot of talk about making more and better counseling services available to NFL players. And certainly, Commissioner Roger Goodell has made clear his goal of reducing domestic violence in the league. … But what Goodell has done to address this pattern as of now is unclear … Hopefully [Saints defensive end and alleged batterer] Will Smith got the help he needs. And perhaps the case of Belcher and Kasandra Perkins will lead other NFL players to seek counseling—and for the NFL to take action to make sure they do.
Meanwhile a new study of men who died with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) has some sobering findings as well as some caveats:
Those categorized as having Stage 1 of the disease had headaches and loss of attention and concentration, while those with Stage 2 also had depression, explosive behavior and short-term memory loss. Those with Stage 3 of C.T.E., including Duerson, a former All-Pro defensive back for the Chicago Bears who killed himself last year, had cognitive impairment and trouble with executive functions like planning and organizing. Those with Stage 4 had dementia, difficulty finding words and aggression.
Despite the breadth of the findings, the study, like others before it, did not prove definitively that head injuries sustained on the field caused C.T.E. To do that, doctors would need to identify the disease in living patients by using imaging equipment, blood tests or other techniques. Researchers have not been able to determine why some athletes who performed in the same conditions did not develop C.T.E.
The study also did not demonstrate what percentage of professional football players were likely to develop C.T.E. To do that, investigators would need to study the brains of players who do not develop C.T.E., and those are difficult to acquire because families of former players who do not exhibit symptoms are less likely to donate their brains to science.
It’s becoming an inescapable conclusion that football is spreading a horrible brain disease – and that those who run the sport and watch the sport know it. It either has to change or keep generating headlines like those around Jovan Belcher. The NFL has to decide whether it is in the business of sport or turning men into depressive, explosive and ultimately incapacitated human beings, for whom suicide is sometimes a mercy. More fascinating detail on the disease here. Photo from this Tumblr well worth perusing.
We think our civilization is superior to previous ones who sent gladiators into arenas to die. We’re finding out it may be a difference in degree rather than kind.
The Dish 