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In the interests of clarity here is the article to which Maisie took such exception. If you read it with an unbiased mind then you may come to the conclusion that this blog is something of a parody of a reasonably thoughtful and balanced article. The quotes are taken so far out of context as to be unrecognisable and fanciful ideas are commented upon as though they were policy proposals. The article has a solid basis in logic - just read it and see what you think. Let’s stop calling it the Ray Rice video. It’s the Janay Palmer video. She’s the one in it that matters more, the one who was beaten in a way no person ever should be by a man who said he loved her, who then drags her unconscious out of an Atlantic City elevator. “Like a sack of mulch,” writes Maureen Dowd. Naming Ray Rice as the central focus of the video only continues the narrative of male dominance — this, more about him than her. This, more about men than women. So, since the Janay Palmer video has gathered such attention in the past week, we in America have found ourselves at a curious intersection, wondering now about the connection between violence, gender and the NFL. Does the NFL promote violence? Does the NFL care about women? “NFL leadership doesn’t give a [expletive] about women,” writes Erin Gloria Ryan on Jezebel, a blog aimed at women’s interests. I agree. And I don’t think it cares about men either. To illustrate, let’s pretend the NFL makes some sweeping changes. Real magic-wandy type of stuff. • Roger Goodell is replaced by a woman. Katie Hnida, who was the first woman to play and score points in an NCAA Division 1 football game, was later r***d by a male teammate and now travels the country speaking about gender violence, becomes the first female commissioner of the NFL. • All alcohol advertising is banned. Sure, you can serve it at stadiums, just don’t allow ads that encourage spectators to bathe in it. • The sideline subjugation of women ends as the NFL begins to promote actual cheerleaders, not soft-porn dancers. • Concession stands include healthy options; sushi, veggie burgers, some kale chips, something besides the Heart Attack Special that is the game day menu. (Want some more revealing videos? Go research the American factory farm and the ways we brutalize our animals.) • To promote family time, the NFL only broadcasts its games on Sundays, between 1 and 7. All those other nights, men are free to leave the couch and go back to being husbands and fathers again. • No more concussions. The NFL’s new slogan — “Friendly Tackles are Fine Too” — is designed at promoting a kinder, gentler league, one with a 50 percent reduction in concussions by 2016. There now. How’s that for the new and improved NFL? It would be terrible, worse than the ‘73 Oilers. That’s not football, you’d say. That’s not the NFL, you’d shout. Exactly. At its core, pro football culture is unhealthy. From the concussive hits to the sopping bacon burgers to the subtle misogyny, NFL culture is linked to violence of body, mind and soul. You cannot create a male-or-female-friendly NFL because the whole system is built on things that are destructive, initially to men, and then, like an aftershock, to women. “Domestic violence accounts for 48 percent of arrests for violent crimes among NFL players, compared to our estimated 21 percent nationally,” writes Benjamin Morris on FiveThirtyEight, a web site devoted to statistical analysis and culture. NFL culture creates a false, brawny masculinity that promotes weakness and vulnerability as failure. The NFL has become a teacher of sorts, especially to American men, telling us which values matter and how to view those around us. Blessed are the meek? Blessed are the brutal, for they shall inherit the Super Bowl ring. Yes, there are bright spots, good people within the league, and yes, I watch games too, but the long arc of pro football culture is one curving away from a respect for precious human life and more toward a distortion of it. Both for women and men. Go watch the Janay Palmer video. You’ll see two suffering people.
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