The NFL and domestic violence
Violence is a trait of many NFL players. Let’s face it, football is a violent sport and encourages violent behaviour. Unfortunately, what soccer does not do is teach players how to behave nonviolently in the face of problems off the field, particularly when it comes to relationship problems.
This violent behavior begins when boys start playing soccer as children. Kids are taught to behave harshly and aggressively by coaches, teammates, and even their parents. Children are taught to use their body and strength to take on competing players. It is recommended to make a good “hit”. This positively reinforces children to behave aggressively. Boys are taught to be strong, not to be afraid and to be men. The name of the game is to be tough, dominant and show no weakness.
Unfortunately, children who play soccer are not taught that this behavior is acceptable only on the field. As soccer-playing children grow into adolescence and adulthood, they have learned to use aggressive and dominant behavior to win. It is this behavior that can lead to domestic violence against women.
Soccer never teaches players how to communicate with a woman. Is this the fault of the football coaches or should the parents take responsibility? The correct answer is that both must take responsibility. If you are going to reward a boy for behaving violently while he is playing soccer, you must teach that boy to control her behavior when he is not playing soccer. I believe that from childhood to the NFL, football players should be taught how to control aggressive and violent behavior. They need to be taught that violence outside the camp is unacceptable, especially towards women.
The divorce rate among NFL players is very high. Players bring home the violence and aggressive energy they have on the pitch. After practice or a game, a player’s adrenaline is flowing and they can have a lot of extra energy. If the player was in a big game that his team lost, this can increase the likelihood of domestic violence. When you take the soccer environment where problems between players are sometimes resolved in suffles and pushing each other, this behavior becomes second nature to the players. In football, if someone gets in your face, you push them away. However, there is a big difference between pushing a 275-pound strong player off your face and pushing a 130-pound woman off your face. What seems like nothing between players can be deadly when used on a woman, and most of the time, it’s done as a reflection of years of physical contact with other players. That is why it is so important that soccer players be taught from an early age to control their behavior off the field.
The NFL has programs to teach players how to behave off the field. The problem is that by the time a player gets to the NFL, it’s almost too late to teach him how to control behavior. At this point, the player has spent more than half his life learning how to be physical and aggressive. This behavior is now so deeply ingrained in the player’s mind that it is very difficult to change. That is why it is so important that soccer coaches and parents teach these young men to behave off the field and to be nice to women.
If you are a parent reading this article, please talk to your child about violence and that violent behavior towards other people, especially women, is wrong. Yes, physical and aggressive behavior is okay on the soccer field with other players, but that’s the only place it’s acceptable. Off the field, players must be taught to control their aggressive behavior and use their minds to solve problems, not their bodies.
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