{"331241":{"#nid":"331241","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Is There a Link Between Sports and Domestic Abuse?","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMary McDonald\u003C\/strong\u003E, the Homer C. Rice Chair of Sports and Society in the \u003Cstrong\u003ESchool of History, Technology and Society\u003C\/strong\u003E, was featured in the \u003Cem\u003EGeorgia Tech Amplifier\u003C\/em\u003E discussing the epidemic of intimate partner violence.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe stories of former Baltimore Raven Ray Rice\u2019s elevator assault of then-fianc\u00e9 Janay Palmer and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell\u2019s indecisive leadership in response to intimate partner violence (IPV) committed by several other NFL players continue to evolve. These include questions about whether or not elite male sports figures commit violence against intimate female partners at higher rates than their non-athlete counterparts. There is some evidence to suggest this may be the case, although this is difficult to establish given that most cases of intimate partner assault \u2013 involving both athletes and non-athletes \u2013 are never reported to the police. There remains an epidemic of violence. The FBI\u2019s crime reports estimate that more than three women die every day after being assaulted by male current or former partners.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGiven elite sports\u2019 symbiotic relationship with the media, when reported, media accounts of intimate partner violence committed by male sports figures \u2013 athletes, coaches and administrators \u2013 are now among the most visible accounts of IPV available in U.S. culture. Understanding the ways that these assaults are represented is important. The Rice case reveals both persistent misunderstandings and shifting attitudes. For example, some popular accounts continue to focus on Janay Rice herself, replicating longstanding tendencies to \u201cblame the victim\u201d for staying. This focus generated a social media campaign, #WhyIStayed, providing an unprecedented public forum for intimate partner violence victims to explain their decisions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfrican Americans constitute approximately 65 percent of NFL players. The recent discussions also include racist stereotypes, deflecting attention away from abuse committed by white men in the broader culture. Very little media attention has been given to approaches that proactively deal with and lower rates of violence, such as community policing and restorative justice. Among the notable exceptions to this line of reporting is the presence of several male sports figures denouncing IPV. This includes CBS sportscaster James Brown, who characterized domestic violence as a men\u2019s issue by connecting acts of violence to distorted notions of manhood and the ways in which women are culturally devalued both within and beyond sports. As Brown noted during a recent football telecast, it is time for \u201cmen to stand up and take responsibility for their thoughts, their words, their deeds. And as Deion [Sanders] says, to give help or to get help, because our silence is deafening and deadly.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMcDonald\u0027s research focuses on the cultural studies of sport including representations of gender, race, class, and sexuality. She is heading the new \u003Cstrong\u003EIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/strong\u003E program in \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.hts.gatech.edu\/sports\u0022\u003ESports, Society, and Technology\u003C\/a\u003E, which includes a newly approved undergraduate minor for students interested in the interdisciplinary study of sports.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGiven elite sports\u2019 symbiotic relationship with the media, when reported, media accounts of intimate partner violence committed by male sports figures are now among the most visible accounts of intimate partner violence available in U.S. culture.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Mary McDonald, the Homer C. Rice Chair of Sports and Society in the School of History, Technology and Society, discusses the epidemic of intimate partner violence."}],"uid":"27889","created_gmt":"2014-10-06 11:51:12","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:11","author":"Beth Godfrey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-10-06T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-10-06T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"276671":{"id":"276671","type":"image","title":"Mary McDonald","body":null,"created":"1449244151","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:11","changed":"1475894968","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:28","alt":"Mary McDonald","file":{"fid":"198792","name":"mcdonaldphoto.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mcdonaldphoto_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/mcdonaldphoto_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":700078,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/mcdonaldphoto_0.jpg?itok=9aUbAKNO"}}},"media_ids":["276671"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERebecca Keane\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:rebecca.keane@iac.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Erebecca.keane@iac.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}