The Associated Press selected the NFL Domestic Violence problem as the sports story of the year in 2014. This would presuppose that there really is a crisis of epic proportions for domestic violence in the NFL, which certainly appears credible considering that in the biggest game of the year, the Super Bowl, a domestic violence ad was run as part of a Public Service Announcement. However, as reported by fivethirtyeight.com in regards to the NFL: "In fact, the arrest rate for domestic violence is lower among players than the general U.S. population." There then appears to be a significant disconnect between the actual conduct of NFL players, specifically in regards to amount of domestic violence actually committed as opposed to the impression that domestic violence by NFL players is on the verge of an epidemic, and/or is an issue that needs to be addressed as if it is a catastrophe in the making.
The question that therefore should really be asked is why is the domestic violence in the NFL, a front page issue, as statistically it doesn’t merit this being so. First off, according to heavy.com: "68 percent of NFL players are African-American," whereas in regards to ownership of the franchises, 31 of the 32 owners are white, with only one owner non-white, Shahid Khan, a Pakistani. Further to this point, the vast majority of head coaches as well as the general managers for NFL teams are also white. So in the NFL, we have a sport that is predominantly populated by black players, but with virtually all the important and vital management positions held by whites. Additionally, each one of the NFL franchises is worth at a minimum nearly one billion dollars, with the highest worth franchise being calculated at just over three billion dollars. Further to the point, the Super Bowl game is annually the highest rated television program in America, as well as the NFL broadcasts consistently bring in high television ratings throughout the NFL season. All of the above spells out what matters most to those that are most influential and powerful in the NFL, which is money, and the continued control of their product.
Since, in fact, domestic violence in the NFL is not a crisis, nor on the verge of becoming a crisis, one must wonder as to what is the true purpose behind this firestorm of specific media interest directed against NFL players. The answer to this question is that those that are in power in the NFL want to keep their boot upon the necks of their players, as if the players themselves were their personal property of the contractual owners of such, so as to dictate to the players what isn't or is considered to be desirable behavior on and off the field, with the implicit understanding that failure to do so will as a matter of course negate the player's salary, respect, and hero status to society at large. Simply put, domestic violence in the NFL is really a false flag created by ownership in order to allow them to maintain control and status of their valuable product, and thereby to place players in the position of total obedience to the dictates of the NFL, or suffer dearly the consequences for veering outside the designated lines.