NFL Domestic Abuse and Concussion Crises Unveiled

TWO BLACK EYES FOR THE NFL: THE DOMESTIC ABUSE AND CONCUSSION CRISES TERRY RENTNER, PH.D. BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY CORY YOUNG,PH.D. ITHACA COLLEGE

Domestic Abuse 77 players across 27 of the league s 32 teams have been arrested since 2000 on domestic abuse charges (Harwell and Halzack, 2014) Concussions Over two seasons 306 players suffered a combined 323 concussions (Breslow, 2015)

Domestic Violence and Child Abuse? Three high-profile domestic abuse and sexual assault cases gained media attention in 2014 Most notably the infamous video of Baltimore Ravens Running Back Ray Rice hitting his at-the-time fianc in a casino elevator Initial response of no action by the League followed by a two-game suspension led to even greater public outcry Arizona Cardinal s running back Jonathan Dwyer and Minnesota Viking s running back Adrian Petersen were accused of assaulting and abusing their children

Concussions Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Class action lawsuit in which former players accused the NFL of knowing the evidence and risks associated with traumatic brain injuries for many decades, but deliberately ignored and actively concealed the information from players NFL settled in 2013 but admitted no liability Mike Webster, Andre Waters, Junior Seau, and Dave Duerson are former NFL players who have committed suicide or died from CTE

Concussions CTE was discovered in the brains of 131 of 165 players who, before they died, played football at some level, ranging from high school to professional (Breslow, 2015) CTE debate has become so prominent that the film industry released the 2015 movie Concussion, years after Frontline s documentary League of Denialand HBO s Real Sports aired.

A hit on integrity and credibility Domestic Violence Cover up of the Ray Rice video followed by denial to the public about its awareness of the tape Controversial punishment and new league rules Five months before League took pro-active steps such as partnering with anti-domestic violence organizations Little attempt to expand the NO MORE campaign partnership with NFL Sanctions not being applied to new domestic violence cases; alienating female fans (Bedrosian, 2014) #NotAFan social media campaign Braud (2014): The non-verbal message from the NFL is that they are more concerned about one man hitting another man in the head on the field than they are about a man essentially and employee hitting a woman in the head, or more specifically, punching a woman in the face

A hit on integrity and credibility Concussions Lack of transparency since 1994 (aka league of denial) Withheld information among players at all levels, increasing risks Public attacks on well-respected researchers NFL commissions to study brain injuries led by NFL appointed experts Congressional report reprimanding NFL s health and safety officials Role of team physicians Class action lawsuit

Impact on NFL Television ratings are down Viewership drop by an average of 8 percent for the 2016 regular season; typical game watched by 1.4 million fewer people than last season (16.5 million versus 17.9 million) (ESPN Jan. 5,. 2017) Dissatisfaction with League rules and punishments Far worse in the league s eyes to take some Adderall or smoke some marijuana than it is to, say, allegedly knock your fianc e out cold and then drag her unconscious body from a casino elevator (Sport Illustrated writer Chris Burke, 2014) Player injuries are up 87 percent of parents cannot define concussions, yet 32 percent fear their children will get them 25 percent will not let their children play contact sports because of these fears (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 2015)

Impact on NFL Player injuries are up 87 percent of parents cannot define concussions, yet 32 percent fear their children will get them 25 percent will not let their children play contact sports because of these fears (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 2015) Fewer youth participating in the sport 25 percent drop in youth participation over the last six years, despite a modest 1.9 percent increase in 2015 (Moore, 2016) Media/Documentaries/Films Frontline s Concussion Watch Ray Rice, Johnny Manziel, Josh Brown Feature Film Concussion Domestic Violence organizations

NFL and its employees Players, who are NFL employees, bring in billions of dollars in revenue each year NFL has admitted to a possible link between football and long- term brain injuries and concussions, as well as the link between football and aggressive acts of violence off the field Growing research indicate link between the two NFL should be more proactive in researching the link between domestic violence and concussions,as the question has already been raised (HBO Real Sports, Time Magazine, Counter Punch, New York Daily News, Forbes)

Link between concussions (CTE) and domestic violence Challenging due to a number of factors: Lack of victim/witness cooperation (guilt, dropping charges) Publicity of players and breach of privacy for family He said, she said accounts Anecdotal evidence of former players --Chelsea Oliver, wife/widow of NFL player Paul Oliver (O Keefe, 2014) Normalization of bodily violence, sacrifice, pain, and injury, de-naturalization of concussions, and obsfucation of neurological consent (Furness, 2016) New evidence by Barrow Neurological Institute (2016), has potential implications: . . . Barrow social worker Ashley Bridwelll and physicians identified a three-way link between homelessness, domestic violence, and TBI [traumatic brain injury] (St. Joseph s Hospital & Medical Center, story published in Science Daily).

Branding of the NFL You re going to war with a corporation that owns a day of the week (Dr. Cyril Wecht, played by Albert Brooks in the 2015 movie Concussion starring Will Smith) Criticism: Rather than take responsibility and admit its failing for the way it handled both, the NFL is rebranding itself as a leader against domestic violence and concussion-related injuries Domestic Violence: No More https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfto6ZXgt70 Concussions: Play Smart, Play Safe https://www.playsmartplaysafe.com/newsroom/videos/the-eyes-in-the-sky/ CSR campaigns: healthier communities and stronger society

Lessons learned from this crisis Legally, domestic violence is a difficult issue to prosecute. To address this conflict effectively the NFL will need more understanding of the dynamics. Go back to basics best practices for crisis communication Heed prodromes, assess risks, conduct crisis inventories, and be proactive BEFORE a crisis occurs Apologize, take responsibility, break denial, and be consistent and transparent in all communications Involve, be concerned with stakeholders, not just shareholders Know a smoldering crisis when you see one and begin to investigate like an expert prosecutor or an expert investigative reporter for information that executives need to know (Braud, 2014).

On a positive note . . . according to Braud (2014) . . . Goodell has apologized (rare occurrence); his resignation has been called Sporting Goods stores PR exchange Ray Rice football jerseys Removal of Rice from AE video games

Thank you! Questions? Terry Rentner, Ph.D. trentne@bgsu.edu Cory Young, Ph.D. youngc@ithica.edu