Equal Justice?
When my fellow bloggers were writing about the Ray Rice/Adrian Peterson scandals and their impact on the NFL, I remained uncharacteristically quiet. I believe I posted one comment on Erik’s blog in which I wrote that domestic violence is never acceptable.
I decided to add my voice to the dialogue when I read that US Women’s National Soccer Team player Hope Solo will be going to trial in early November after being charged with two counts of misdemeanor domestic violence arising from allegations that she allegedly assaulted her sister and seventeen year old nephew. Solo, however, has been permitted to keep playing while her criminal case proceeds. Since the charges have been filed Solo has broken international records with, now, seventy-six shut outs.
Recently, Solo’s teammate Jillian Loyden announced her retirement from the team and wrote a powerful essay for USA Today wherein she publically declared that the USWNT should bench Solo as she awaits trial. She writes that the USWNT has made a mistake by not benching Solo and using the opportunity to make a statement about domestic violence. Loyden admits in the piece that her view is prejudiced by her own personal experience; Loyden’s sister was allegedly murdered by her fiancée. In contrast, the captain of the US Women’s team, Christie Rampone has publically supported Solo and the Federation’s decision to allow her to play.
I thought that, after reading Loyden’s moving piece, public pressure on the Federation to bench Solo would significantly increase. But it has not happened. Is it because Solo is a women that the public does not appear to be as outraged by her alleged behavior? Or is it because that there has been no determination in her criminal case? If you believe that she should be allowed to play until her criminal case has been adjudicated how do you reconcile that with Adrian Peterson, who was placed on the NFL’s Exempt/Commissioner’s Permission list-which requires that Peterson remain away from all team activities-before there was a judicial determination in his case?
Why is she being treated differently?
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To answer your question, she is being treated differently for two reasons. One. because she is a woman, two, because soccer in this country is an obscure sport. The media has no interest, boycotts would have no support, the only people who follow women's soccer (or any soccer for that matter) are such a niche fan base that their support for their sport limits mainstream society's ability to apply political pressure.
The truth is, and I tried to make this point in my blogs but people could not see through the red of their own emotions, is that this subject does not lend itself to the concept of any kind of zero tolerance application. The truth is that the only way for us to be right is to treat every case differently. Ray Rice's case was completely different from Adrian Petersen's, which is completely different from Hope Solo's which is completely different from Slava Voynov's. Slava Voynov is the NHL player who is suspended indefinitely for allegedly hitting his girlfriend. Many people will rejoice in that, but nobody (including myself) have any idea about what truly happened in that case. I am not defending him nor judging him, I literally have no idea what the truth is. Perhaps he is guilty and if so should go to prison. To be sure, if we just distribute punishment indiscriminately, the practice of ruining the lives of innocent people will be not so uncommon. Anyone who has any experience with domestic law or divorce understands the point to which current domestic violence laws have evolved. A spouse boyfriend/girlfriend or relative can literally have someone thrown in prison simply by making an allegation, regardless of any evidence other than their testimony. Some who have experienced the real pain of domestic violence view this risk as insignificant compared to the pain they have experienced.
Do we know what happened in the Hope Solo case, we have absolutely no idea. The only way someone can be offended that she is still allowed to play soccer and earn a living is someone who literally doesn't care if she is guilty or innocent. That is an easier concept to understand with an alleged female perpetrator than with an alleged male perpetrator.
Again, their is nothing in this comment that doesn't show compassion for victims. On the contrary, nothing minimizes the problem of real domestic violence more than lumping all sorts of other conflicts and crimes in with something so serious. "Saying" domestic violence is unacceptable is a hell of a lot easier and less effective than finding ways to prevent it and appropriately distribute justice.
There are many people out there who have experienced the pain brought about by domestic violence. They draw upon that pain when they lash out trying to stop it by
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Erik, as I said in the blog, I really thought that, after reading Jillian Loyden's essay last week that there would be some backlash on Solo. But there wasn't. I find your point about the obscurity of women's soccer interesting. Since it has such a large presence in my house, I didn't consider the small focused audience. But, wouldn't that audience be primarily women? And aren't those the same women who have been lashing out at the NFL for their lack of consistency? Interesting that they aren't making their voices heard here.
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I resonate with EVERY SINGLE thing that Erik wrote, especially about domestic or general violence being different for everyone....this is not a cookie cutter experiment. Zero tolerance is bullsh**. Walk a mile in someones shoes that has had their share---so many factors come into play, many of you would never understand. What comes to mind is the bravery of these victims to come forward,.it takes a lot to not blame yourself. You don't want to but you do.
I won't judge.
As a soccer mom I also agree with Erik regarding the fan base and that does make a difference. I also understand that as a member of society rules are there for a reason., consequences prevent things we could never imagine. That line when crossed, can and should be costly.
As someone said in a previos blog, "The door swings both ways".
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That doesn't mean that nothing should be done by the leagues or the fans when there appears to be a recurring problem as there seems to be in the NFL. It doesn't mean that a blind eye should be turned with anything where the safety of women or anyone else are endangered. It just means that we should all act with discretion. In Hope Solo's case, it would appear there was a family incident. She was charged. I would imagine there was a restraining order placed against her (which one can also easily attain with little more than one person's statement). Beyond that, the league should inquire about it, conduct a preliminary investigation and warn her privately that if she is dumb enough to go near them again, that her US Women's soccer career will come to an end. After the trial is completed and the facts come out, the organization can decide whether what actually happened warrants her being extracted from the world of women's soccer.
I think the elements that are key to differentiating these situations are the veracity, severity, recidivism and pathology of each situation. It is easy to just take a sledge hammer and just wildly swing away at any domestic violence allegation that enters our path. That will have repercussions such as innocent people being punished, people who have instances of misbehavior rather than patterns of misbehavior will be destroyed rather than helped and rehabilitated and victims being intimidated from reporting misbehavior for fear of the extreme consequences.
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to discern the truth in these cases. In Hope Solo's case, is this something where she regularly physically abuses her sister and cousin? I suppose it's possible, but that sounds kind of weird. I'm pretty sure one does not have to cause pain or injury to be charged with domestic violence. I believe you can grab someone and be charged with assault. We should not put athletes or sports organizations in situations where they are forced to have a higher standard of proof than the law. Investigating crimes is not what they are good at. They should take the results of trials and legal investigations and decide case by case how to move forward. They should also establish systems where spouses, significant others and family members have access to support systems which can help victims without destroying them.
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