Professional sports has long had a problem with its players and domestic violence… but still doesn’t seem to really be doing anything about it.
But this past week was a doozy… let’s review, shall we?
- NFL running back Kareem Hunt was cut from the Kansas City Chiefs last night for his involvement in a violent incident with a young woman that happened back in February. The team knew about it soon after but only made the decision to release him after TMZ released video of what happened yesterday.
- Linebacker Reuben Foster was released from 49ers earlier this week after being arrested on a domestic incident… only for the Redskins to pick him up a few days later and say that what he did was “small potatoes” compared to other incidents.
- And yesterday, the Cubs offered Addison Russell a contract while he still has 28 games left on his suspension due to domestic violence accusations.
And that’s just from this week. It’ll take too long to talk about what has happened just this season along, much less in the past.
So here’s my question – especially to ladies who love sports and the men who love sports but also love, respect and honor women – how can we continue to support a system that may entertain us, but doesn’t acknowledge, punish or hold its stars accountable for horrible, disrespectful, damaging and illegal behavior that isn’t – or shouldn’t be – tolerated by society at large? When are we going to let them know that we think their inaction is wrong?
We’ve got to do better, y’all… and hold everybody accountable for their behavior.