Tellwut Online Survey Finds 75% Think That Sports Leagues Should Have Stricter Policies Regarding Domestic Violence
A Tellwut online survey found that 75% of Tellwut panel members (Telwutters) felt that stricter policies and regulations were required by sports leagues and 80% were not surprised with the number of assault/domestic abuse cases involving professional athletes. Tellwut conducted its market research on this issue after the news of the Ray Rice abusing his wife broke.
The sports field has been hit hard over the past few weeks with several notable NFL players having been involved in allegations of domestic abuse. Most notable is the case involving Ray Rice, who was suspended indefinitely after footage surfaced in the media of Rice punching his then fiancee unconscious. Initially the league gave Rice two game suspensions; however after receiving criticism and having the footage of the attack become public, the NFL decided to suspend Rice indefinitely.
The overwhelming response of panel members who feel stricter policies should be in place may be a reflection of the cases in which NFL players have been charged or had allegations of abuse, but received little to no consequences from the league for their egregious behavior. Similar to the Ray Rice case, Adrian Peterson, running back for the Vikings, was charged with child abuse after disciplining his child with a tree branch. Although the Vikings allowed Peterson to continue to play while his legal proceeding were in process, the team league later decided to suspend him indefinitely after receiving criticism. Even in previous years there have been instances in how lenient the league has been with regards to domestic abuse cases. For instance, Chris Cook, a Vikings cornerback was charged in October 2011 for assaulting his girlfriend. Although Cook sat out for most of the season, he was later acquitted of all charges and was able to play with his team. The leniency of the charges indicates that football players are viewed as being above the average citizen in cases of abuse, which 69% of Tellwutter's agreed with. To further emphasize this Tellwutter, Conniebun states: “These athletes think they are Gods in their mansions and that they are untouchable […].”
In line with Tellwut sentiment that policies regarding abuse are too lenient, the NFL has recently hired four senior female advisors to tackle this matter and implement new rules for ongoing domestic violence cases in order to salvage its reputation and help its athletes.
About Tellwut®. Tellwut is a North American online community of individuals dedicated to expressing their opinions through online surveys based upon a wide variety of topics in exchange for rewards and the Tellwut community experience. The Tellwut community and proprietary survey and reward software application provide a platform for organizations to send surveys to their stakeholders or to crowdsource and conduct online market research through the use of the Tellwut survey platform and the Tellwut Community; thus allowing businesses a clearer understanding and insight into their products or services, customer attitudes and potential business opportunities.