Will Women Fans Make The NFL Rape Free?

Women like American football. The ladies watching are not pliable girlfriends trying to make a good impression or beleaguered wives trying to snatch a few moments with their husband — they’re fans. Sunday Night Football is third highest rated show for women between 18 and 49.

The NFL knows this and has begun a huge marketing push. They have begun selling women’s jerseys and are involved in two female-friendly awareness campaigns — breast cancer and children’s health. Yet the league is still plagued by a rash of wanted press.

The fact is these privileged athletes hopped up on steroids tend to rape and sexually assault women on a fairly regular basis. Why do they think they can get away with it? Because they do.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been accused of sexually assaulting two women in the last year. His punishment was missing four games. It’s like spending time in jail, but different.

In a show to team bonding, The New York Jets collectively made suggestive comments to sports reporter Inés Sainz. But that was all forgotten when it was leaked that their quarterback, Brett Favre, sent lewd text messages to a former team employee. One was a close-up of the little “field general” in his pants.

Seven of the Green Bay Packers were accused of sexually assaulting two women. The police were called and the victims claimed that they were held down and raped by multiple team members. Although presently only one team member is being investigated.

And these are just the accusations about NFL players from last year. A 1998 study found that at least 21% of the league has been accused of a serious crime.

The Eagle’s quarterback, Michael Vick, spent time in prison for his involvement in a dog-fighting ring. But according to the NYT, this just makes him a more exciting commodity: “The fact that he is a convicted felon just more than a year out of prison simply makes him the season’s most complicated story.”

And the problem is that we see the game as just another reality show for our entertainment. Their off-screen antics just add more drama to the story. Katie Baker agrees:

• So football is now as much a part of the pop-cultural wallpaper as anything Brad does on “The Bachelor.” And the N.F.L. and NBC, savvy operators that they are, know exactly how to capitalize on this… And NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” broadcast has all the trappings of a classic Dick Ebersol production: the reliance on character-driven storytelling; the soft-focus interviews led by America’s anchor, Bob Costas; and the Faith Hill-fronted theme song.

These are not pretend bad boys who will be reformed by the end of the season — these are criminals who are hurting people with impunity. Yet we want their charges dropped. We want them free to win the game. Morning Glory wrote:

• America’s staunch denial of the impropriety of beloved athletes is reminiscent of the maddening denial displayed by cuckolded spouses when faced with all but the most overwhelming evidence of their partner’s betrayal. We don’t want to believe that our heroes aren’t worthy of our adoration. We want our conscience clean when we celebrate their victories alongside them; after all, we’ve been suffering for the team for so long that there’s no way that our jubilation over their success should be sidelined by off-the-field conduct.

It’s wonderful that women are beginning to enjoy football. Hopefully the revenue we bring in will make the NFL take a more serious approach to all the sexual assault charges connected with players. If we can’t forgive Brad Womack for his behaviour on The Bachelor, how can we forgive Ben Roethlisberger for sexually assault?

Contact the author here: mick@morningquickie.com