Exempt list perfect place to put Brown
When Antonio Brown made his first catch in New England’s game against Miami on Sunday, there was a sick feeling in the air. It was the second play of the first drive — an 18-yard strike from Tom Brady.
It was hard to watch because of the civil lawsuit against Brown charging several instances of sexual assault.
It was the hottest topic all weekend and even after major NFL news over the last few days — injuries to starting quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees — Brown still received plenty of airtime. As the case goes along and the Patriots continue to put Brown on the field, it will continue to cause controversy.
There’s so much hanging out there about Brown and everything is unresolved. For a lot of fans, watching the receiver was uncomfortable and disappointing.
While the embattled receiver
has not been found guilty of anything yet, he has been in the news nonstop for weeks for various behaviors and incidents — none of which make him look great.
The latest is by far the worst. Brown is accused of sexual assault and sexual harassment by his former trainer, Britney Taylor.
There are disturbing text messages to go with the allegations, and it’s all very unsettling.
By now, NFL investigators have spoken to Brown’s accuser and will make determinations about the evidence, the available information and the interviews they have gathered.
A punishment will be handed down — or one won’t be — and the debate that has been going on for nearly five years will continue.
The NFL has a bad reputation for how it handles cases of domestic and sexual assault.
This week, the league had a chance to properly deal with this one by adding Brown to the commissioner’s exempt list and keeping him out of sight — while still collecting a paycheck — and away from the spotlight while the league investigated
the claims.
Instead, he played in New England’s 43-0 win, catching four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown.
The NFL is in a tough spot because there have been no criminal charges against Brown, only a civil suit. Still, the commissioner’s exempt list was made for situations like this and instead of keeping Brown off the field he remained the biggest story in the NFL this week and kept nearly half of the league’s fan base scratching their heads.
Since Ray Rice’s aggravated assault charge and the horrendous video that went along with it, the NFL has maintained that it cares about women and these issues.
But since the Rice incident, there have been 27 players arrested for domestic violence or sexual assault, according to USA Today’s NFL arrest database. The results of the arrests are varied — some acquitted, others charged, many unresolved. Numerous other accusations of assault and rape didn’t lead to arrest.
No doubt many others are likely not reported at all.
According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, only 230 of every 1,000 rapes are reported. And according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, over the past decade, 2 to 7 percent of reports were false. Those are the facts. Those facts are why a percentage of NFL fans continue to harp on the issue of how the league deals with domestic and sexual assault.
This isn’t just a problem for female fans, who make up 45 percent of the league’s fan base according to the NFL in 2017. A lot of men also aren’t happy with the consistency of this problem.
Not framing this as a “woman’s issue” would be a good start to fixing the problem.
It’s not just something that comes up once in a blue moon. A month or two may go by, but that’s about the extent of time between reports of sexual or domestic violence.
And the punishments handed out by the league aren’t consistent across the board.
Some violators are suspended for a few games. Others are released by a team only to be given another chance by another team. Some are dismissed and never pop up in the league again.
If the NFL is going to have a commissioner’s exempt list and investigate each one of these cases, it needs clarity and transparency on rules, the process and punishments.
Greg Hardy was found guilty of assaulting his girlfriend and was suspended 10 games. After she failed to appeal in court during his appeal and the charges
were dismissed, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys and played all but four games the next season. Charges being dismissed doesn’t mean innocence — a lot of victims don’t testify, settle or eventually drop charges for a myriad of reasons.
Kareem Hunt was suspended for eight games for shoving and kicking a woman. The NFL didn’t act until video surfaced of the incident. He signed with the Cleveland Browns and will be eligible to play later this season.
Rueben Foster twice was arrested for domestic violence and both counts were dropped — one by the victim and the other by Florida police for lack of evidence. The San Francisco 49ers released him in the midst of the allegations and Washington picked him up the next day. Foster was given a two-game suspension.
Ezekiel Elliott was accused, but not arrested for domestic assault on five occasions and the league suspended him for six games. He now plays under a massive new contract with the Cowboys.
Those are just a handful of high-profile examples. There are plenty more. And with these and several others, a suspension is handed down, there is outrage on both sides, comparisons to other players in similar situations, then the whole thing is forgotten. A team signing a player who was released for this type of behavior sees no penalty at all.
What one coach deems inappropriate or unacceptable, another has no issue with. If the league doesn’t step in to make black-andwhite rules across the board, there’s no stopping a player from hopping from one team to another one with lower moral standards. And if that team wins, the player will inevitably be heralded for his “comeback.” Those stories never mention how the player has (if he has) rehabilitated or worked toward bringing awareness to domestic and sexual assault.
As long as this cycle continues, so will the outrage of fans — both male and female.
There are a lot of cases and even more questions. There is little consistency and even less transparency.
If the NFL truly wants to send the message that it cares deeply about these issues, it should be more clear.
Keeping Brown off the field Sunday would have been one way to do that.