Firstly, I don’t know anything about the NFL or the National
Football League in America. So I am not going to go there and criticize or
defend various interpretations of a sporting cultural institution. But I am
going to respond as a sports loving fan with experiences from my own country
Australia. I live in a sports crazy nation Australia. I first became interested
in a football code over 12 years ago. First, the national team named after one of
Australia’s cute and cuddly native animals, then a local state and territory
team competing in the international competition in the Southern Hemisphere
between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. I went to games in my home
state when the team came to visit, and then to games in the eastern states.
A football team eventually determined where I lived and
worked for many years. I was a member of a club for several years, went to the
home games and player and member organised events. It brought many great
pleasures to my life and I met a lot of great people. Many of my favourite
players retired and I didn’t like their policy of keeping old boys on and not
bringing any new ideas into the club. They also left a lot of loyal young
players sitting on the bench and who were not given chances to prove themselves.
As a consequence we didn’t win, not that winning is everything. Then I returned
home and the power of the people brought a national club to my city. I still
watch the national team on television. I love my sport well this football code
anyway.
Tammy Bleck an American blogger wrote a post called “Can A Female Blogger Shame The NF Even If
She Doesn’t Know A Thing About Football?” that was published in the United
States Huffington Post.
“Hey NFL, if I were
your mother, I would take you out of the game. No time outs, no suspensions. I
would throw your disrespectful a*** out on the dirty street where it
belongs…Your behaviour is reprehensible, disgusting and show absolutely no
regard for your players or their families…It seems many a coach has put their
players into harm’s way for the sake of revenue. Concussions run rampant and
they don’t care. Players are injured and they don’t. Many players receive
little or no education at their collegiate institutions, and you guessed it
they don’t care… I’ll tell you what the NFL didn’t know: They didn’t know that
the video (Ray Rice) would go public. Or that the public would be so outraged
that they would stage mass jersey burnings on social media everywhere. Or that
women making up 45 percent of their fan base would be so outraged enough to
refuse to buy tickets”...
Yes, I understand and agree with the blogger’s concern about
concussion, sporting injuries and bad behaviour in sport because it has been a
problem in all Australian football codes as well. In Australian football codes
there are rules about concussions and players who receive them cannot play for
a certain period of time and without a medical clearance. I don’t know what the
rules are in America for their codes but I imagine they have some in place
although I also imagine there is a way around it. I don’t believe any sporting
club with a legal and ethical duty of care to players, even with the depth of
players available in America, they would intentionally place any player’s
health and wellbeing at risk and the threat of legal action. But that is just
my opinion. There were concussions this week and the players were taken off the
field. My code has over the years had a number of people retiring from the
game from serious injuries including concussion and spinal injuries due to the
nature of the game. There have also been players who get regular concussion and
even a broken neck playing on. But that is between the player and the club.
“When did American
sports become all about trophies and ticket sales? What the hell happened to
fairness in the game, integrity of the players and honesty of the institution?
It got sand bagged for big bucks, then bigger bucks…Then NFL stands for
everything America does not. Lies, crooked dealings, drugging damaged players,
hiding disgusting vile and deviant behaviour, denying head injuries exist in
their players and hiring hot shot attorneys to fight the notion, and supporting
many players not getting their education, also they can continue in the game.
That’s some prideful organization” (Tammy Bleck)
The players and clubs are a representation of the community in
which they come from and as a consequence will reflect both the positive and
negative behaviour of that community whether they be in America or Australia.
Over the years all football codes in Australia have been involved in negative
behaviour and other sports such as swimming. These include player health concerns,
anti-social behaviour off the field, drinking, drugs, betting, match fixing,
domestic violence, poor conduct towards women, racism and domestic violence.
Players have been mixed up in business deals gone wrong and clubs breaking the
player salary caps. I don’t know about other codes around Australia but in my
code this season there have been an increased number of yellow cards for
players from all countries who engage in dangerous play. This shows that there
are concerns at an international level about dangerous play but also
sportsmanship.
There have been lots of inquiries into players and teams and
strategies put into place to stop this behaviour happening again and again. Every
week there are players from all codes in sporting tribunals defending their
actions. I don’t believe a suspension after the fact doesn’t do any good, but
more effective immediately during the game and in particular time out. Clubs and players who continually commit
offences and recommit are given more chances than most people in the community.
But unfortunately they continue to engage in this type of behaviour. Yes, I
agree there are only so many chances a player in sport can be given and
no matter what a genius the player they are, the club has to eventually cut the
player loose. Just like any business or employees who engage in unacceptable
conduct or members of any community anti-social and criminal behaviour needs to
be addressed and not just swept under the carpet because these men are sporting
stars.
Every football club in Australia at a national level has
education officers and career advisers that assist players to prepare for a
life after they have finished their sporting career. A couple of years ago most
of the players in my code were university graduates who got their degrees while
playing professional sport with the help of their clubs. But the nature of the
game has changed and not all players today want a university education. Just an
in America, university may be the way into a professional sporting life and
they accommodate these players for whatever reason but not all players want to
or can complete a university degree. I
think it is not fair to blame the club who may have all kinds of support in
place and the player doesn’t want to complete their education.
Tammy Beck continues “The
most recent NFL scandal in the news is about Ray Rice, the Baltimore Ravens
running back. Yet, another fabulous example and role model being employed by
the NFL and being paid millions in sponsors. We are being led into believing
that the NFL never saw the video that demonstrates Mr. Rice punching his then
fiancée in the elevator and knocking her out cold. Yeah, right. If you believed
that, I’ve got some sink hole land to sell you in Florida.
I’ll tell you what the
NFL didn’t know: They didn’t know that the video would go public. Or that the
public would be so outraged that they would stage mass jersey burnings on
social media everywhere. Or that the women making up 45 percent of their fan base
would be so outraged enough to refuse to buy tickets.
The NFL, has three
other players accused of domestic violence that they have yet to deal with. It
is obvious that their strategy is to wait long enough that the public forgets
about it, then suspend the player for a game or two and on with the show.
Cowards! This is no way to run a business, let alone an American institution.”(Tammy
Bleck)
Yes, I agree violence is unacceptable on and off the field
against men or women and the NFL needs to address these issues ASAP.
Rob Ford a columnist from The Inquirer in Philadelphia in
his article titled “NFL sending mixed
message about women” that the NFL is sending mixed message about the way it
treats women. At the top of the list is the need to disperse with cheerleaders
and objectifying women in sport. “It
would be a symbolic message that the league understands that part of the
problem is related to the objectifying women, which does by parading them
around in skimpy outfits that are little more than lingerie with logos. The
cheerleaders are there, to a large degree, for the pleasure of male customers
and it’s fine to leer at them and whistle at them and view as whatever you
like, with the possible exception of equals”.
I agree with Rob Ford that the NFL and their administration does
not set a good standard for women with its use of cheerleaders. I acknowledge
the issue and the role of cheerleaders in American is a complicated issue.
There have been numerous articles in the newspapers in American about the
owners and clubs exploiting cheerleaders and not paying them minimum wage. Many
of these women have taken legal action against the owners for unpaid wages. What
does that say about the contribution of these women? The issue of the respect of women begins with the clubs and their owners.
In Australia football teams and other sports like basketball
also have cheerleaders. I don’t particularly like going to official sites and
finding women in sexually explicit poses all over these sites. And I didn’t
like them when I went to NRL games in the eastern states in particular when the
game is pretty exciting in its own right. Yes codes of football can live
without cheerleaders. My code of football doesn’t have cheerleaders. The actor
Russell Crowe lead the way in Australia’s National Rugby League competition when his team
South Sydney Rabbitohs dispensed with their cheerleaders when he took over the
ownership of the club to make it more women and family friendly. This weekend
South Sydney are marching towards the NRL finals with the membership as high
as ever. Other teams in the NRL are so humming and harring about the role of
cheerleaders in their clubs.
“What Ray Rice Should
Mean For NFL’s Female Fan Base” by Dr Peggy Drexler in Forbes published at
Forbes.com wrote in response to this issue “Indeed
the NFL has worked very hard to cultivate this female audience through rigorous
marketing efforts like female-orientated sports programming, pop-up clothing
boutiques at stadiums, branded home goods offerings like wine bottle holders
and cheese boards and partnerships with nail polish brands to create
sports-themed manicures (‘fanicures’). There are campaigns and products and
million dollar efforts to welcome female fans to the sport”.
Seriously? This is what the NFL believes its female fans want
from the sport other than to buy a ticket and sit in a seat and watch the game.
I am wondering where they did their market research for what women want from sport?
While I am not sure what a female-orientated sports programming is, many of the
initiatives suggested by the blogger perpetuates stereotypes of women in sport in that they are there to look
good, and should be seen and not heard. That is not to say some women might
like what is being offered. Yes, some
Australian football codes offer this kind of inducement to female fans as well.
How family friendly are NFL games to welcome women with children? I am
wondering how many women are employed in the NFL and in what roles? How are
they involved in the discussion and debate on the game? How are the female fans
and journalists involved in the discussion and debate treated?
In Australia there have been issues with the participation and the role of women in Australian football codes too. How do football
codes make a more welcoming environment for women? Other than as a consumer.
While not completely ideal there have been small positive changes. They have
introduced women’s memberships and events. Women are employed in all levels of
football clubs and have become chief executives, senior coaches, umpire, sit on
the boards of the clubs, number one ticket holders, are health professionals,
administrators, volunteers, fans and members. In most games televisions women
are seen as supportive role on the field as health professionals assisting
players.
However, whether in America or Australia there needs to be
real involvement of women in male dominated sports beyond the tokenism and
consumerism. Using consumerism as suggested by Dr Peggy Drexler to implement
changes in NFL may or may not work. People forget really easily. It will be
interesting to check the merchandise sales at the end of season to see if this
has had an effect but it is a small step and something all those who support
change can do.
In conclusion to “What
Ray Rice Should Mean For NFL’s Female Fan Base” by Dr Peggy Drexler in
Forbes asked the question ‘Can you (women) believe in women’s right and enjoy
sport?’ “On the surface, this would seem
to be an encouraging move: A traditionally male-orientated sport recognising
that fans can be and are of either gender. And yet, in its handling of running
back Ray Rice’s assault against his then fiancée, now-wife Janay Palmer Rice,
the NFL doesn’t not care about women. As far as I am concerned, this leaves
women little choice but to return the favour. Can you believe in women’s rights
and enjoy football? Can you be angry about Ray Rice and the NFL’s inadequate
handling of him but still feel okay about watching the game? The answer, is
both to no”.
Although the author of the post says no to both I will
argue yes to both the above questions. Look no further than the former Prime
Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, Australian Rules Football ‘fan' and
advocate for women’s rights. Regardless of her politics she has been a
champion for both sport and women. As a female journalist Katie Nolan suggested
who hosts her own YouTube sports and culture show on Foxtel removing critical
thinkers from the game will not enable issues like women’s rights to perpetuate.
And while we may feel angry now withdrawing support for the NFL will hurt the
families, the women and children whose livelyhood come from that source. But
also the right of women to make informed choices about how they choose to address
issues. If the wife of Ray Rice can forgive her husband then why can’t we as women
and a community?
Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard Australian Rules Football fan and advocate of women's rights.
Thank you to all the men and women who shared their ideas online about their love or dislike of the NFL.
References
Barton, S, 2013, ‘As a female NFL fan, I want a better
stadium experience-Not a pink jersey’.
In The Atlantic.com published 25 September 2013.
Boudway, I. 2013 ‘How the NFL woos female fans’ in
Bloomsberg Businessweek published 5 September 2012
Drexler, P. 2014, ‘What Ray Rice should mean for NFL’s
female fan base’ in Huffington Post, published 9 September 2014.
Ford, R 2014, ‘NFL sends mixed messages on women’ in The
Inquirer, published 12 September 2014.
Galazka, K. 2014, ‘Fox Sports hosts asks not to boycott the
NFL’ in Buzzfeed.com, published 12 September 2014.
Ryan, E, 2014, ‘If
you care about women and still support the NFL, you are a hypocrite’ in
Jezebel.com.
