BPW Member Rita Smith Discusses Domestic Violence as Part of a new book and an upcoming Live Event

Rita Smith, BPW Colorado, is one of the world’s leading experts on domestic violence. She has been written about and published in multiple journals. She wrote on the subject as part of a recently-released book: Preventing Domestic Violence and Child Abuse, published by the Civic Research Institute, compiled by Barry Goldstein, JD; Mo Therese Hanna, PhD; and Veronica York.

I have selected some of the elements of her chapter, titled SportsWorld, to share with my BPW sisters. What is presented below is paraphrased or directly quoted from the book.

Her chapter (#8) focuses on domestic violence in the worlds of professional and collegiate sports. She notes that while they have long been celebrated as sources of teamwork and community identity, they have also fostered environments tolerant of gender-based violence. Through cases from O.J. Simpson to Ray Rice, she illustrates how these organizations historically protected athletes at the expense of victims.

She documents the NFL’s evolving response, including education, accountability policies, and partnerships with domestic violence organizations, yet bemoans the fact that so little has actually been done. Rita argues that sports institutions—given their unparalleled visibility and reach—have a moral and practical duty to model respect, challenge abuse, and engage men as allies in the battle against domestic violence of all kinds.

Sport is a powerful community connector, and gives fans a sense of belonging, something to be a part of, to cheer for, and to believe in. Sports create an avenue for character building, opportunities to learn the value of teamwork and how to focus on a goal and work hard for it. It also provides a way for talented athletes to overcome environmental circumstances and economic obstacles to advancement in status and income. It can literally change lives for the better. With that awesome power, sports also must provide a responsible culture. It has often failed us in that regard, and no sport has avoided making errors in response to gender-based violence.

Domestic violence is the most common violent crime NFL players are arrested for (48 to 55 percent). Significantly higher than the 21 percent share of domestic violence among violent crimes in the general population and higher than that of other professional sports leagues.

Even under the league’s ’new and improved’ punishment system, few players accused of violence against women have received the full six-game penalty.

No repeat offenders have been permanently banned.

Myplanapp.org

The Case that Gripped America: O. J. Simpson The most high-profile case of sports-related violence in recent history is the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldan in June of 1994.

The immediate suspect was the NFL great O.J. Simpson, and his trial for those murders became known as the “trial of the century”. As the investigation unfolded, it became clear that Simpson had abused Nicole for many years and had also abused his first wife.

As the trial progressed, Rita was flooded with interview requests, not just from media outlets in the United States, but from around the world from reporters looking for an expert in domestic violence.

The trial provided advocates working in the domestic violence arena with the opportunity to educate the public at levels not seen before and which they could never have achieved alone. The high level of exposure expanded the public’s understanding of what domestic violence is and the impact it has on both victims and the wider community.

It also clearly revealed a disturbing truth: many fans don’t want to believe their heroes are capable of criminal acts or, perhaps worse, simply don’t care because they value the athlete’s talent and skills more than they do the experience of an anonymous victim.

The Simpson trial also exposed the fact that racism and misogyny are deeply embedded in our culture at large and especially in the professional sports community. The division in the country when the verdict was announced attests to this.

The events and media coverage highlighted the work Americans need to do, both as a country and as fans, to create a more equitable system. Great stats on the field do not erase or minimize actions, attitudes, and behavior off the field.

This very public trial compelled Rita to find a way to engage more men in the work of ending gender-based violence. It was clear that women were never going to end the violence without the assistance of good men.

As she became more familiar with the SportsWorld (an American sports anthology television program which aired 1978 to 1992), she also became much more aware of the frequency of allegations identifying sports figures as perpetrators.

Her chapter in the book offers far more detail and context than this short article can. But you can talk to her yourself at BPW/Washington-Virtual’s upcoming event.

Rita’s official bio:

Rita believes advocacy and social change are intricately connected and cannot be accomplished separately.

She began working as a crisis line advocate in a shelter for battered women and their children in Colorado in 1981 and has held numerous positions in Colorado and Florida since then.

Rita was named the executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence in 1992. In that position, she has been interviewed by hundreds of publications and appeared on numerous local and national radio and television shows in the service of spreading the word about the severity of the problem and how it might be addressed.

In addition to the book referenced in the article, Rita co-authored a manual for attorneys working with domestic violence victims in Colorado and an article on child custody and domestic violence for The Judges Journal (an American Bar Association publication).

Sharon Simmons
CO/WA