Football and other professional sports have come around to the effects of concussions on players after years of denial. I wonder if serious brain injury will be blamed for the colossally stupid choice by the CFL's Hamilton Tiger Cats football team of a new assistant head coach who had been dismissed from his previous position for being complicit in covering up sexual assault by some of his college players.
Supposedly the Ti-cats have been earnest about addressing domestic violence and sexual assault, both at a team level and in the community. Yet even though the club quickly changed its decision, the damage was done. What on earth was Hamilton management thinking -- or smoking -- when they came up with Art Briles as the best choice amongst candidates for this role?
Here is the upside, if there can be one in this situation. Fans of the team responded swiftly, criticizing the hiring and threatening to boycott games or give up seasons' tickets. This season doing so may not be such a hardship given an 0-8 record, but the message of rejection is clear. For years pro teams have either overlooked the domestic violence of players, or released them only to be hired by other teams shortly. There is increasing pressure to change the culture, although we continue to hear of incidents of behemoth men beating up on their partners. The situation in Hamilton points out that the public, including fans, and the media won't put up with this any longer.
When I was in pastoral ministry I was privy to situations in every congregation I served where one partner lived in fear of the other. Often both were in church on Sunday mornings with the appearance of domestic unity. Ruth, my wife, counseled some of the women in her role at a women's shelter. It is essential that our "heroes" are above reproach when it comes to domestic abuse. If they, or the teams they play for, are perpetrators, or condone these situations, doesn't it send a message that violence and assault are acceptable?
Did you hear about this story? What was your response? Is our culture changing for the better?
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