The NFL Has a Lower Rate of Domestic Violence Than the General Population

Real Clear Science ^ | September 18, 2014 | Ross Pomeroy

[Bettyprob]

This year, three National Football League players -- Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice, and Greg Hardy -- have either admitted to or been convicted of domestic violence. Their stories coalesced into a storm this past week with the release of a damning new video of Ray Rice punching his wife (then fiancée) and the indictment of Adrian Peterson, debatably the NFL's best running back, for child abuse.

The media onslaught of updates, analysis, and opinion on what has been called the National Football League's "worst week ever" leaves a distinct impression: the NFL is a league stocked full of criminals.

Evidence, however, doesn't bear that out.

Back in 1999, leading criminologist Alfred Blumstein teamed up with author Jeff Benedict, who has written five books focused on crime and athletics, to compare rates of criminal violence among NFL players to that of the general population. Controlling for age, they found that the annual rate of assault and domestic violence among NFL players was less than half that of the general population.

But Blumstein and Benedict's analysis is fifteen years dated. Perhaps things have changed in that time?

It doesn't appear they have. Back in July, FiveThirtyEight's Benjamin Morris tallied up the incidents in USA Today's NFL Arrests Database to discern crime rates among NFL players. He then compared those numbers to the national averages among 25-29 year olds, and found the rate of domestic violence in the NFL to be 55.4% that of the general population. And the overall crime rate was a mere 13% of the national average.

[Mastador1]

But Blumstein and Benedict's analysis is fifteen years dated. Perhaps things have changed in that time?

What has the percentage of players changed in the last fifteen years?

[2ndDivisionVet]

Isn’t the “minimum wage” there well over a million dollars a year with many making much more than that? Well, I’m guessing that most people in that demographic, whether black, white or whatever, don’t have domestic issues at the average rate of the overall population.

[End Times Sentinel]

I’m wondering if the report rates are accurate.

Supposedly, there are 30 NFL players with pending domestic issues on the commissioner’s desk (I don’t know this, this is just what I’ve heard reported).

My thinking (and I’m as big a football fan as you’ll find) is it’s a violent game. Having a violent personality, or violent tendencies, is a competitive advantage. That’s not to say that Aaron Rodgers goes home and beats the hell out of his family, but it might be more likely than average if NFL players displayed that tendency.

[El Cid]

How about for NFL running backs?
Because with Jim Brown, OJ, Ray Rice, the Arizona Cardinal guy, ... I'm beginning to wonder...

[gusty]

Heard this statistic today about college athletics, do not know the parameters but this is what I heard.

Number of College Athletes arrested for
serious criminal acts.

Football - 147
Basketball - 14
Soccer - 1
Lacrosse - 1
Baseball - 0

[FredZarguna]

Normalize the stats by income instead of age, and I believe you will find that professional football players are several thousand -- perhaps several hundred thousand -- times more likely to be violent criminals than other men with in similar economic circumstances.

[fortheDeclaration]

Is that suppose to make us feel good about the NFL?

[zeestephen]

First thing I noticed...

They compare all NFL players as a group.

Wrong!

They need to break it down into Black and white players.

When adjusted for proportion, Black players are arrested 2.5 times more often than white players.

That means Black players are arrested more often than the national average.

And, white players are arrested less than half the national average.

[leprechaun9]

As with most analyses, only the reported incidents are included. Similarly, there have been more than 55,000,000 reported abortions since Roe v. Wade, a practice that is accepted as a person’s right! Is this a civilization?

[logi_cal869]

More BS, just like this Breitbart article

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Sports/2014/09/18/Unnecessary-Roughness-NFL-Domestic-Violence

The problem with football is the NFL itself (not getting into the concussion/injury thing)...as with the current ‘image’ problem (not the media).

I could care less one way or another, but trying to whitewash it in defiance just to defend the game is plain stupid.

[Gay State Conservative]

Well, I’m guessing that most people in that demographic, whether black, white or whatever, don’t have domestic issues at the average rate of the overall population.

Even at my income level (well below that of NFL players) my attitude is....if my wife were ever to prove herself to be unworthy of me I'd divorce her,not hit her.

[grania]

But it sure did keep us entertained while the DC crowd voted for the worst possible choice to combat ISIS terror.

I've become such a cynic. I can't help but wonder if at least a small percentage of the reporting against NFL players is baby-moms trying to extort more money from dad.