Wednesday, June 17, 2009

What????

A wave of commonality was clear when I was reading an article about the domestic violence allegations against Denver Broncos Brandon Marshall. According to the Denver Times, the first police report made against him by his former fiance was in 2006, with many others since then, and eventually police found her with several cuts on her lip. The domestic violence spans 2 years and 3 states. I don't know the facts, anymore than what I read in the paper, but the victim's mom said she received a phone call 2 years ago from the Bronco's organziation to see if she could persuade her daughter to smooth things over with Brandon.

WHAT????

To smooth things over, to patch things up? Shouldn't they be looking at what they can do to change Brandon's behavior? What about domestic violence treatment for him? Don't they realize that domestic violence is a crime? Would they say that to their sister, mother, daughter, if they were in an abusive relationship ?Encourage her "to make nice"? The scary part of that questions is that for many, the answer would be yes.

He was originally given a 3 game suspension - which - surprise, surprise - he was able to cut that down to 1 game suspension.

The victim then voiced how alone she feels. Her motivation in going forward in pressing charges is “I don’t want to see him do it to nobody else. And that’s really why I’m doing this today because I feel like somebody has to stand up and stop him from doing this, because the Broncos haven’t done it. The NFL hasn’t done it. The Atlanta Police Department hasn’t done it. Somebody has to do it.”

I don't know what the Atlanta Police Dept has done - maybe they did a great job - and maybe they did not - but it is very common for victims to feel like they are in this alone - and they want others to stop him, because they know they cannot control the offender's behavior. Even police know that with their power, authority, and guns - they cannot make him stop. But at least we can hold him accountable. It is very frustrating and depressing for a victim to feel that he/she is taking steps toward safety - but they don't feel the rest of the community is.

I understand what she is saying - we hear that ALL TOO OFTEN from victims. Brandon is on trial next month. Lets hope that the community shows support - and holds him accountable - more than they talk about his football talent. Lets hope that he gets the message that kicking a football around is okay - kicking a woman around is not.

1 comment:

Amanda said...

This reminds me of what happened with Kobe Bryant... the victim had to endure blame, criticism, even threats. Victims of domestic violence are also questioned and criticized, instead of supported and encouraged. I truly admire women who have the courage to prosecute their abusers. Victims have to face barrier after barrier, repeat the traumatic event time after time, fear the retaliation of the abuser, his family, or in this case, his fans, and all of this to make him accountable for his criminal behavior. She will still be left with the emotional, and perhaps, physical scars of the assault. But I hope she finds refuge in her loved ones, and I hope the community and the justice system do not let her down.