It does not go away...have the guts to leave, get help or intervene

It's time we all educate ourselves more about domestic violence and INTERVENE, because many women clearly don't know how to help or extricate themselves. This video show it is not an "every once in awhile" thing. I lost count, but 6 or 7 or 8 times in one year...and progressively rse. Once it starts, it can only get worse and end badly if BOTH parties don't get help.

This Woman Took A Photo Of Herself Every Day For A Year. I Was In Tears When I Saw The Last One.

By sharing photos of one woman’s face over the course of a year, this video conveys a powerful message that needs to be shared. “One photo a day in the...

http://www.reshareworthy.com/one-photo-a-day-for-one-year/#UtLsoX4RxvkpwAqc.01

(*Disclaimer – they did use a model and make up, but that makes it no less real. The Croatian campaign was stared after too many domestic violence deaths.)

Heather J. Kirk
Art by Heather J. Kirk www.heather-kirk.artistwebsites.com
Literature by Heather J. Kirk http://www.photographicartistry.citymax.com/Books.html

Do we need to share the blame of Domestic Violence in Sports?

To be honest, the FIRST thing I thought when I saw the #RayRice video was: "Is the #NFL doing enough to protect players from #TraumaticBrainInjury and #concussions?" because I would not be surprised if it plays a part in violence overall as well as poor judgement and impulse control.

Do sports allow dangerous violence - much of which is integral to the game?

Does protective gear go far enough?

Do fans love a rough game, cheer on the most aggressive players?

Do teams put players back on the field too early? Do players hide injuries and symptoms so they won't be pulled from the game?

Concussions and whiplash are PART of football, like it or not. And week after week of hard hits does serious damage, not just physically but mentally and emotionally.

I do not in any way say head injures are an excuse for domestic violence or violence in general, because there are so many players who DO NOT beat their wives or girlfriends, and many people who do not play professional sports DO.

But head trauma and CTE are a dangerous reality of many sports, football and boxing being at the top of the list.

This article is important, well written and honestly quite fascinating - in a morose way: http://www.forbes.com/sites/dandiamond/2014/09/16/does-football-make-you-violent-examining-the-evidence

Heather J. Kirk
Art by Heather J. Kirk www.heather-kirk.artistwebsites.com
Literature by Heather J. Kirk http://www.photographicartistry.citymax.com/Books.html

What is "Warranted" for Pro Sport Players Who Committ Domestic Violence May Not Be Best or Even Realistic

I am so glad that the NFL didn't go from one extreme (let's pretend domestic violence doesn't happen....until caught on camera) to the other extreme, as sugguested at one point, caught twice and you will never play in the NFL again.

Would they deserve it? YES.

Would it change a damn thing? NO.

And, yes my mantra of Unintended Consequences holds true here - a woman whose "fault" it was to get a man kicked out of pro sports would never report it. Why?

(1) Remember the mindset of an abused woman already is one of low self-esteem and wrongly thinking she actually deserves it somehow or did something  to cause it, and

(2) she would either be afraid, be threatened, or actually end up dead.

Yes, education is a much better way to go --- as long as there are real consequences, both in the league and with the law, to go along with it.

Where to get help, where to give: http://www.ncadv.org/resources/StateCoalitionList.php

Heather J. Kirk
Art by Heather J. Kirk  www.heather-kirk.artistwebsites.com
Literature by Heather J. Kirk  http://www.photographicartistry.citymax.com/Books.html