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Article Last Updated: 09/07/2007 10:46:45 AM PDT
AS THE EXECUTIVE director of Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments, an agency that provides prevention and intervention services to victims of domestic violence, I have followed the recent news about the Michael Vick dog-fighting controversy with some interest and a high level of disbelief.
Although I agree that the crime that he is accused of - animal abuse for fighting dogs - is unacceptable, I chafe at the response given this crime versus the attention and consequences given to the crime of beating a woman.
Let's give battered women and men at least the same level of respect that we give our pets.
The NFL has said Vick might never play professionally again. According to Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFL's Player Association, "the practice of dog-fighting is offensive and completely unacceptable."
I just wish the NFL, the NBA and Major League Baseball had the same level of outrage toward spousal abuse and other forms of domestic violence.
Many NFL players as well as players from the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball have been convicted of domestic abuse, yet they play on with no fear of losing their careers.
In many instances the victim does not prosecute, either because of fear or coercion, and the case is dismissed. In other instances, the case is pleaded down, resulting in no domestic violence charge on record. Most pay small fines, if that, and are back on the field immediately.
Two examples follow.
Jason Kidd of the NBA's New Jersey Nets pleaded guilty to spousal abuse in March 2001 and was not punished by the NBA.
Kidd, who was playing for the Phoenix Suns at the time, was arrested in January during a domestic dispute with his wife, Joumana. Kidd has agreed to undergo domestic violence counseling for at least six months, pay a $200 fine and not commit a crime for one year. The National Basketball Association also has decided not to discipline Kidd.
The Sacramento Kings' Ron Artest was suspended last season for 72 games for fighting in the stands.
In March he was arrested on a charge of domestic violence. For that he got what amounted to a hand slap; a two-game suspension and a $600 fine for a player who makes several million a year. Artest pleaded no contest to the domestic violence charge and was sentenced 100 hours of community service, a 10-day work project and mandated extensive counseling. The NBA did nothing here, too.
Maybe if he had committed the transgression on national TV - as with the fan brawl - more would have happened.
More domestic violence offenders can be found on the Family Violence Prevention Fund Web site.
Rodney Clark, a resident of Fremont, is executive director of SAVE.
Opinion piece pubished on InsideBayArea.com
September 12, 2007