NBA Wades Into Domestic Violence Waters
The NBA’s decision to suspend Jeffery Taylor for 24 games has historical significance. In the NBA’s 68 year history, it has never gone this far in condemning violence against women. The NBA’s decision is revolutionary even if the punishment is hardly life changing. Framing the argument are the facts: violence is learned behavior supported by privilege, cultural negligence and apathy. The NBA’s refusal to continue a head-in-the-sand approach is precedent setting. One person not pleased is the Executive Director of the NBA Players Association, Michele Roberts.
Nov 2, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Charlotte Bobcats shooting guard Jeffery Taylor (44) against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half of a game at New Orleans Arena. The Pelicans defeated the Bobcats 105-84. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Roberts represents the players, their interests, their civil rights. She fights for equity on behalf of the entire NBA labor force. The Taylor punishment is the first of its kind. It establishes a rule of law in cases of domestic violence when a player pleads guilty to assault. Every incident from this point forward will spin through the Taylor centrifuge: 24 games will be the starting point.
One more thing that has Michele Roberts fuming. The Collective Bargaining Agreement calls for a minimum 10 game suspension for domestic violence cases if the conviction is a felony. Taylor pled guilty to a misdemeanor. So, in effect, Adam Silver is bypassing the CBA while adhering to the new societal norms regarding violence against women.
The 24 game punishment has influence just as the crime has consequences. But no one cares about the circumstances. No one cares about why. No one cares if your dog died. No cares if you were drunk. No one cares if you had a bad day. No one cares how sorry you are afterwards.
Violence towards women is the new line in the sand where on one side is a normal human being. And on the other side is a violent criminal who needs to be taught a lesson.
This is how Jeffery Taylor, a minor NBA character, had his name splashed in the news. After a night of drinking, he became violent towards a companion which resulted in injuries to his companion’s head and arm when she crashed into a hotel wall, though she declined medical treatment for injuries she sustained. The act was violent enough to put a hole in the wall. Taylor was arrested and uncooperative, belligerent towards the arresting officers.
His arrest came during the tidal wave of contempt for Ray Rice whose violent behavior was a secondary theme to the arrogance of the NFL to take seriously the harm Rice caused. Thus, the Jeffery Taylor story became covered in the same sort of slime as Ray Rice. One sport, one abuser. Another sport, another abuser.
We don’t live in a world of theory. We live in a world of perception. The NBA, led by Adam Silver, is dialed into the new normal regarding violence against women. The public is fed up with the arrests followed by slaps on the wrist because the public is sensitive to female violence in a way sports leagues are not. Far too many of us know what domestic violence looks like, it is not theory to us. We’ve seen victims and black eyes and safe houses, we know what fear is. We’ve seen it when we look in the mirror.
That said, what is fair? A 10 game suspension is laughable. On the other end of the spectrum, Charles Barkley said a domestic abuser should lose the right to his career after a second conviction. It sounds good, it sounds tough on crime but falls far short of realism.
Relationships, even the most violent ones, can get very messy with a lot of gray areas. Abusers who lose their job and thus lose their income and thus lose their sense of power react in counterproductive ways inside their own homes. They make miserable the lives of those who depend upon them and are now afraid of them. Domestic violence, in many cases, is treatable if treatment is part of the punishment and if treatment is taken as seriously as a second night of a back to back game.
March 25, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers small forward Metta World Peace (15) prepares to shoot a free throw during the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Lakers 109-103. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Is it worse to throw your companion against a wall in a hotel or to fight with a stranger at a NBA game? Metta World Peace (Ron Artest) was suspended 73 regular season games for being violent in the stands towards fans he did not know. That was 90% of the season. Jeffery Taylor was suspended 24 games for fighting someone he did know and was suspended 30% of the season. World Peace hit customers. Taylor hit a friend. I repeat, what is fair?
Michele Roberts is arguing context. Jeffery Taylor’s conviction eventually will be dismissed after probation and completion of a domestic violence intervention program. But at the same time, she is facing a tidal wave of resentment. In the ten seconds it took to view the Ray Rice video the world changed, the rules shifted for good. Roberts calls the Jeffery Taylor suspension “excessive” which is hardly true. Excessive would be a year’s suspension. Excessive would be a lifetime ban. The Taylor suspension is longer than expected but it is not going to change the career of Jeffery Taylor, an 8 point a game player for the Charlotte Hornets.