I admit it. On Shabbat afternoons in the fall I do something that some would consider not traditional. I watch football. Not any football. University of Michigan football. And almost every week I vow that I am not going to do it the following week. The fact that it is a vow gives me something to think about when we say Kol Nidre. On Sundays you may find me watching the Patriots or the Bears (yes, I’ve almost been converted!).
I didn’t go to the University of Michigan. In fact, I opted out, even though I was accepted to the honors college. I did go to football games in high school—sometimes but not always. So why? Why watch? For me, I enjoy the social camaraderie it builds. It is what my family does. My husband was a student manager of the University of Michigan football team. His father and grandfather attended UofM. Every Klein is a University of Michigan fan. Some have season tickets. Some go to every bowl game. My first trip to meet the family was a Michigan-Nebraska Fiesta Bowl in Tempe. Every year we dream of a University of Michigan-Arizona bowl game. I already know it will not be this year!
I could argue that watching football preserves peace in the house—shalom bayit—but that really depends on the outcome of the game. It was hard to say who was more upset over the shut out of Michigan by Notre Dame this year. My husband has said I don’t have to watch but I can’t imagine not sitting down with him, enjoying some blue corn chips (blue maize, get it?) and some Michigan salsa with a cold beer. Or my traditional third quarter nap.
As someone who thinks she is a peacenik, is it good to watch large men try to pulverize each other? Is it good for any of us? We know that violence in video games and on TV and movies can lead to more violence. Does watching violence in football games lead to more violence?
Football has taken some hits recently. I am very concerned about concussions and head trauma. I have been concerned since a University of Michigan Delaware State game about injuries when a big team like Michigan plays a much smaller, less prepared team. I can’t imagine how the administrators who set that schedule can allow their kids that risk. The answer I received while watching that game in a Boston bar with other UofM fans was not acceptable—for the glory of the good play—and for the TV royalties that come from playing Michigan. Really? What about the career-ending injury that could also come?
Now we are told there is another problem. Domestic Violence. Players, especially NFL ones who hit their partners. Is there something in the culture? If you are told to be aggressive on the field does that give you the right to be aggressive off the field? If you are big man on campus does that put you above the law? No. Period.
This is not a new problem. Every year or two there is a player or a former player, college or professional who is arrested on charges of domestic abuse or rape. Every year we seem to look away.
The statistics are overwhelming. 1 in 4 women will be abused at some point in their lifetime. 1 in 4. That more than will get breast cancer at a rate of 1 in 8. Why is it OK to talk about breast cancer and not about domestic violence?
For those who work on the frontlines of protecting women and children, football is tricky. It is not just a way that women can relax. Maureen Manning-Rosenfeld does a good job of summarizing the issues in this article from the Daily Herald. http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20140918/news/140918320/
USA Today reported on the pregame show before a recent Thursday night football game that included the Baltimore Ravens. The anchor, James Brown “spoke directly to the camera and delivered a plea to viewers. He asked that all the energy given to the Rice controversy be channeled to raising awareness of domestic violence. With so much attention paid to who saw the elevator video and when they saw it, Brown’s words were a needed reminder that this is about something far bigger. Two years ago, Brown made a similar plea after Kansas City Chiefs player Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend, then committed suicide in the parking lot of Arrowhead Stadium. On Thursday, Brown pleaded for men to learn what “healthy, respective manhood is all about,” beginning with choices of language and deeds. “Our silence is deafening and deadly,” Brown said at the end of the powerful 90-second soliloquy. “
I may still watch football. But my vow this year for Kol Nidre will be to strengthen my voice and speak out about domestic violence wherever it occurs.