The NFL's controversial decision to suspend Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott after a yearlong investigation into domestic violence allegations has spurred debate about whether the punishment is too severe.
But domestic violence experts said the NFL took a necessary and crucial stand Friday.
Richard Gelles, said he believes the league did what Jerry Jones should have done. , a professor of social policy at the University of Pennsylvania who has consulted with the NFL regarding domestic violence sanctions and written several books on the subject
"The message the NFL sent to Jerry Jones is,
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No criminal charges have been filed against Elliott. Unlike in a court of law,
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Punishment needs to be expected and consistent, he said.
"The point of all of this is if you want to deter behavior that you believe to be unacceptable," Gelles said. "It's less important that it be severe and most important that it be certain. , the punishment has to be certain
"It sends a message that they're not going to tolerate domestic violence, you have to send this message.", and it sends a message to players like Ezekiel Elliott that their careers are on the line. If you want domestic violence to decline
Bianca Jackson, said the NFL's decision to suspend Elliott is an example of a new trend in how domestic violence is treated and discussed in the public arena., senior director of fund and community development for Genesis Women's Shelter
"To me," she said. , it shows us that there is now a social consequence regarding domestic violence. Now there's this public court of opinion that puts on pressure
Domestic violence, often comes with a pattern of abuse and control that escalates. In order to break that pattern for abusers, Jackson said,
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Womens Danielle Hunter Jersey, Jackson said it seems as though that's exactly what the NFL is doing,
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Dallas City Council member Jennifer Staubach Gates, has long felt the conflict between her love of the team and her work as an advocate for domestic violence victims., the daughter of famed Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach
Gates said Friday that the NFL's recent letter to Elliott, suggests that the league is moving in the right direction when it comes to taking a stand against domestic violence., which explains its investigation and findings
"I know it's a business, and they're in the industry to win the Super Bowl," said Gates, who is chairwoman of Dallas' Domestic Violence Task Force. "But you still have to have standards."
Gates said from the outside looking in, it appears that the NFL's investigation was very fair. "I think the NFL has stood up and said we're going to do the right thing. I would hope the Cowboys will follow."
The criticism that inevitably follows a decision like this is misplaced,
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"He made a really bad choice. It's not the choice of the NFL. … It was Zeke's choice to engage in that conduct. Let's make the question … 'Why did this person do that?' vs. making excuses for the consequence or questioning the consequence.
"They're regular human beings, and so they should be held to a different standard.", but we lift them up to a different standard. And that's the reality. Kids look up to them
