Super Bowl 2015: NFL Paid For Anti-Domestic Violence PSA, But Was It Enough?

Shockingly, this Super Bowl 2015 advert is based on real life events.

A few months ago, a viral story circulated globally, about a woman-under-threat who dialled the number of the emergency services and pretended to be ordering a pizza, as it was the only way she could ask for help while her abuser was within earshot.

It has been an incredibly challenging year for the NFL.

It has had to weather the storms of two high-profile cases of domestic violence among their star athletes.

Subsequently, the National Football League has come under intense scrutiny from all over the world, with many suggesting that they did not treat these incidences with the severity that was required.

As part of their mission to prove just how seriously they do take the issue of domestic violence, the NFL paid for this public service announcement to be made by NoMore.org and for it to be aired during Sunday's game between the Patriots and the Seahawks.

But was it enough?

The NFL Has A Problem

The Super Bowl is one of America's favourite events of the year, with fans turning out in their thousands to the stadium and over 110 million tuning in to watch the game on the television, proving without a shadow of a doubt, that American Football rivals any other kind of football in terms of its popularity.

Culturally, though, the NFL is fraught with problems.

An inherently machismo pastime, both to play and to be a fan, the sport is full of heaving, armoured men, crashing into each other while being cheered on by scantily clad women on the side lines and beer-guzzling, hollering mega-fans in the stands.

The cult celebrity-status of its star athletes is engendered among young players from the first time they hit the college field and only encouraged as they speed on through every interception and every touchdown of their glittering careers.

And what happens when you make someone feel invincible?

They do whatever they darn well please: hit up any nightclub, drive around in flash cars beaming at every passer by, demand higher and higher fees, punch their wives unconscious in elevators...

As was indeed the case in February 2014, when Baltimore Ravens' Ray Rice was arrested and charged with assault after footage emerged of him and his wife having an argument which resulted in Rice clocking Janay Rice in the face, knocking her out cold and then dragging her limp body out into the hallway.

In September 2014, Adrian Peterson of the Vikings was indicted for alleged child abuse - injuries to his 4-year-old son reportedly included slashes to the legs, back, buttocks and genitals.

Have The NFL Done Enough?

Well, paying for this anti-domestic violence PSA and giving it the place of a prime advertising slot during the game is certainly a start and shouldn't be scoffed at.

It does, at the very least, demonstrate that the NFL are willing to acknowledge the problem.

And making other people aware of the issue is at the heart of challenging unhealthy mindsets and finding solutions.

There is also the argument, of course, that domestic violence exists in every corner of the world, regardless of sport, money, education or any other factor and it isn't appropriate to place such a heavy burden of responsibility on the NFL's shoulders to effect a change.

This is a specious argument, though.

Firstly, records of domestic violence and other crimes against women have been linked to the sport for a long time.

One need only have a brief glance at all of the recent college campus rape cases - Steubenville, Vanderbilt and so on - to see how many of the accused have been on the college's American Football teams.

Secondly, though the NFL may now have responded with a degree of gravity, the teams in the spotlight didn't necessarily do so from the outset.

Ray Rice was initially only suspended for two games.

Once the video of him hitting his wife went viral, he was let go by the Ravens, but he is now free to sign with another NFL team.

Adrian Peterson was initially only suspended for ONE game, though is now banned until Spring 2015, which many will argue is not nearly long enough.

There have been 56 instances of domestic violence by the hands of players since Roger Goodell became NFL commissioner and out of those 56 incidences, only 10 players were let go from their teams and only 13 games were missed in suspension punishments.

And that is simply not good enough.

Finally, one could easily argue that as such a large and rich body, under the watchful eye of so many millions, it is the NFL's responsibility, to women and to humanity, to use their influence for good.

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What do you think? Should big sporting bodies be responsible for social change? Let us know in the comments!