Domestic violence advocates have expressed their frustration against the National Football League for its lack of support for the cause as the National Domestic Violence Awareness month comes to an end tomorrow.
The NFL failed to wear the color purple — the color associated with domestic violence — during any games in October so far and have instead accepted funding to publicly support breast cancer charities and wear its associated color, pink, instead.
One NFL player William Gay was fined over $5,700 this week for wearing purple, and the offense was cited as a uniform violation.
Carolyn Hennecy, a victim of domestic violence and published author on the subject, said this year’s national awareness month fell short of campaigners’ hopes and expectations, especially regarding the NFL’s lack of action.
“I have been disappointed that we didn’t get to see purple on the football field,” she told The Independent. “I only saw [former player] Terry Bradshaw bravely and vehemently speak out against Greg Hardy. That was a bright light.”
Hardy returned to play for the Dallas Cowboys this month, after being suspended for just four games after committing domestic violence.
However, feminists, victims and campaigners have set Twitter alight to condemn the NFL for not supporting the cause, particularly after an inflow of domestic violence stories.
Ironic the NFL is implementing this new "color rush" when they won't allow players to wear purple cleats for domestic violence awareness.
The NFL is getting way too ridiculous with telling these guys they can't wear pink or purple to represent something they care a lot about
Activist Nicole Lofton has started a petition on Change.org to ask the NFL to publicly support both breast cancer and domestic violence causes by wearing pink and purple. The petition has so far over 3,200 signatures.
NFL spokeswoman Angela Alfano told The Independent that players are able to "promote their causes in many effective ways outside of the three-hour window when they are in their game uniform."
She added that: "teams can wear special patches or helmet decals with league approval to recognize a member of their team who has died, or to commemorate a special team anniversary."
Domestic Violence costs the US economy around $8.3 billion every year, and one in every four women will be a victim of domestic violence during their lives, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. The awareness month in October came into being more than 15 years ago when former senator Joe Biden introduced the Violence Against Women Act in 1990.
