Politics, Sports

WHEN DID IT BECOME OK TO HIT A GIRL?

35 Comments

OK. I know it’s never OK for a man to hit a woman. Not in the eyes of the law, anyway, but what about in the eyes of male athletes?

There were several stories in the news this week about athletes abusing women.

What is it with big, strong professional athletes and the way they treat their women? There was a time when, if you had been seen hitting a girl, you would have been ostracized.

You also stood a pretty good chance of  getting a beating from a nearby male. I don’t have to tell you about the Steelers and the problems some of their players have had with getting physical with women.

The Steelers’ who came back from Domestic Hell seemed to be greeted with open arms when they return to the locker room. When a guy gets busted for slapping his wife, girl friend or baby mama around, his teammate will say he made a “mistake.”

Those of us of a certain age were told that nothing could be more un-manly than hitting a girl. When did that change?

  • FRANCIS

    …i believe thats as low as u get when u assault a woman…johns correct here boys and girls…u gotta agree…it’s inexusable…it’s a sad man who does this…

  • http://sh Karl Marx

    Times have not changed a bit, “older” people just have selective memory when it comes to the good ole days. People are vermin now and then,,nothing has changed. The reason nobody jumped silverback is clear, he is a bad MFer that can and will kick your ass. If it was some little skinny dude beatin up his chick the line would be long to take a shot at him. Same goes for the old days. Nobody is going to take an ass kicking to stick up for some broad that will be back with the POS in a week. Hombre said it best “I just didn’t feel like bleedn for him” in this case her. Spare your sympathy for people who actually deserve it or step up and challenge silverback to a fight….Any takers,,,didn’t think so.

    • http://justwatchthegame.com JohnSteigerwald

      It’s not about punching him in the face, I’t’s about at least showing your disapproval and not acting like it’s no big deal. I’d be happy if more of the women took it upon themselves to learn how to use a gun and then surprised them with a bullet to the head during one of the beatings. That would be fine with me. My original question wasn’t why doesn’t somebody beat these guys up. It was why doesn’t anybody let them know that it’s not acceptable?

  • VOS

    If you hit a woman, you should have to go a mandatory 3 rounds with….
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPETM9CSubY

  • mickey

    what if a woman hits you first? what is a guy supposed to do, just take it?

    there are women that hit men or have no problem getting in a guys face because they know he won’t do anything about it, they have no fear when they feel there is no consequences

    i believe that when a woman hits a man, she is no longer somebody to be treated like a lady

    so what do you do, if for example a girl punches you in the nose and bloodies it?

    • http://justwatchthegame.com JohnSteigerwald

      I’ve been asking that question for a long time. I also have been asking if the women and children into the lifeboats rule still applies now that there is supposed to be equality. Women who hit men need ti understand the rules that men have been playing by for 5 thousand years. Don’t hit unless you’re willing to be hit.

  • Meathead

    women have gotten a lot tougher over the years.

    • http://justwatchthegame.com Bobzilla

      Women are different today than they were, say, 30 years ago. As a single 59-year-old male, I can assure you that I have come across some real pyschos the past 10 years. I’m talking some serious bi-polarites.
      Gentlemen, if you have a good woman in your life and are on the other side of 40, be thankful. There are some real crazies out there!!!!
      How about Andre Rison’s girlfriend burning down his mansion? Think that chick wasn’t disturbed? There are a whole bunch more out there just like her, and they all aren’t 20-year-olds.

      • mickey

        that was left eye lopez

        she died in a car accident so one less psycho in the world

  • Tim

    You imply that this is a problem of younger men today, and maybe that is true. But how about the older men who employ them?

    • http://justwatchthegame.com JohnSteigerwald

      They like to win.

      • Tim

        so do the players. it’s hypocritical to criticize the players for welcoming back say a james harrison and not criticize dan rooney who DEFENDED him and said it was ok to beat his baby mama because his child had to get baptized or whatever it was.

        • http://justwatchthegame.com JohnSteigerwald

          Agreed.

          • http://Jim JIm

            I’m not condoning the behavior, but I wonder how many of these woman even knew their spouse before they knew he was a walking brinks truck. These woman are with guys they wouldn’t give the time of day to if they weren’t rich and/or famous. I’m sure that doesn’t describe every case and they still don’t deserve being abused in any way, but I bet it’s accurate for most cases. You sow what you reap.

          • Mike

            Women make a habit out of dating men who they have no business being around. As Bill Maher says, “women can’t complain about men until they get better taste in them.”

  • Mike V.

    In every class and culture, men have always hit women. It has always been looked down upon. The “what has changed” question is a good one.

    One reason is women are much more likely to report it to police today than say 50 years ago. Women had no place to go and getting beaten at home was better than living in poverty as say a single mother.

    Second, it is being excused away as an “anger issue” rather than a criminal issue. The action needs to be punished and not treated. The treatment can take place in prison.

    Third, in some cultures, rap music actually glorifies hitting a woman. It has been doing that for 20 years so why shouldn’t a generation of young men think it is OK?

    Fourth, these athletes have more money than ever and if it becomes a problem they can throw money at it until it goes away.

    Fifth, there are so many desperate teams out there, they are willing to give almost anyone a second or a third or a fourth chance as long as it helps their tem.

    I could go on.

    • http://justwatchthegame.com JohnSteigerwald

      Wouldn’t it be nice to hear an athlete rip a teammate who beat up his wife or girlfriend. I don’t recall it ever happening. They’ll brush it off as a “mistake”.

  • Ken

    In Steelerland, it’s only acceptable to abuse women if you’re a star. That was Cedric Wilson’s problem. If he was a better player, he’d be still on the sidelines standing next to James Harrison.

  • Isteve Roissy

    Women determine how men behave. If being an ass or bad boy didn’t result in ******, guys would stop doing it.

    If in the hood, the guys who made an honest living working at McDonald’s or Best Buy received the attention from females and guys who were dealing or stealing and wearing bling with tricked up cars were shunned, guys in the hood would be trying to work at McD’s and Best Buy.

    Also John, back in your day, the majority of women, with exceptions, were good girls, more demure, more feminine. The modern female cutlure, especially in big cities, of dress slutty, drink like a guy, bad language and casual hook-ups has reduced the respect and protectiveness guys feel for a lot of women. I’ll repeat, and this is true throughout history, the men will act how the women encourage them to, for better or for worse.

    • http://justwatchthegame.com JohnSteigerwald

      Can’t say I disagree.

  • oksteelerfan

    I think there have always been men that beat their wives, but it was done in secret and women kept it secret because many times they had no job and kids to raise. I don’t think it was held to a certain class or a certain skin color.

    The difference though is that society didn’t ignore it when it came out in the open. Other men would look down upon the wife beater and wife beaters would lose their jobs.
    But we live in this politically correct world now where the man must have anger issues or something happened in his childhood and he needs as much help and understanding as the abused.
    I’m getting pretty fed up with this politically correct world.

    My boys were taught from a young age that only sorry cowards would hit a woman and if they ever hit a girl or woman no matter their age they would answer to me and my daughter was taught that any guy who would hit a girl was a sorry excuse for a man and other things not appropriate for a blog comment. lol

    • http://justwatchthegame.com JohnSteigerwald

      The difference —it seems to me–is in how it has become accepted by men. It used to be that a guy didn’t want to show his face if it became known that he had hit a woman.

  • mickey

    because a lot of women like bad boys, notice how most of these women stay with the guy that hit them, often times defending him from the police or refusing to press charges?

    tommy lee beat up pamela anderson while she was nursing their son, he still gets famous models and women we could only fantasize about, including pamela

    sometimes i feel like we’re living in the bizarro world

    • http://justwatchthegame.com JohnSteigerwald

      I wonder if money has anything to do with it. Nah.

      • http://justwatchthegame.com Rob H.

        I don’t think it’s just a professional sports issue.

        • http://justwatchthegame.com JohnSteigerwald

          Obviuously not.

  • thunder

    That hasn’t changed. Maybe I’m too old. Men, or real men, don’t hit women

    • http://justwatchthegame.com JohnSteigerwald

      I think it is an old fashioned notion in some quarters, unfortunately

  • Scootermojo

    there was a single common thread among all those women beating losers in the article but nobody wants to mention it.

    • http://justwatchthegame.com JohnSteigerwald

      Apparently, you don’t want to mention it, either.

      • victor surma

        Why mention it? It’s obvious. The backlash would be worse than the Barney Frank Fairy Boat ride.

      • Scootermojo

        ok, i will, if you want: they are all gheto wannabe “gangsta” hood rats. class is a four letter word neither of them can spell.

    • saneman

      Ehh, there are white athletes who beat their wives/GFs. How about the Giles brothers. What about some of those WWE wrestlers.
      The common strand seems to be more of rhoid rage.
      Then you also have some ofthese people come from unstable families where there is no role model. You got pampered athletes. You got some really unsavory golddigging women who would provoke Jesus into slapping them, in a few isolated cases. I think its representative of our current society , just amped up in an athletes case because his fame and fortune involves a whole other factors that contribute.

      • http://justwatchthegame.com JohnSteigerwald

        OK. I’m asking when did it get to the point that a man shouldn’t be ASHAMED by hitting a woman.

      • Scootermojo

        when did i say they weren’t white or mention race at all? i didn’t…i said they were ghetto wannabe “gangsta” hood rats….i know plenty of white people who fit that description, too. you inferred i was referring to them as non-white…that’s your problem, not mine.