New Season, Same Problems: Examining the NFL’s “Zero-Tolerance” Domestic Violence Policy

Abuse allegations are common occurrences in the football world, hence the creation of the NFLs New Personal Conduct Policy. But what happens when adhering to their own rules means punishing some of their most famous players?

Amid immunization controversies and email scandals, the NFL has had quite a season, both on and off the field. Yet, while managing vaccination statuses and uncovering offensive emails between coaches is something new they’ve been dealing with, an old issue has also returned: abuse.

Assault is not unfamiliar to the sport. While the NFL would like you to believe they’ve got everything handled, domestic violence in football did not end with Ray Rice. From the Vikings’ Dalvin Cook to the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger, many players have been accused, yet continue to play on the field, even with the NFL’s apparent “zero-tolerance” policy toward these sorts of allegations. Any convicted “violations involving assault, battery, domestic violence or sexual assault will result in a baseline six-game suspension without pay,” states the NFL’s New Personal Conduct Policy. A six game suspension, unless you’re the franchise quarterback of the Steelers whose multiple sexual assault allegations only resulted in four games. A six game suspension, unless you’re the star running back of the Vikings who has served no punishment for his three different assault accusations. A six game suspension, unless it doesn’t serve the NFL’s purpose to punish some of their most talented players.

Tyreek Hill is a household name in the football world. 4,000 receiving yards recorded in his first 58 career games. 355 receiving yards in his last postseason alone. Nicknamed the “Cheetah” for his speed, and the star wide receiver for the 2019 Superbowl Champs: the Kansas City Chiefs. And yet, along with his skills comes the unwanted baggage of a domestic violence conviction and a child abuse investigation. In 2014, while still playing for Oklahoma State, Hill pled guilty to charges of battery by strangulation and domestic assault of his then-pregnant girlfriend. The college dismissed him from their football team a few days later, however, he was then picked up by West Alabama. In 2019, Hill was investigated for domestic assault involving a child, after he was believed to be involved in the breaking of his four-year-old son’s arm. According to the NFL’s “zero-tolerance” policy, the six game punishment can be increased “if aggravating factors are present, such as the use of a weapon or a crime against a child.” Hill was not suspended.

(Illustration courtesy of Noe Perry-Greene)

Amidst a domestic violence conviction, Tyreek Hill is a household name.

“Part of the problem is that there isn’t this consistency,” says Julianna Kirschner, a Lecturer of Communication (both in sports and other subjects) at the USC Annenberg Institute of Sports, Media and Society. “When you have a high contact sport like [football] you really need to have players that can withstand and maintain the highest standards of the team. Because there are players that consistently do well in such a difficult environment…[the NFL] wants to sustain them at whatever cost, even if they go against their own rules.” When the price of punishment is losing some of your best players, the NFL seems unwilling to pay.

Names like Darrion Scott, Rodney Austin, Roy Miller, and Chris Cook are unfamiliar to most, therefore, their suspensions due to assault chargers were easy decisions. The NFL can afford to lose a couple Rodney Austin’s. The star receiver of the Chiefs is a different story.

Hill’s situation, or lack thereof, brings to mind the question of whether or not there is a point to having a “zero-tolerance policy” if it is not going to be enforced. The more exceptions made, the more the rule loses its meaning. Instead, it protects the very issues it’s supposed to address.