Earlier this month, it seemed that the NFL totally and completely botched their investigation of Josh Brown’s domestic violence against his wife. Oddly enough, one of the NFL’s most high ranking officials, Troy Vincent, just received the Champion of Change award University of Colorado Denver’s Center on Domestic Violence, which seems like it’s come from a different world.
Initially of course, the league suspended Brown for one game only based on his own testimony to league investigators as well as the police report, and the league failed to interview Brown’s wife. As more information went public, the league’s hand was forced and Brown was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list, and then released by the Giants earlier this week.
Beyond Brown, the league’s public handling of the Greg Hardy and Ray Rice cases also shows that the league isn’t exactly a champion against domestic violence, but if there’s any consolation, Vincent himself is a different story.
“Domestic violence was a way of life in my home growing up,” Vincent said during testimony in a 2014 senate hearing. “As young boys, my brother and I watched helplessly numerous times as our mother was beaten, and we called 911 while she lay unconscious.
“We saw how she struggled to seek help, and find the voice and courage to say ‘no more.’ The sense of fear, powerlessness, and all the complexities that accompany this violence remain very real for me today.”
Here is a statement from Vincent when the award was announced:
“The true champions are those who have taken it upon themselves to not stand by, but to make a difference toward ending domestic and sexual violence. Every person who cares, who supports a survivor, or the family of a survivor, who lends a helping hand or says a kind and encouraging word, is a champion of change.“
“A critical component of the center’s mission is to change the aspects of our culture that condone gender based violence,” said Barbara Paradiso, director of the university’s program and center on domestic violence. “With leaders like Troy, the NFL has the power to set new norms and effect cultural change around women and violence.”
So while Vincent might be a shining light in an otherwise dark part of the NFL’s recent plethora of PR issues, a high-ranking league executive accepting an award like this in the same week the league publicly botched another domestic violence investigation doesn’t look so good for this organization, or the league.
