Domestic Violence and Sports News: How Gender Affects People’s Understanding

Chad Painter,Edson Tandoc,Patrick Ferrucci,Erin Willis

doi:10.29333/ojcmt/2364

Abstract

Domestic abuse frequently appears in news headlines among professional athletes and has ignited much debate about personal conduct off the field. From Ray Rice and football to Hope Solo and soccer – domestic abuse has occurred. This study examined if and how participants differentiate between male and female victims and perpetrators of violence; specifically, whether participants placed blame differently when presented with a health message in a sports context when it involved a male or female athlete as perpetrator. Media influence topics of public conversation, and domestic abuse is an especially important public health issue. Sports media may be an outlet by which to reach both victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse. Results and practical implications are discussed.

Highlights

Domestic abuse frequently appears in news headlines among professional athletes and has ignited much debate about personal conduct off the field
Considering recent events in professional sports, it is important for sports journalists to understand how to report public health issues such as domestic abuse
While many people hold gender-role stereotypes (Eagly, 2013; Barker, et al, 2010; Higgins, et al, 2010), media coverage of issues such as domestic abuse could activate such stereotypes in readers and influence their attitudes and behaviors. It is not often mass media report on male victims of domestic abuse or females as domestic abuse perpetrators; the current study found some interesting insights into stereotypical expectations about domestic abuse scenarios

Summary

Introduction

Domestic abuse frequently appears in news headlines among professional athletes and has ignited much debate about personal conduct off the field. This study examined if and how participants differentiate between male and female victims and perpetrators of violence; whether participants placed blame differently when presented with a health message in a sports context when it involved a male or female athlete as perpetrator. The researchers explored whether participants place blame differently when they are presented with a domestic abuse health message, delivered in a sports context, when it involves a male or female athlete as the perpetrator. Beginning to answer these questions is important because it may signal how health communicators can successfully deliver messages about domestic violence when talking to sports consumers

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Conclusion