NFL Wives Allegedly Told By League, Police To Keep Quiet About Abuse
NFL wives and girlfriends have not been treated well in recent news. Ray Rice beat up his spouse, Janay, and it was all over the media. Now a former player’s wife claims the league and the police are allegedly telling the women behind the sport to stay quiet.
Dewan Smith-Williams was a victim of domestic violence for the decade that her husband Wally was a member of the NFL, and says that she sees the same thing all the time. Players abuse their spouses and girlfriends, and the women don’t say anything because if they do, it could end their husbands’ careers.
For many like Smith-Williams, they can’t support themselves or don’t even have a job on the side, so they depend on their husbands to pay the bills. When Ray Rice’s wife spoke out about his abuse, he was suspended and the NFL was given a black eye as magazines “Photoshopped” her bruised face on their covers in protest.
Apparently the whole media frenzy was eventually ignored, and Ray Rice could be playing again within the month, as previously reported by The Inquisitr. Janay Rice was the greatest victim in the entire scenario, and it gained her nothing to speak out.
Dewan Smith-Williams says there is almost no support for most NFL wives.
“We’ve told agents about it, called the NFL Players Association when things were really, really bad. They would say, ‘Oh, we’re really sorry that you are going through this. We’ll look into it.’ But you never heard back. There’s no one available for the wives.”
The only alternative for some is to simply leave their husbands, and even then, the police allegedly urge them to keep quiet so it doesn’t damage the player or the league’s reputation.
For battered NFL wives, a message from the cops and the league: Keep quiet. http://t.co/k0LiNyuau2 pic.twitter.com/a2pn3fZjiV
— N.O.T.O.R.I.O.U.S.™ (@MrMilitantNegro) October 20, 2014
Smith-Williams even said that instead of seeing justice done, the police simply came over and talked football with Wally. She says that the problem NFL wives face is much more widespread than you might believe.
“I had friends who had black eyes. They said they ran into cupboards. There were women who said their husbands ran them over like they were on a football field. There are many other families’ experiences that have already been minimized, ignored or overlooked by the law and by the NFL because of the protection of the NFL brand.
“You will hear of a wife murdered before you hear another one come forward.”
What do you think of Dewan Smith-Williams’ revealing look into the plight of NFL wives?
[Image via Opposing Views, Spiritual Compass Connection]
