Apparently, it is okay to abuse your family as long as it is for what you claim is a religious purpose and you are a pro football player? GRRR.

I hate how religion gives people a free pass for all kinds and types of abuse, both on a family and a community level. This guy may have stopped at slapping, but there's plenty worse that is justified under the banner of religious tolerance. The last time I checked, the law was the law and human rights apply even when the person violating them doesn't agree with them, no matter what the reason behind his or her refusal to honor another's rights might be. Last time I checked, there was no clause that exempt people from behaving in a civil manner in accordance with the law if they decide to follow some book compiled thousands of years ago instead (I'm assuming Jesus never directly advocated corporal punishment for family members).

Again, GRRR.

As someone who comes from a family where the Steelers are a very big deal (I couldn't give a shit less about football, but I did grow up with them), this makes me pretty physically ill. It would obviously be appalling regardless of the team involved, but the fact that practically every item of clothing my father owns but does not wear to the office contains a Steelers logo makes it worse for me.

No, Jesus definitely didn't say DV was ok. I have major problems with the Bible, but I'm actually writing them an email arguing partially on Christian principles that what he did was inexcusable.

I have been a reader of feministing for quite sometime and just had to comment on this story. I'm a proud P-burgher, an avid steelers fan, and up until now I was pretty ok with the Rooney family. It makes me so mad that religion, power, privlege, and celebrity somehow excuses violence against women. What has been more frustrating is the support that the local media has been giving him, a local radio station (http://www.wxdx.com/main.html) went as far as having listeners call in (many women called *sigh*) to state on the air that an open handed slap is not abuse and that hitting a woman (or anyone) with an open hand is not grounds for assault charges. What this shows me is that people in power play an important role in either justifying or condemming violence, sadly here it has been "justified". \taking down my terrible towel\

The difference is that Cedric Wilson did what he did in a room full of witnesses and never claimed he didn't beat her up.

James Harrison has the ability to say that she's lying (which he is, in fact, claiming) and that he never hit her.

The Steelers won't fire a guy for unsubstantiated claims, which basically just means that as long as you can't prove that he did it, they don't care.

As a Steelers fan, I can tell you that the real reason that Cedrick Wilson was cut and James Harrison wasn't was because Harrison is a way better player. The Steelers coaching staff doesn't care about Cedrick Wilson, but if they cut Harrison, he'll just get re-signed by some other unscrupulous team who will get better while the Steelers get worse, while Harrison himself won't really suffer any adverse consequences.

There should probably be a league-based system of discipline against players who commit violent acts that takes the decision-making out of the hands of the teams. Because as is stands, nothing short of jail time will prevent these guys from playing and getting paid millions, whether it's for the team that cut them or the next team in line to sign them up.

Wow. So just to make sure I have the order of their subpar thought processes in the correct order.... this jock breaks into his girlfriend's house, breaks her cell phone, smacks her around... and they think it was all for good cause because he wanted to douse her child (I honestly don't want to call it his child) with holy water? WTF?

And I'm assuming this bc it didn't say, but did he do this breaking and entering in order to kidnap said child? Bc now I'm wondering if that's the case (unless of course he broke into her house to hurt her, which is also believable).

How awesome is that, that they're perfectly okay for a person who strikes out in violence to have access to a kid?

So...if women try to exercise rights to their children, they deserve to be physically made to relinquish all custody.

I see.

This fits quite nicely with the Jamaican study you posted a few weeks back, saying men commit murder and abuse their women-folk because the women-folk are just too emotionally mean to men. We do things like try to exercise the rights to our children and not be attacked when men break into our houses. Silly women!

If he had a child out of wedlock, he doesn't seem like a stand-up Christian to me. He sounds like a felon who breaks and enters and assaults people (presumably while their child is in the house!).

Emily, according to the articles I read, Harrison admitted what he did and the Steelers are using the fact that he fessed up as mitigating his wrongdoing and a reason to keep him on.

Geek, please link to those articles. One of my best friends is a fellow Steelers fan and he and I are having ugly words over this. He sees this as he-said-she-said whereas Wilson admitted what he did and there were witnesses.

You know what, nevermind. He doesn't see that this is troubling, and thinks that someone shouldn't be fired when they've just been accused.

Also, apparently pre-meditated wifebeating is worse than the spur-of-the-moment kind, which is something a guy could get over. Sure.

I'm a Steeler's fan, and I have to agree with oljb. They're keeping Harrison cause he's a great player, and they're dropping Wilson cause he's a marginal player. The religion angle is just the organization grasping at straws to defend their double standard.

CASE BY FREAKIN' CASE means in some cases it will be okay for a player to stay if he committed domestic violence. Football, Christ, and Domestic Violence. What a team.

If Harrison is such a "good Christian," why is he fathering babies out of wedlock? Hmmm?

(I don't care if someone's married or not, but good Christians are supposed to care.)

As for the he said/she said thing, I quote from the linked article:

[team chairman Dan Rooney said:] "In the situation with James Harrison, he contacted us immediately after his incident and has taken responsibility for his actions."

In legalspeak and publicrelationsspeak, "taking responsibility" tends to involve some admission that things happened, but also frequently transfers the blame to someone else. You know how it goes: "I take responsibility for acting in a reasonable fashion and hitting her when she deserved it." Ah, if only they would REALLY take responsibility we'd not need this post.

But to me, whichever analysis you use, that seems to mean that he admitted it. In which case, why is he still around on the team, much less out of jail? What an asshole.

How can they say they don't condone DV "of any kind" and then IMMEDIATELY say it needs to be judged on a case by case basis? Isn't that saying that some cases *are* excusable/condonable?

An interesting thought exercise:
"...the player was trying to take his son "
Have to wonder how this one would play out. My guess? Harrison would be kicked off the team, probably put on a no-fly list, and used by the Bush administration to justify Iraq (see how those meany Muslims treat their women?).

The "take responsibility" thing galls me. Cedrick Wilson got out of jail after 11 p.m. and by 8 a.m. the following morning his website had an apology and a statement of intent to seek counseling. He isn't making excuses, he knows that everyone is aware of what's gone on with his child's mother and he's not denying anything he's done or making a cover story for his actions.

I think that the big issue here is that Wilson's ongoing dispute with his ex is being played out in public (there were cameras when Wilson was released from jail, not when Harrison was) and it's embarrassing to the Rooneys. Not only did this latest incident happen in front of many witnesses, last month, the woman barricaded herself (alone) in Wilson's house with a handgun and created a 12 hour standoff with the police, after which evacuated neighbors made a lot of angry noise to the media and there was a lot of dirty press.

The Rooneys hate dirty press.

Meanwhile, because Harrison's misdeeds were kept behind closed doors and he's "taken responsibility" by making a pathetic excuse, there's "wiggle room" in his story (to the Steelers) where in Wilson's there is not, and again, there was a whole lot less media attention.

Add that to the fact that Rooney has a totally antidiluvean attitude toward DV incidents ("really well worth it" says it all) and you understand the way things work here.

I stopped following pro-ball several years ago because of the antics of the Dallas Cowboys and my high school football team. (I'm decidedly anti-religion because of my hometown.)

When someone asks me why I don't like football, I say because I grew up with it and know how dirty it really is. Gah, this is disgusting.

Heh, that last bit, change football to religion and it says the exact same thing.

I'm another person who's angry and more than a little sick about this. He wants to baptize their son but she objects? Fine, take it to the court. If she has primary custody, I doubt he's getting his way.

Even if he didn't break into Tibbot's home, what he did was throw an awfully dangerous temper tantrum. He should be fined, compelled to attend counseling and banned from the NFL for at least a short time. Community service (the embarrassing kind) or jail time would definitely be a plus.

I hate that you can be a "Christian" and beat your wife/girlfriend/child/anyone at all at the same time. If you're living by the example in your own frikkin' holy book, you'd throw yourself naked off a cliff before you exacted violence on anyone else. Even if she's not letting you baptize your son.

If that's the kind of Christian this guy is, I wouldn't want him to have the kid baptized, either.

Actually I heard his girlfriend didn't want him in jail and was begging police not to take him to jail. I think it was this guy.

All I can say is, "Wow." I'd like to think this man's actions were the exception rather than the rule, but after being a Christian minister, and involved in leadership roles for many years, before stepping away from it all, I have seen this attitude many times. It usually stems from perverting biblical passages, admonishing wives to submit to their husbands. That, my friend, is all the excuse one needs if they already have an abusive streak in them.

All I can say is, "Wow." I'd like to think this man's actions were the exception rather than the rule, but after being a Christian minister, and involved in leadership roles for many years, before stepping away from it all, I have seen this attitude many times. It usually stems from perverting biblical passages, admonishing wives to submit to their husbands. That, my friend, is all the excuse one needs if they already have an abusive streak in them.

First, this is what makes me hate the concept of "domestic violence" in criminal law. There should be the concept of "violence," period. If he had done this to some random person off the street, there would be no question of jail time. Somehow the idea that it was someone he was intimately involved with makes it different? Gag.

(Same concept applies to schoolyard violence.)

Second, the idea of making allowances for otherwise illegal or unacceptable activities when motivated by religious concerns. If it's illegal to do just for the hell of it, then it's just as illegal to do in order to get into heaven.

As far as Harrison goes, he needs to read his Bible a little better. "Turn the other cheek" refers to YOUR OWN CHEEK, dipshit.

oljb has a point.

We need to be writing to the NFL commissioner. The only way to punish him is to keep him from playing altogether.

This is reprehensible. Something needs to be done. I am more than willing to help organize. Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, has really cracked down on players with arrests, etc., but I fear for this case as the girlfriend declined to press charges. In the original AP article, she said she contacted police because she was scared. It's truly unfortunate that the initial fear showed itself again when it was time to take action against her assailant. Just because this man has his victim scared of him doesn't mean he should get off the hook. It's time to campaign the Steelers and/or the NFL to take action. No woman in Pittsburgh should give this organization another dollar until a suiting punishment is dished out.

Where has this country gone?! A woman should NEVER have to suffer through any abuse. Females bring life to this world and should receive the respect we deserve. He should see her as his sister or mom. How can you dare hit your sister or your mom? You’re supposed to protect them from harm, and assholes like himself.

And I cant even believe they would even dare say he was being a good Christian by doing this. A good Christian would not use violence, specially not like this. My family is Catholic, a bit like Christianity. And I’ve always heard them say that Jesus said to turn the other cheek when someone hits you. And you should always treat thy neighbor like you want to be treated. So does this mean he wants to be hit be others? Or is it just saying that you can hit others but they cant hit you because they have to turn the other cheek, but its ok for you to start it? So why is he being so hypocritical? If he’s a good Christian, he should not be using violence.