CBS sportscaster James Brown used the network's Thursday night football season debut to address domestic violence against women, urging men to speak out on the issue before the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens.
The subject had been the focus of news reports all week ever since
TMZ published video footage of Ravens running back Ray Rice cold-cocking his then-fiancée in an elevator in Atlantic City in February. Rice was initially suspended for two games, but was later released from the team altogether and suspended indefinitely from the NFL after public outcry.
Brown took a moment before Thursday's broadcast to address the controversy.
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"Now let's be clear, this problem is bigger than football," Brown said. "But wouldn't it be productive if this collective outrage, as my colleagues have said, could be channeled to truly hear and address the long-suffering cries for help by so many women? And as they said, do something about it? Like an on-going comprehensive education of men about what healthy, respectful manhood is all about."
"And it starts with how we view women. Our language is important," he continued. "For instance, when a guy says, ‘you throw the ball like a girl' or ‘you're a little sissy,' it reflects an attitude that devalues women and attitudes will eventually manifest in some fashion. Women have been at the forefront in the domestic violence awareness and prevention arena. And whether Janay Rice considers herself a victim or not, millions of women in this country are."
Brown went on to claim that, according to domestic violence experts, "more than three women per day lose their lives at the hand of their partners."
"So this is yet another call to men to stand up and take responsibility for their thoughts, their words, their deeds, and as Deion [Sanders] says, to give help or to get help, because our silence is deafening and deadly," he concluded.
Reaction to Brown's speech on Twitter were positive overall.
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