I think by now most people are aware that the NFL is going to play a public service announcement during the super bowl about domestic violence. It’s a powerful ad and will, undoubtedly, save lives. This ad will result in hundreds of calls to the national domestic violence hotline, as well as calls to local hot lines. Women who were too scared to call, will take courage from this ad. Made no mistake, this will be the most watched domestic violence ad ever seen.
I seriously doubt that most 911 operators would respond in this way to this caller. However, this ad may serve as a training for them as well. They get so many crank calls that they might not pick up on this.
Now, let me clear something up. Several years ago, a public service announcement aired prior to the super bowl, saying that there was more domestic violence on super bowl Sunday than any other day. This is NOT true. Some agency promoted this information, which is a myth. Yes, there is high use of alcohol during the super bowl. But, the fact is that there is not an increase of domestic violent on that day. I heard some guy on tv today using that old, false data as if it were true.
All that notwithstanding, there is a very real domestic violence problem in this country, and among professional athletes. The NFL’s piss poor handling of the Ray Rice case and subsequent cases that came quickly thereafter, has embarrassed the league. They are not showing this ad because they are altruistic, but because they got caught with their pants down on this issue. Now they have to get in front of it. And they are on the world’s biggest platform.
Excellent ad. Know these things are real. Domestic violence is real. Women and children are dying every day. Reach out. Know the resources available in your community. Hopefully, you never need it but someone you know might.