Domestic violence issues have plagued the National Football League (NFL) for years, and several CalArtians recently turned their art into advocacy—demanding strong reforms in the NFL’s Code of Conduct through a new public service announcement.
CalArts alumna Natalie Metzger (Dance MFA 11) directed three fellow CalArts alums in the spot: Chelsea Conwright (Dance BFA 14), Genevieve Gearhart (Theater MFA 12) and Kalean Ung (Theater MFA 12).
With the eye-catching title, “Topless Women Talk NFL,” the PSA immediately reveals three topless women discussing the League’s Breast Cancer Awareness month activities—before panning up to reveal their bruised and battered faces. One woman says, “Wearing pink for breast cancer awareness was awesome. Now start caring about the rest of us.” The PSA ends with a simple and clear demand for official policy reform: #OneHitMeansOut.
In November 2015, a New York Times article examined the NFL’s domestic violence quandary.
The messy truth, however, is that the league is still struggling to find a consistent way of adjudicating domestic violence cases. The criteria for prosecuting such cases vary widely across the country, and they get thornier when victims do not cooperate with investigations for fear of retribution. Sports leagues are left unsure whether and how to penalize a player who has been accused but not convicted of domestic violence.
Released on Jan. 27, the spot was created by Made by Women Media, an LA-based advocacy group that produces content to change women’s lives for the better. Co-founded by Metzger, writer-producer Tessa Bell, producer Shay Moore, writer-producer Cecilia Najar and actor-writer-producer Meredith Riley Stewart, the domestic violence spot is the group’s first PSA.
While there are complexities with making immediate policy changes, the release of “Topless Women Talk NFL” so close to the Super Bowl on Feb. 7 is sure to at least start the conversation on such an important issue.
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3 Comments
Wonderful piece. Please reach out to us…
Matt Randall
Domestic Violence Center of Santa Clarita
661-259-8175
I hate this ad. Let’s have women exploit themselves by baring their bare breasts under the guise of domestic violence. The article describes the confusion about how to deal with domestic violence cases-it is misogyny-not confusion. Child abuse and domestic violence are not complex issues. The #1 cause of death in pregnant women is [homicide] the males that impregnate kill. The #2 cause of death in women is [domestic violence homicide-their male partners kill them. Yet the nation’s courts and judges fail abused and murdered women. Maybe [dead] women lie about domestic violence. No one is serious about domestic violence issues.
Hi Jim,
Domestic Violence is a very serious issue and is taken very seriously by law enforcement and agencies across the country. The ad was specifically a call for the NFL to educate men on the perils of domestic violence. It was originally discussing breast cancer with the NFL and their awareness campaigns they run in October. The ad is asking the NFL to take the domestic violence issues as seriously as they take the breast cancer issues.
It is an education process and we need to get the word out. Domestic Violence affects everyone. It is a learned trait. We must educate everyone with this message.
Thank you for speaking up