Athletes who beat their wives are part of the bigger picture of spousal abuse in the U.S.; the O.J. Simpson case has brought wife abuse by athletes to center stage in the national discussion of what some feminists are even terming a national epidemic. The fact that violent sports such as football contribute to male athletes' aggression will be examined, as well as the general factors contributing to wife abuse. It will be seen that cases of wife abuse ignite mass outrage, yet the topic fades from the national debate unless it becomes re-ignited by the celebrity status of the perpetrators. All wife abuse (the abuse is almost exclusively one directional) is cause for alarm and immediate intervention, yet because of factors of fear and secrecy, many cases go unreported.
While only those cases which make the evening news seem to grab public attention, two million women are beaten every year--one every 16 seconds (Cowley, 1994, p. 26). The following questions will be considered: who is at risk, why does violence escalate, and when should a woman fear for her life? Where can women go for intervention and support? For the purposes of discussion, wife abuse may mean abuse directed toward a wife, girlfriend, or one-night-stand. It will become apparent that the issue of "date rape" (primarily focused on our nation's campuses) is also part of the "spouse," or "wife," abuse discussion, for an obvious reason: the same prevalent societal values which lead to abuse of any kind after marriage are already present before marriage, and the college campus can be seen as the testing ground on which men act out their aggression toward women.
A final note regarding the one directional nature of abuse is in order. An article from Newsweek on patterns of abuse gives some statistics which will justify reference to "wife," or "female," or female "rape" abuse, rather than the more generic term "spousal" abuse:
Although some research shows...