On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” co-host Mika Brzezinski decried the violent nature of football and its effects on people. However, in making her case, she offered that domestic violence increases on Super Bowl to bolster her argument, which has been labeled myth by many.
“OK, you know what?” Brzezinski said. “I don’t think those guys, when they’re out in the field, are looking at it as a little game. OK? They’re killing each other. They’re bashing each others’ heads in. Concussion after concussion after concussion. That’s becoming an issue. I’m just saying, it has to be looked at holistically. It’s not an excuse for the behavior. But there’s some connection between all this. This is a violent game. And domestic violence on Super Bowl Sunday? We’ve seen the numbers. Why is that?”
But as Newsbusters’ Mark Finkelstein points out in a post, that claim is somewhat in question.
Brzezinski’s blunder came in the context of the panel’s discussion of the NFL’s domestic violence mess. Arguing that football is a violent game and that “there’s a connection” with what happens at home, Mika continued, “domestic violence on Super Bowl Sunday. We’ve seen the numbers. Why is that?” Actually, Brzezinski has apparently not seen the numbers, since that myth has been thoroughly debunked, often by organizations fighting domestic violence, as here, here and here.
That so-called “myth” has consistently been touted by detractors of football dating back to 1993, showing up in various mainstream media news reports.
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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