美国国家公共电台 NPR Domestic Violence Expert Resigns From NFL Players Association Commission

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Deborah Epstein has spent her professional life fighting for the victims of domestic violence. She's director of the Georgetown University Law Center's domestic violence clinic and in 2014 was asked to serve on the NFL Players Association commission on violence. The commission was formed after several NFL players were accused of violence against their domestic partners, including Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens², who was seen knocking his fiance unconscious in a casino elevator. Deborah Epstein recently resigned from that commission. She wrote about it in The Washington Post. Thanks so much for being with us.

DEBORAH EPSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

SIMON: You essentially³ say this commission heard you out and then did nothing. What was your experience?

EPSTEIN: My experience was that I brought a number of ideas to the commission about ways in which they could deal with the domestic violence problem in the NFL, and a pattern emerged in those communications. The Players Association contacts that I had would welcome those ideas, tell me they were eminently⁴ doable, but that they had to get kicked down the road because it was the Super Bowl. It was the draft. It was the season. And I would come back and reiterate⁵ my suggestions. And eventually, I just found that communication would just die on the vine.

SIMON: You did a report, right?

EPSTEIN: That's right.

SIMON: And you talked to the wives of a lot of players.

EPSTEIN: I was authorized⁶, along with a research psychologist, Dr. Lisa Goodman, to do a study where we talked to wives of NFL players across the country about what they thought would be the most effective, practical things the Players Association could do to reduce domestic violence and to support victims where it does occur. We wrote a report. We had short-term and long-term suggestions for dealing⁷ with the problem. We turned that report in two years ago now, and it has sat on a shelf ever since.

SIMON: Can you tell us what was in it?

EPSTEIN: I can't because the NFLPA required us to sign a confidentiality⁹ agreement before we did the study. They, however, are not...

SIMON: Now, we should explain this is ostensibly so that spouses¹⁰ and partners of NFL players can speak freely and don't have to worry about retribution if they're identified.

EPSTEIN: Yes, although there are ways to create confidentiality about individual people without creating confidentiality about the recommendations that emerge from such a report. I'm not allowed to talk about either one.

SIMON: Now, NFL Players Association told ABC they respect your decision to resign, but they said, we have implemented¹¹ many of the commission's recommendations during the past few years. And then a spokesperson said that that includes the hiring of a director of wellness, who is a trained clinician, in-depth crisis training for players and facing staff, greater emphasis on marriage counseling and enrichment events. Are those your recommendations?

EPSTEIN: They were not the recommendations in the report, but I'd be happy to tell you why I think those actions that the Players Association says they've taken are so woefully inadequate¹². The first is the hire of a director of wellness, who I'm sure is extremely competent at her job. But she's responsible for all wellness-related issues for the more than 1,500 NFL players scattered¹³ across the country, and she has no particular training or experience in the field of domestic violence. That's not adequate.

They also say that they've done crisis management training for player-interfacing staff. And that's terrific. But crisis management, if it's alcohol or drug related, if it's mental health related, is very different than managing a crisis of domestic violence where someone is actually at risk of physical harm. That has not happened, to the best of my knowledge.

And finally, if you speak to anyone who works in the domestic violence field, they will tell you we have known for more than a quarter century that couples-based counseling is absolutely not the way to deal with domestic violence. When a power dynamic in a relationship is so deeply unequal, it's not the way to go. So they are not only taking inadequate actions, they are actually taking actions that are not recommended by the advocacy community.

SIMON: Do you feel like you were window dressing¹⁴?

EPSTEIN: That is why I stepped down. When I first was invited to join the commission, I asked them specifically whether there was any risk of that because I did not want to participate in being window dressing on such a serious and important issue. I was told that real work would be done. But almost four years in, I've seen no evidence of that. And so I do feel like it was a fig¹ leaf to cover up the problem. And I can't participate in that.

SIMON: The NFL Players Association is a union. They look out for their union members. Is there a difference between them looking out for their union members and you asking them to press their union members to do something?

EPSTEIN: I don't see any reason why the players would object to hearing about and vetting¹⁵ the suggestions that the women of the NFL have said would make NFL families safer from violence. I would think they would embrace that.

SIMON: Since you announced your resignation, wrote about your resignation, have you heard from any wives of NFL players?

EPSTEIN: Yes, I've been contacted by a number of wives of current and former NFL players about their experiences with domestic violence and their experiences with friends who have experienced domestic violence. And they talk about a broader culture of what I would have to call misogyny within the NFL.

So for example, a woman told me about wives' lunches that the Professional Football Association puts on. Women are invited to a very posh restaurant. They have lunch. They get designer swag to take home with them. And then someone comes and speaks from professional football and talks about things like, there will be nights when your husband comes home from practice and is interested in having sex and you may not be. And that is a moment when we recommend to you that you remember what your husband is doing to support your family and think about that.

Now, in an organization where women are thought of in a way that, for the rest of the world, is reminiscent of life in the 1950s, the work that has to be done to solve the problem of domestic violence needs to dig much deeper and get at the idea of what are appropriate gender¹⁶ roles in our culture.

SIMON: On the offhand¹⁷ chance somebody in the NFL is listening, give us one or two things that you think need to be done.

EPSTEIN: The one thing that I would most recommend is that the NFL Players Association, which is not under any confidentiality agreement, take out its study, make its findings public and go to the players and start implementing¹⁸ them.

SIMON: Deborah Epstein is director of the Georgetown University Law Center's domestic violence clinic. Thanks so much for being with us.

EPSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

SIMON: We asked the NFL Players Association for a response. Deputy Managing Director Terry Smith told us the NFLPA never had plans to release this study. It was only for internal guidance.

TERRY SMITH: We did circulate that report to our player leadership, and we have implemented a number of recommendations made by her, both in that report and over the life of the commission being in existence.

SIMON: As for what Professor Epstein said a player's wife told her about a lunch, Ms. Smith said she couldn't comment on a confidential⁸ conversation between Epstein and a player's wife. But she added...

SMITH: I don't know of the existence of any NFLPA lunches for wives. So again, I'm not really sure about that circumstance.

SIMON: Terry Smith says she's disappointed that Professor Epstein called the commission a fig leaf and that the NFL Players Association remains¹⁹ committed to eradicating²⁰ domestic violence in the world of professional football.

1 fig   

n.无花果(树)

参考例句：

• The doctor finished the fig he had been eating and selected another.这位医生吃完了嘴里的无花果，又挑了一个。
• You can't find a person who doesn't know fig in the United States.你找不到任何一个在美国的人不知道无花果的。

2 ravens   

n.低质煤；渡鸦( raven的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Wheresoever the carcase is,there will the ravens be gathered together. 哪里有死尸，哪里就有乌鸦麇集。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A couple of ravens croaked above our boat. 两只乌鸦在我们小船的上空嘎嘎叫着。 来自辞典例句

3 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

4 eminently   

adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地

参考例句：

• She seems eminently suitable for the job. 她看来非常适合这个工作。
• It was an eminently respectable boarding school. 这是所非常好的寄宿学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 reiterate   

v.重申，反复地说

参考例句：

• Let me reiterate that we have absolutely no plans to increase taxation.让我再一次重申我们绝对没有增税的计划。
• I must reiterate that our position on this issue is very clear.我必须重申我们对这一项议题的立场很清楚。

6 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

9 confidentiality   

n.秘而不宣，保密

参考例句：

• They signed a confidentiality agreement. 他们签署了一份保守机密的协议。
• Cryptography is the foundation of supporting authentication, integrality and confidentiality. 而密码学是支持认证、完整性和机密性机制的基础。

10 spouses   

n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
• An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句

11 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

12 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

13 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

14 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

15 vetting   

n.数据检查[核对，核实]v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的现在分词 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• Scripts had to be submitted to Ministry of Information officials for vetting. 必须把脚本提交给信息部官员审查。 来自互联网
• Their purpose in clicking deeper into a site is one of vetting. 他们深入点击网站的目的是一种诊疗。 来自互联网

16 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

17 offhand   

adj.临时，无准备的；随便，马虎的

参考例句：

• I can't answer your request offhand.我不能随便答复你的要求。
• I wouldn't want to say what I thought about it offhand.我不愿意随便说我关于这事的想法。

18 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

19 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

20 eradicating   

摧毁，完全根除( eradicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Objective: To study the acute and chronic toxicity of Ten-flavor-acne eradicating-capsule. 目的：探讨复方中药合剂十味平痤胶囊的急性及慢性毒性。
• We are on the verge of eradicating polio in the world. 我们已在世界消除小儿？痹症的边缘了。