“Mo Money, Mo Problems: Racial Differences in Arrests Rates for Violent Crimes Among Black Players in the National Football League”

Background and Purpose:

Research findings report that members within higher socioeconomic statuses typically experience less contact with the penal system compared to their working or middle-class counterparts (Wright et al, 1999). However, when considering the complex identities of Black professional athletes, it is evident that their lived experiences juxtapose ideas that are supported in the current literature.  Despite grossing median salaries that range within the top 1% of earners in the United States, Black football players are arrested at disproportionately higher rates than their white teammates (Schrotenboer, 2013). This study aims to explore the perceived paradox of racial differences in arrests for violent crimes among athletes in the National Football League. 

Methods:  

We began by utilizing the NFL Player Arrests database housed within the USA TODAY sports department.  This database tracks the arrests of all NFL players since the year 2000. For the purpose of this study, we examined the arrests of professional football players within the past 10 years only. In efforts to examine racial differences we collected identifying racial information from NFL online player profiles. From there we also pulled information from the annual “Racial and Gender Report Card: National Football League” provided by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida’s DeVos College of Business Administration.  Lastly, we reviewed crime statistics and arrests trends from the Bureau of Justice Statistics to observe racial differences in arrests at the national level.

Results:

To date there have been 561 arrests of NFL players since 2005. 149 were reported as violent crimes (i.e. murder, assault, battery). Of the 149 arrests for violent crimes of professional football players, 138 were of Black men. Currently, Black men make up only 67% of athletes within the NFL (Lapchick, 2014), but account for nearly 93% of arrests for violent crimes. White men are represented at 31% of players in the NFL, followed by Latino, Asian and all other racial and ethnic groups who make up the remaining two percent (Lapchick, 2014).

Conclusion and Implications:

The disproportionate rates of arrests among athletes in the National Football League illuminates gaps in the literature as it relates to the experiences of Black American male athletes. The study at hand confirms that despite professional Black men’s superior advancement in educational attainment, high socioeconomic status and athletic abilities, their journey towards upward mobility does not decrease the likelihood that they will experience contact with the criminal justice system. Further consideration is needed to explore and understand this phenomenon, as understanding the experiences of Black men in the U.S. are unique and critical to the advancement of future social work research.