A man and a woman walk into an elevator. There is no one around, no witnesses, or so it seems. She quickly selects a floor on the buttons to the right as he walks eerily close up behind her. She turns to face him. He slaps her. She lunges at him. In one swift motion, he punches her square in the face. She falls helplessly to floor, unconscious (DailyMail.com). A camera so small, so undetectable catches the entire situation on tape. The man in this video is NFL running back, Ray Rice. He was later charged with third-degree aggravated assault against his then fiance, released from the Baltimore Ravens, and was suspended indefinitely. These punishments, though, were only allocated after this video was released TMZ. Prior to its release, the organization had only given Rice a two-game suspension and even went as far as to defend him, calling him a "good guy." This altered CoverGirl advertisement, which was distributed worldwide via Twitter, depicted a woman wearing a Raven's jersey. She has substantial amounts of makeup on one side of her face accompanied by a black eye on the other. This image reflects the NFL's, as well as the three other major leagues of sports in the United States, efforts to cover up and ignore domestic violence charges against their players. In addition, the text that accompanies this image can be seen as a warning to women because these athletes often get away with these horrific crimes.

From 2000 to 2013, there was a total of 713 arrests of NFL players. Of these 713 arrests, 89 of them were because of cases of domestic abuse, which is almost 13 percent (Wilbur, Eric).  There are only 1,696 players in the NFL, which means that in those thirteen years one out of every twenty players was charged with domestic abuse ("Total Player in the NFL"). With the exception of Rice, these players got off with very minor punishment, being at most a two game suspension, and there is often very little attention brought to these situations. In the weeks following the release of the Rice video, the NFL, particularly Roger Goodell, the league commissioner, received much backlash from fans and the media for how the situation was handled and the punishment that was doled out. Though the NFL did implement a new policy regarding domestic abuse cases, these rules have yet to be strictly implemented. Just days after it was announced that there would now be a six game suspension for the first offense and an indefinite suspension for second offense, San Francisco 49ers defensive end Ray McDonald was arrested after being accused of felony domestic violence (Martinez, Michael, and Priscilla Riojas). McDonald started for the 49ers the following Sunday.

This advertisement gives a new meaning to the Raven's team colors, purple and black. These colors are pretty ironic in light of argument being made in this image. The black and purple of her swollen eye draw our attention more than the jersey that she is wearing. This, however, is not what happens in society. Players' accomplishments on the field, overshadow the crimes they commit off the field. The image also has a lighting gradient. The left side of the image is much darker and as our eyes go across the image towards the model and her swollen eye, there seems to be a light being shined down on her. This is symbolic of what this image is trying to do. It is bringing the abuse out of the shadows and into the light, where it is forced to be seen. 

CoverGirl and makeup in general are a symbol of beauty so when juxtaposed with the ugliness of domestic abuse, the pain stands out.  In this image, though, our eyes are drawn straight to the swollen, bruised eye. It stands in grave contrast to the attractiveness and makeup on the left side of her face. It brings the abuse to the forefront where not only those directly responsible for the crime, but also those, like the  NFL, who  try so desperately to cover the brutality and pain, are no longer able to deny its existence.

The advertisement reads, "Get your game face on." The slogan was originally meant by the brand to get women to support their local NFL teams; however, when the ad was altered by activists and distributed around the Twitter community, it quickly became a message about the prevalence of domestic violence in sports. It implies that one is at a greater risk of experiencing domestic violence if they are with an NFL player. This jeer in particular is directed at the NFL; however, it could also be generalized to all of major league sports. 

The other major leagues all have different policies on misconduct regarding domestic violence. Most of these situations are handled on a case by case basis and can involve suspensions and mandatory counseling. However, like the NFL, these rules are rarely enforced. In the MLB, Philadelphia Phillies' pitcher, Brett Myers, was arrested for assaulting his wife in front of multiple witnesses. He was the starting pitcher merely 36 hours later. In the NHL, Colorado Avalanche's goalie, Semyon Varlamov was charged with assaulting his girlfriend after she told police he kicked her down and stomped on her chest. He was back on the ice for their next game (Crouse, Karen).

Major league sports in the United States continue to cover up the domestic violence that players commit. They downplay the heinous acts and in the process diminish the victims' worth. This advertisement calls attention to the abuse that goes on and also serves as a sort of warning to women. The players and the leagues need to be held to hire standards. They are supposed to serve as role models for the community and therefore we as a society should hold them responsible for their actions not only on but also off the field.

