Is the masculine power the makes football exhilarating, the same destructive force that killed Jovan Belcher and Kasandra Perkins?
The murder-suicide last Saturday by Jovan Belcher of the Kansas City Chiefs has been linked to the “hyper masculine” nature of the game of football. It got me to wondering what archetypes are we gathering around the tv set to watch. If we watch football to see violence used to achieve our goal, then we have become collective tyrants, and a society that values shadow behavior.
I actually don’t think shadow behavior is the attraction. I think we watch football to see an exhibition of the heroic. The players are examples of physical discipline who push their will, endurance, and their bodies to achieve a goal. The hits are impressive for the ruggedness of the recipient—the ability to brush off pain and get on with the job at hand. We also admire a hit cleanly delivered showing the masterful use of force within acceptable boundaries.
That is what makes the game interesting. There are rules, and a code of good sportsmanship, and integrity, that require the players to control their violent potential while using force to assert their will. The players maintain their focus and drive with herculean self-control to stay within the limits of acceptable behavior. We watch football to see the appropriate use of force through self-
control. I certainly hope the coaches are delivering this kind of message in the locker room. I hope they are calling on heroic and warrior king archetypes rather than the win at all cost tyrant and the self-pitying coward in their pep talks.
Which brings us to the connection with Jovan Belcher killing his partner. A man who is rooted in his archetypal values carries those values even when no one is watching. A man in his full positive masculine power, the warrior king, chooses to place high value on the feminine. He considers it the highest use of his power to control the physical factors that might do harm to her, without controlling her, because that would kill her essential energy which he has discerned to be valuable—more valuable than his insecurities. The mature masculine drive is to provide for, protect, and preserve the feminine’s ability to inspire and create life.
Jovan Belcher didn’t kill his partner and himself because he was too masculine. He didn’t have a strong enough attachment to the positive masculine to overcome his insecurities.
Maybe it is time to really look at why we watch football, or hockey, or any sport. The archetypal message of the game is playing a big role in society whether we recognize it or not. I want to watch football to see a valiant effort by a well coordinated group of rugged allies to reach their goal through self-discipline and with integrity. How about you?
Read more: We Don’t Talk: Jovan Belcher and Kasandra Perkins
Image credit: imikeh/Flickr
I’ve been more than a little surprised to see that there has been no follow-up story or related story about the death of a Dallas and player and arrest of another this last week. Maybe I missed it over the weekend, in which case I retract what I’m about to say. I’m trying very hard not to read too much into the lack of attention to it. Lack of evidence is not evidence of lack and all that, I get it. Maybe it’s just timing, or the fact that there’s already been enough NFL tragedy for the time being, or… Read more »
It is, as you surmise, the coaches word but also the athlete’s parents, teachers, coaches through growth and a society that idolizes the end product. The production process is a life rammed full of a sense of vicious entitlement. That separation, exaltion, and promise of worship instill entitlement that is super-human.
Think about it. Have you ever met a pro or pro-bound football player without a hefty sense of entitlement?
First of all, lte me say that I don’t consider professional sports stars ‘Heros’. They are in fact physically gifted athletes driven to achieve heights of physical feats thatus average joes(and Janes) can only dream of, even if we played the very same sports in High School or College. I think there’s one possible angle that no one ‘s quite looked at. This young child , if I read correctly, was born only 3 months ago. When I think back, when my first daughter was born, it was a happy time, but it was also filled with a sort of… Read more »
Indeed indeed indeed indeed! Mental health is an overlooked contributing factor to IPV. An overlooked factor of mental health is substance abuse. Whether the condition is organic (genetic presdisposition), experiential, or due to psychological damage from substance abuse, the consequences are every bit as crippling. Unfortunately, mental health does not take equal precedence to physical health in the States. Many private insurance policies will not provide comprehensive coverage for mental health care, yet mental health conditions can be as chronic and socially damaging as many physical health conditions. Mental health care cuts from Medicaid have been tabled at the state… Read more »
Absolutely Salvice you are so welcome! Mental Illness and Mental Health Care are as you said generally not given the same level of attention and distinction as other medical conditions. What happens when a person has a serious medical condition that goes undiagnosed and untreated? It often gets worse and it may even be fatal. We must do all that we can to encourage people to look after their mental health and stop stigmatizing it so that people will not be ashamed to reach out for help if they feel that they need it. Perhaps when we can begin to… Read more »
Heroism can be found outside of sports. There have always been men of great courage who chose to not participate in any sport. But I guess they don’t count.
oh it counts. we needs heroes and models o heroism all over the place.
I think that the overwhelming factor in this tragedy is that he most likely had an underlying and undiagnosed mental illness possibly combined with a co occurring personality disorder that was never properly treated. In a situation such as this that has resulted in such a devastating tragedy. Many will take to posting vlogs and creating videos etc with their own takes and view points. Now that in and of itself is not a bad thing because we need to talk about these things. However if we will pay close attention to what people are saying as they are speaking… Read more »
I wonder if all people, those with mental illness and those trying to make sense of their life, need a strong personal story to guide their actions. All cultures now and throughout time have stories and I think it is because it is a powerful way to give meaning and direction. I agree with the comment above by Salvice as well. How lost do you have to be to work out your relationship issues through murder-suicide? Feelings drive us. We need strong archtypes to use those feelings in a constructive way.
“Jovan Belcher didn’t kill his partner and himself because he was too masculine. He didn’t have a strong enough attachment to the positive masculine to overcome his insecurities.” Can we have the same discussion about the 283 men who murdered their intimate partners and/or children and committed suicide last year (VPC)? Murder-suicide is not a football phenomenon, though many media outlets would try to have us convinced that it is. There is a much bigger manifestation taking place, especially since a woman is more likely to die at the hands of her intimate partner than from any other person, 30.1%… Read more »
“Bringing in digits from the other side, 30 women committed acts of murder-suicide back in 2011 (VPC). 5.3% of male homicide victims were the targets of intimate partner murders in the BJS report” A little misleading as men are killed at almost 4 times the rate of women. Men killed by their female intimate partners account for approximately 33% of intimate partner murders. When you consider that women only commit about 10% of the murders in the U.S., a woman who kills is much more likely to kill an intimate partner than a man. The crime probably has more to… Read more »
Tyrants and Cowards can be men or women, both acting from the masculine archetype of power: asserting your will even against the will of others. Thanks for making this important point.
Indeed, the 1/3 approximation IPH rate with women as perpetrators has popped up. One said up to 40%, though the source of the data and time periods in question were not cited. Obviously there needs to be a more well-rounded approach to confronting IPV. It is not exclusive to any ethnicity or socioeconomic class, and we definitely agree that the breakdown based on sex has not been kept on the table enough. Regardless of who carries out the act, people are injured or die, and children are left with no family and a lot of trauma. Moises Prospero, et al’s… Read more »
BJS: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/homicide/gender.cfm