Know When to Say When: Anheuser-Busch Statement on NFL Drips Irony

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Anheuser-Busch's public comments on current issues in the NFL are laudable, but what about the connection between booze and domestic violence?

Anheuser-Busch’s public comments on current issues in the NFL are laudable, but what about the connection between booze and domestic violence?

by Shimbo

In the wake of recent incidents of domestic violence and alleged child abuse plaguing the NFL, it was only a matter of time before sponsors would be called upon to ask for accountability in terms of where their money goes.

While little was heard from sponsors during the Ray Rice fiasco, which is ongoing, outside of “cautious” statements, it wasn’t until the latest crisis in the league, the indictment of Minnesota Vikings’ star Adrian Peterson, that caused the sort of sea change that finally woke up sponsors to the idea that maybe they need to take a stand one way or another.

The ball started rolling with Nike, who has a $1.1 billion stake in the NFL as the primary supplier of uniforms and other gear (not to mention sponsor of more than half the athletes in the league), pulled Adrian Peterson merchandise off its shelves in the Twin Cities on Tuesday. The next bombshell, at least at the local level, continued with Radisson “suspending” its sponsorship of the Vikings after an awkward press conference in which the team’s general manager, Rick Spielman, made a bizarre attempt to explain why Peterson would play on Sunday despite the photos clearly depicting abuse on his 4-year-old.

As much as fans are outraged by all the abuse players seem to be dealing out off the field, none of this would ever be enough to force true action from the NFL in terms of a culture change (because let’s face it, players are expendable as hell) at the league level unless sponsors, the people with the money, stood up and made decisive moves to separate their brand from one that seems to condone destructive behavior so long as there isn’t photo or video evidence.

Enter Anheuser-Busch.

The brewer, owned by InBev, is one of the largest and longest-serving sponsors of the NFL.

Of all the league sponsors, AB is also the wealthiest, with more than $43 billion in revenue in 2013 alone. If they were to pull their sponsorship, it’s certain that the league would suffer more than a little bit. Certainly this is a fact the brewer understands, which is why they somehow thought it would be smart to put out the following statement (via ESPN):

While this is all good and well, it’s also immediately problematic. It’s one thing to go directly to the NFL and voice these concerns to the league, even as a veiled threat, but when a company that produces alcohol at a great profit rattles their saber about culture and morals, they expose themselves to some rather bitter realities.

For the record, a report found in the Journal of the American Medical Association states that 92 percent of domestic abuse assailants reported use of alcohol or other drugs on the day of the assault. Another study shows that the percentage of batterers who are under the influence of alcohol when they assault their partners ranges from 48 percent to 87 percent, with most research indicating a 60 to 70 percent rate of alcohol abuse and a 13 to 20 percent rate of drug abuse. This is a point that’s not lost on many, including Houston Texans running back Arian Foster, who engaged in a blistering critique of Anheuser-Busch’s statement via Twitter:

Agree with Foster or not, his comments on the matter are both genuine and honest, if not tinged with a fair amount of cynicism. One would be hard-pressed to disagree with the notion that alcohol fuels violence. Of course, like the tired axiom of “guns don’t kill people, people kill people”, alcohol itself doesn’t kill people (well not by existing, anyway), but like guns, it facilitates the act of violence itself. Everything outside of driving or walking is easier with a little booze poured on the situation.

That said, it was important as a sponsor that Anheuser-Busch issue a statement, because the NFL simply won’t change until money, real money, is at stake. However, to make that statement public casts a shadow over everything by reminding the public just how often their products contribute to so much violence in the first place. From a PR standpoint, if an article like this is written, if tweets like those posted above are written, then the company failed, because the last thing a company that sells alcohol needs is a reason to connect the dots they most certainly don’t want connected.

Hashim R. Hathaway (Uncle Shimbo) is the host of the Never Daunted Radio Network, and proud father to NeverDaunted.Net. You can reach him on Twitter @NeverDauntedNet

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