Real life has done more than intrude into our little fantasy corner this week. It’s punched it’s way in, and it’s shot it’s way through the door, and aside from simply shrugging and saying “it’s one of those weeks,” I like to think it has challenged all of us to confront uncomfortable truths.
There are, of course, vast differences in the levels of violence exercised by Oscar Pistorius and Ray Rice; the level of tragedy as different as the nuts and bolts and minutiae of the action and the circumstances surrounding them: a girlfriend shot four times and murdered, a fiancée punched in an elevator and dragged out — later very publicly standing by her now-husband, to the point where authorities decided not to pursue legal action; to the point where Janay Rice took to Twitter to skewer the media and society in general for costing her husband, a Baltimore Ravens running back, his career.
Reeva Steenkamp never had that option.
For some of us of a certain age and certain sensibilities, who grew up aware of Nelson Mandela’s struggle against apartheid, Thursday’s images from that court-room in Pretoria, South Africa — a black, female judge sitting in judgment of a white male who happened to be an athletic and world-wide societal icon – deserved at least a moment’s contemplation. Knowing how far Judge Thokozile Masipa has come in her own life — in a country that has, frankly, dealt better with racial prejudice than it has gender prejudice — and now seeing her as a woman very much in charge, rendering a decision in the Valentine’s Day 2013 shooting of Steenkamp by Pistorius, is a clear indication that any society is capable of bettering itself.
All we knew after Thursday’s court session was that Pistorius, the double-amputee runner known as “The Blade Runner,” was not going to be found guilty of premeditated murder or dolus eventualis murder (also known as “common murder,” or a murder that lays at the accused a responsibility for the foreseeable consequences of the action in question). Judge Masipa on Friday ruled that he was guilty of “culpable homicide” – manslaughter – and granted him bail. Judge Masipa made clear she considered Pistorius guilty of acting too hastily, being negligent and using excessive force when he fired the four shots at his girlfriend.
South African legal observers say that a manslaughter conviction could carry a 10 to 15-year prison sentence, but South African women’s groups — some of whom protested outside the court-room — fear that the case is heading toward an acquittal. Masipa told prosecutors in clear language that they had failed miserably in attempting to prove pre-meditation, but listen, too, to what she had to say in dismissing text messages presented by the prosecution that seemed to show tension between Pistorius and Steenkamp, which they believed led to motive: “Normal relationships are dynamic and unpredictable most of the time, while human beings are fickle,” Judge Masipa intoned.
At some point, legal cases become discussions of process and logistics, working circuitously back to a question of determination of guilt or innocence at which point the broader issue regains predominance.
That will happen if Pistorius evades conviction; it will be seen in some quarters as a sign that South African society still has a way to go in dealing with violence against women. But at least the issue will have been given the daylight of a proper hearing. As for our other dose of reality this week? It’s up to the rest of us to ensure that Goodell and his sham “independent investigation” does more than simply determine specific levels of incompetence or willful neglect — that it results in more than merely the firing of some mid-level lackey, and then a quick turn away from addressing the root cause.
“Normal relationships are dynamic and unpredictable most of the time, while human beings are fickle.” This is what we have been told by a black, female judge sitting in a South African court. They certainly are, and after spending the better part of 15 years and countless resources pursuing athletes for using recreational drugs or performance enhancing substances, it’s time for professional sports to channel those resources into helping its athletes better deal with that dynamism and unpredictability.