Domestic Violence Advocates "Not Surprised" By Allegations Against Manziel
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Professionals who work with domestic violence offenders and victims say they're not surprised by the recent revelations of alleged domestic violence by Johnny Manziel, but they are surprised more isn't done to prevent domestic violence by organizations like the NFL.
"I don't think any of us can be surprised when you have a story like today's story or the Greg Hardy story comes up on the news," said President of SafeHaven Tarrant County Kathyryn Jacobs. "That's not shocking at all, really. Because we've frankly done nothing to address it."
As details of Manziel allegedly hitting his girlfriend unfold, experts say there are classic signs of domestic abuse.
A protective order outlining last weekend's violence against his girlfriend claims Manziel threatened to kill himself.
Not surprising to domestic violence counsellors.
"We think that is a very manipulative move," Jacobs said. "And I can't speak to, I've never met Johnny Manziel, and I can't speak to his psychiatric needs. But I can say it is not at all uncommon for an abuser to threaten suicide."
Many who work with domestic violence offenders say organizations which work with young men like the NFL, do have a way to stop the violence before it happens.
They just need to look at the man's childhood.
"You can really predict how likely a person is to have lifelong, adverse effects of the experience that that person has had in childhood," said One Safe Place President Ken Shetter.
He says a simple test with questions about an athlete's childhood can point to the people most at risk of committing domestic violence and get them help.
"The good news is that if you realize these things early on then you can intervene in that situation and reverse the likelihood that they're going to be such a negative implications are consequences," Shetter said.
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