The NFL doesn't actually have a domestic violence or crime problem

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Stark, who has a Ph.D. in sociology and works on criminal cases involving domestic violence, says the level of abuse in the NFL and other professional sports is no higher than that of similar age groups in the general population. Statistics from the USA Today NFL Arrests Database support his claim.

Six NFL players have been arrested on charges of domestic violence since the start of the 2013 season, including Peterson’s recent arrest for child abuse. Dating back to 2000, the NFL’s domestic violence arrest rate is significantly lower than that of the national average.

Based on the approximate 2,560 players that are on NFL teams in training camp and the regular season, Benjamin Morris of FiveThirtyEight reports that the league’s arrest rate for domestic violence is just 55.4 percent of the national average. Of the 1,696 players that are currently on NFL rosters, 0.7 percent have been arrested for domestic violence in the last nine years, per NBC News.

Across the board, NFL players are arrested far less frequently than the general public, with the league’s arrest rate coming in at just 13 percent of the national average for men between the ages of 25 and 29. When looking at specific crimes, though, domestic violence rates are closer to the national average than anything else.

After domestic violence, nonviolent gun-related and sex-offense crimes are closest to the national average. NFL players are arrested for those crimes at a rate of 45.2 percent and 38.2 percent of the national average, respectively, compared to 55.4 percent of the national domestic violence arrest rate.

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