Had fun last night at a family friend’s Super Bowl party. I’m not sure if you watched the game, but if you did, I hope you had fun. Two thoughts about the game.
First, the Super Bowl is notoriously the worst day for domestic violence in the United States. According to this article, there’s a correlation between DV cases and “upset” wins. Specifically, if a team was expected to win by four or more points, but loses, then there’s a 10% rise in domestic violence. Alcohol, high emotions, and the fact that half the fans are going to be upset all contributes to the issue.
I know I’m writing this the day after, but if you or someone you know needs help send them to thehotline.org or (800) 799-SAFE (7233).
The second point is that yesterday’s game had a really odd ending, at least from my point of view. The Kansas Chiefs got within scoring range with about two minutes to go, and then, instead of scoring a touchdown, then ran the clock down and won by kicking a field goal basically on the one yard line.
It unsportsman like, icky even.
It reminded me of some of the tactics I see in court, where someone does something that’s somewhat within the rules, but creates a deeply unfair advantage for the other party.
In the family law context, I just don’t think it’s appropriate. While lawyers need to be zealous advocates, in the family law context I think they need to be more careful about protecting the individuals in the case and allowing justice to be done the way the California Legislature intended. Pulling some technically allowable stunt, like the Chiefs did yesterday, to, say, gain more parenting time, is not appropriate.
Even if the issue is purely financial, like who gets the Mercedes, I still don’t think it’s right.
(Photo by Jean-Daniel Francoeur)
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