Author: sridge@sportingnews.com (Scott Ridge)

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The University of Texas at Dallas has published a study suggesting the rate of alleged violent crimes committed by NFL players is lower than public perception.

Researchers looked at arrests from 2000-14 involving NFL players, They classified violent crimes as murder, manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, DUI manslaughter, attempted murder, robbery, aggravated assault, sexual assault, rape, statutory rape, battery, assault, domestic violence, child abuse and kidnapping.

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The takeaway, according to the study, is that the percentage of violent arrests among NFL players was higher, but the crimes were committed by a very small number of players.

“It’s a repeat behavioral problem among a very small fraction of people, and it’s that fraction of people who get all the attention,” said Alex Piquero, a professor criminology at UT Dallas. “These incidents are horrific, but they’re not the norm. The majority of NFL players are never arrested, and, if so, it’s usually only once.

“It’s only an extremely small number of players who are responsible for most of the arrests. Most of these players are law-abiding citizens and don’t do anything wrong. And, in fact, many NFL players are upstanding citizens who give much of themselves to their communities and charitable organizations.”

The news release said a previous study during that approximate timeframe showed the arrest rate among the general population was nearly double compared to NFL players from 2000-2013.