Mason Greenwood, an attacker on and off the pitch

The glory days that have only just begun are about to be halted for an unfortunate 20yr old Mason Greenwood.

In a shockingly horrifying video released by his girlfriend, Harriet Robson, the Manchester United attacker doesn’t seem to forget his role on the pitch. Dates from the video imply these abusive attacks have been going on since 2020. A horrifying interpretation of the saying, ‘’charity begins at home’’.

Mason Greenwood is not going to be the first sportsman engaging in domestic violence. Let me refresh your memories with the past. The near past. A very striking case is that of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Kareem Hunt who, just like Greenwood, was caught on video abusing a 19yr old woman. It was only after the video appeared on TMZ that he was placed on an exempt list (inactive players that still get paid).

In December 2020, defensive back Xavien Howard battered his fiancee but had the charges dropped after the accuser declined to press charges. Questionably.

New York Giants’s Josh Brown is not left out of this vicious cycle. His wife, Molly Brown revealed he had been physically violent with her in more than 20 instances during the past few years. Despite the allegations and his admissions, the Giants showed their allegiance to the abuser by re-signing Brown to a two-year, $4million deal. Priorities, priorities,

Year after year, sportsmen take their passion from the pitch to the bedrooms with a dark twist. An ugly pattern spreading like wildfire across the leagues. Why are abusers masqueraded as sportsmen shielded by their teams?

The answer is simple. Sport teams will always prioritise talents as the key factor in their decision making.Their actions prove they do not care about domestic violence. Why care about it anyway when money has to be made. Profit is the ivory tower for businesses.

But the English Premier League seems to think differently, hopefully.

In May 2020, clubs in the league came together to support a campaign against domestic abuse by sending supportive messages and making donations to housing associations for domestic violence survivors.

Manchester United, club to the football attacker and domestic abuser Mason Greenwood, has issued a statement implying their decision to be made after facts have been corroborated.

A sentence in their statement stood out to me, ‘’Manchester United does not condone violence of any kind’’.

They had better not.

But the power to curb domestic violence does not only rest with the EPL. Fans are also going to have to take action. As difficult as it might be, teams who cannot meet up with basic standards of human decency must be boycotted and players who are perpetrators of violations against human rights must pay the penalty.

And in this case, Manchester United vs Mason Greenwood.

Claire Mom is an advocate for sexual and reproductive health rights and is notable for speaking strongly against sexual and gender based violence. She has worked with organizations including the UNFPA and the EU.

Twitter: @speakclairely_

Email: [email protected]