What's next, Mika? Giant alligators in the sewers of New York City? On today's Morning Joe, Mika Brzezinski perpetuated the hoary twenty-year-old urban legend that domestic violence spikes on Super Bowl Sunday.
Brzezinski's blunder came in the context of the panel's discussion of the NFL's domestic violence mess. Arguing that football is a violent game and that "there's a connection" with what happens at home, Mika continued, "domestic violence on Super Bowl Sunday. We've seen the numbers. Why is that?" Actually, Brzezinski has apparently not seen the numbers, since that myth has been thoroughly debunked, often by organizations fighting domestic violence, as here, here and here.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Having your head beat in every day changes you as a person.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: It is a game.
DONNY DEUTSCH: Eli Manning is not coming home and beating his wife.
BRZEZINSKI: OK, you know what? I don't think those guys, when they're out in the field, are looking at it as a little game. OK? They're killing each other. They're bashing each others' heads in. Concussion after concussion after concussion. That's becoming an issue. I'm just saying, it has to be looked at holistically. It's not an excuse for the behavior. But there's some connection between all this. This is a violent game. And domestic violence on Super Bowl Sunday? We've seen the numbers. Why is that?
Earlier: Brent Bozell in 1994 on Rush Limbaugh and the promoters of the Super Bowl Sunday hoax
