Corey Hilliard

The news has been dominated by domestic violence discussion. And rightfully so, stories that have come out about NFL players have been disappointing and sad, to say the least.

I have spent the past week listening to experts and sports analysts alike giving their opinions on this serious matter. I wanted to share my perspective. What I have to offer might not be worthy, but it's through the eyes of a player who is a member of the league that is being blasted amid all the allegations.

I want to preface my thoughts with saying that I don't have much experience in this area. My dad never put his hands on my mom; me and my brother have never hit a woman in our lives, so for me to write about this and pretend like I have all the answers is not going to happen. This is more about me trying to figure out why things are the way they are. To try to comprehend why a man would beat someone he cares about.

My simple answer is, I don't know why.

My wife and I have been married for five years and have had our arguments just like any other couple, and as angry as I might have been, I never thought hitting her was the solution. And as I sit here and look for answers I have come to the realization that there are none.

I'm not going to sit here and give the men who abuse their spouses an excuse. Because there is none.

It would be easy for me to speculate that men who abuse women come from homes where that was standard practice, and I would be wrong. Unfortunately there are millions of men who grew up in homes where their mother was beat and vowed to never treat women that way.

It would be easy for me to say that in some circles the true measure of a man is "keeping his women in check," and the way to do that is show her who's the boss by hitting her. And even though I've heard such statements come out of another man's mouth, I didn't run out and beat my spouse to prove how much of a man I am, because I knew that train of thought was stupid and wrong.

For me it comes down to right and wrong, common sense and compassion. Any compassionate man with common sense should know right from wrong no matter the circumstances in which he was raised. I don't know the men involved in these cases, don't know their backgrounds, don't know their families, but it seems to me these guys are missing those qualities.

The NFL has taken a major hit. A few bad apples have spoiled the bunch. I promise you that not all players are bad people.

There are good men in these NFL locker rooms. Men who care about the community and are doing everything they can to change lives. Men who sacrifice time and money to help those less fortunate.

It has been said many times and many ways that domestic violence isn't a NFL problem, but it's an American problem. For any man reading this, let's be better MEN. Let's treat our women the RIGHT way.

Corey Hilliard, a tackle for the Lions, is a special writer for the Free Press during the NFL season.