[Trigger Warning: This article discusses forms of trauma including domestic violence, assault, mental health, and sexual violence.]
Chad Wheeler, a former Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle, pleaded not guilty to domestic violence, unlawful imprisonment, first-degree domestic violence assault, and resisting arrest on February 1, 2020.
Police forced entry into the apartment that Wheeler and his former girlfriend Alleah Taylor shared in response to a 911 call Taylor made when she briefly regained consciousness during the assault. Taylor suffered a fractured humerus, a dislocated elbow, long lasting head and neck pains, and difficulty swallowing and eating.
Taylor recently spoke out in an interview with CBS This Morning giving a chilling account of the incident, stating that Wheeler expressed disbelief that she was still alive, and even went to make himself food after Taylor lost consciousness. She also spoke about the long lasting effects of the assault. She will have follow-up care for a concussion and has, “bolts and a steel plate I’m going to have forever in my arm.”
In a tweet following his release from the Seahawks Wheeler wrote, “Events happened over the weekend that transpired from a manic episode. I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering that I have caused to the woman and her family.”
Wheeler was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in January 2016. According to police reports, Wheeler had stopped taking his medication in weeks leading up to the attack.
While bipolar disorder is connected with various other health outcomes, its relationship to violent crime is uncertain. A 2010 report from population-based longitudinal studies and systematic review found that people with diagnosed bipolar disorder only had an increased risk for general violence of 2%.
Domestic violence is a global epidemic, and each year 2 million injuries and 1,300 deaths occur because of it.
Globally, one in three women will experience physical or sexual violence, most of which is perpetuated by a partner. Intimate partner violence, or IPV, disproportionately affects people of color and marginalized groups. Alarmingly, three women are murdered by an intimate partner every day.
Organizations like Futures Without Violence, the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence, and LifeWire are fighting to support victims and end the abuse that so many suffer from.
Ward Urion has been working to end Domestic Violence for over 30 years. Urion is social change manager for LifeWire, the co-founder of the Men’s Network Against Domestic Violence, co-founder of Team Up Washington, and is on the Coaching Boys Into Men advisory council.
When asked what people can do in their own lives to create social change surrounding domestic violence, Urion says, “it’s a long term project that requires multiple generations of prevention programming to help people learn the skills necessary to have healthy relationships.”
Chad Wheeler’s trial was first scheduled for April 6 but has been delayed until June 1. It is unclear why the trial date has been pushed back by two months.
Despite this delay, Ward Urion says that he “noticed a stronger reaction both from the Seahawks organization and from the sports community” than he had with previous incidents.
The NFL has come under fire in recent years for the way it handles allegations of domestic violence, most notably in 2014 when former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was merely suspended for two games following a domestic violence incident with his wife Janay Palmer.
Response to incidents of domestic violence from the NFL is crucial, not just because athletes are looked up to as role models, but also because of the possible connection of increased violence and traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs.
While there hasn’t been enough conclusive research to concretely support this idea, aggression is one of the most common symptoms of TBI. Urion hopes that more extensive research will come out soon affirming whether or not there is a direct correlation between domestic violence and TBI.
This would make the NFL’s response to domestic violence even more important because studies have shown that football players suffer severe brain damage. JAMA, a peer-reviewed medical journal, published a study in 2017 where they examined 202 former football players’ brains. 90% of the brains they studied were diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease caused by multiple sustained traumatic brain injuries.
Unfortunately, during the pandemic many organizations around the country that offer resources and support to victims of domestic violence have seen a dramatic increase in calls for help.
Quarantine has increased the proximity time within domestic households and has limited opportunities for social support and escape. Urion said that LifeWire’s calls were “up 150 percent in January” over the same month in 2020.
Too many people find themselves to be survivors of assaults like the one that Chad Wheeler perpetrated. It is important to know that there are resources and organizations available to combat domestic violence.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline number is 800-799-7233
LifeWire’s 24-hour help line is 425-746-1940
