Last week in the US, the NFL introduced a new domestic violence policy. A first offence will see a player banned for six games and erring again could merit a ban for life.

While I agree with such a tough stance, it got me thinking: why does a multibillion-pound sport organisation need such a policy?

Surely the players should know that violence in relationships is wrong and will not be tolerated. Or is it that sports stars think they are above the law and get away with anything they want because they entertain the public?

San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh said his franchise would not tolerate any of their players getting in trouble for this crime and if they are found guilty of the offence they will be kicked off the team immediately.

He said: “I’ll be very clear. You ask me how I feel about domestic violence. If someone physically abuses a woman or physically or mentally abuses or hurts a child, then there’s no understanding. There’s no tolerance for that.

“We would not allow that player to stay on our roster. We can be very clear.”

While it is easy to say such a thing now, I worry that if his star player Colin Kaepernick, who signed a $126 million (£75.25m) contract extension a few months ago, gets in trouble Harbaugh may bend his principles?

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s letter about the policy outlines that it is not just playing staff that have to follow these rules but all members of the NFL.

But if this is a widespread problem, shouldn’t we start looking at the causes and look to change the way athletes and other personnel think and deal with such situations?

Because it is not a recent trend. Other sports have had problems with their stars getting into trouble with the law for physically harming their loved ones.

English footballer Ched Evans is currently serving the last few weeks of his five-year jail sentence for rape — he is only serving half the time — and there are rumours circulating that he will be welcomed back into the Sheffield United dressing room.

Though the club are yet to comment on these reports, the fact that they haven’t immediately shot them down suggests that they are at least considering allowing a convicted rapist to return to the club.

What does it say to the woman who was attacked? And to women who have been subject to this kind of abuse from athletes? It says that if they do face charges and get sent to jail, in a few years time they may be back on TV getting paid to do something many feel is a privilege.

The list goes on — West Ham striker Ravel Morrison is due to stand trial in January for allegedly assaulting his former girlfriend Reah Mansoor and her mother and threatening to have his ex murdered, charges he denies. He has previously undergone domestic violence counselling after an assault charge against then girlfriend Reah Dixon was dropped when she refused to testify.

Stan Collymore attacked his then girlfriend Ulrika Jonsson (“once, with an open hand,” his public defence), Paul Gascoigne was arrested for an alleged drunken attack on his wife Sheryl while Mike Tyson served three years — of a six-year sentence — for raping an 18-year-old in 1991.

But all that is forgotten now. Tyson managed to still have a successful boxing career after his prison sentence and his conviction is rarely mentioned.

These and other cases are serious criminal charges, yet such stories are more often than not reported on the sports pages — the back pages.

Doesn’t this play down the problems — telling women that abuse by athletes will be buried in the papers?

Domestic violence is a very serious problem which seems to be ignored when it is perpetrated by people who are supposedly “adored” by millions. It baffles me.

Sports people are role models — whether they like it or not — for many kids growing up and need to be held to high standards. Athletes convicted of domestic abuse need to be banned for life.