…a pattern of abusive and coercive behaviors used to maintain power and control\u2026. Abuse can be emotional, financial, sexual or physical and can include threats, isolation, and intimidation. Abuse tends to escalate over time.<\/p>\n

An abuser is a grand manipulator and will sulk, threaten to leave, and emotionally punish you for not following their idea of how things should be. An abuser will try to make you feel guilty any time you exert your will and assert what is right for you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the St.Louis\/NFL case, the abuse began years ago, in 1995, when the city built a domed stadium as a way of enticing an NFL lover, er, team to town. Then, city leaders agreed to lease out the newly constructed dome to the Rams under a rather strange contingency forced on them by the NFL: The Rams\u2019 lease required [St. Louis] to provide an updated \u201cfirst-tier\u201d stadium for the Rams \u2014 in the top eight of 32 National Football League teams \u2014 first by 2005, and again by 2015.<\/p>\n

In other words, the stadium had to stay pretty to keep the love. Then, in 2013, the Rams complained that the dome had let itself go, was soft in the middle, and needed $700 million in cosmetic surgery and body work. And when the city said no, the Rams threatened to walk away.<\/p>\n