NFL
By: Zachary Draves
You would think that after #MeToo became a rallying cry against sexual violence and a call to action to hold powerful people and institutions accountable that the world of sports would get its act together, but you’d be wrong.
We have seen cases pop up in just the last two months that clearly show that sports continue to turn a blind eye when it comes to the issue of domestic and sexual violence.
NBA
In the NBA, former players Jason Kidd and Chauncey Billups were hired as head coaches, Kidd with the Dallas Mavericks, and Billups with the Portland Trailblazers.
Both men have a documented history of committed acts of violence towards women.
In January 2001, Kidd pleaded guilty to assaulting his wife Joumana.
(Courtesy: Cleveland Sports Talk)
He was ordered to take anger management classes, which everyone should know are programs that aren’t designed to address domestic violence and make it seem as though the root cause is anger when in reality it is about power and control.
In other words, it doesn’t hold the abuser accountable.
In 1997, Billups was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at the home of his then Boston Celtics teammate Antonio Walker after leaving a Boston comedy club.
Although he was never charged he settled a civil suit in 2000 and it’s also worth mentioning that a medical examination revealed injuries that were entirely consistent with the victim’s testimony.
The Trail Blazers claimed they looked into the matter during the hiring process but said that it didn’t disqualify him from being selected as head coach.
If we can be honest, a woman’s life doesn’t matter to them and when journalist Sean Highkin of the Bleacher Report who was in the room during the press conference announcing Billups as head coach raised the issue, he was immediately shut down by Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey.
(Courtesy: SFGate)
This speaks largely to a longstanding problem about the good ole boy’s network that still runs much of sports media and is not willing to confront these issues head-on.
“I think that in the case of the Trail Blazers and that press conference it both shows an indication of how that works and also shows us that the GM, in particular, is relying on it” says Jessica Luther, sports journalist and co-host of the feminist sports podcast Burn It All Down who has written extensively on the intersection of sports and gender-based violence.
“He was counting on that coming through for him as a shield and that was really clear.”
It is worth mentioning that when Sean asked the question that Billups was ready to answer before Olshey cut him off and so who knows what would have come out of that moment if Billups gave an answer.
“These are the moments when sports media should sit with itself and wonder about why” said Jessica.
“This says a lot about how Olshey runs the Trail Blazers and also how the sports media reports this.”
MLB
As if that wasn’t enough, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer was put on administrative leave by MLB after it was revealed that a woman accused him of physical and sexual assault and subsequently granted a restraining order by him.
(Courtesy: Los Angeles Times)
Keep in mind that the Dodgers initially refused to punish Bauer.
While MLB has one of the strongest policies on the books when it comes to cases of domestic and sexual violence, there is still a revolving door of players coming in and out of the league with known histories of abuse and the question to be asked is whether or not these players have actually taken accountability for their actions and have demonstrated as such.
I have argued that players who are known perpetrators should do a couple of things after their suspensions are over and they are able to return to play.
As part of their collective bargaining agreement, they need to donate a significant portion of their salary to domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers as well as engage in regular community outreach and education, particularly engaging with young men and boys about accountability and healthy masculinity.
The discussions around manhood and the need for men to stand in solidarity with women who are abused is long overdue.
There needs to be more Dave Stewarts in male sports after the pitching great refused to attend the 40th-anniversary reunion of the 1981 team that won the World Series in response to the Dodgers not holding Bauer accountable.
This speaks to the widespread culture change that needs to take place.
“I think in general we all have a commitment to change this culture including in sports” said Jessica.
“It is really easy to be quiet and to look away and not intervene and the sad thing is that most people will do that and that institutions will encourage making easier choices a lot of the time.”
“Culture change is a long process, and in predominantly male sports that change will be slower” said Rita Smith, former Executive Director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and violence prevention consultant to the NFL.
“There have been actions taken over the last 7-8 years that would not have been taken prior to the massive public sharing that came via social media and #MeToo. Fines, suspension, letting players go are all actions that teams and colleges now utilize when allegations are found to have merit for this level of response. Keeping the pressure on to create better responses, hold bad actors accountable and develop policy and practices that begin to reduce the occurrence is part of the process if we want the changes to be real and long term.”
NFL
Speaking of the NFL, On July San Francisco Cornerback Richard Sherman was arrested and initially booked under suspicion of burglary domestic violence after he broke into the home of his in-laws where his wife and kids were staying.
(Courtesy: CNN)
He was also investigated for an alleged hit and run after he drove his car into a construction zone around the same time as the break-in.
Much of the reaction was centered on the issue of CTE and whether that played any part but the domestic violence aspect of it shouldn’t be overlooked and nor should CTE be an excuse if it turns out that there was
“There is an investigation by the criminal justice system, as well as an internal investigation at the league level. I believe that as more information is discovered, we can determine if this is a long-term domestic violence situation or one that indicates some other issue going on” said Smith.
This case was followed up by the incident in which Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins was subjected to physical abuse at the hands of his wife.
(Courtesy: NBC News)
Much of the reaction was trying to make Haskins out to be somehow “weak” or “less of man” but that creates a dangerous precedent for male victims/survivors of abuse and speaks to the reluctance of men and boys to come forward.
“Anyone can be a victim of domestic violence, males included” said Smith.
“Most assaults on males are committed by male partners, but women can be abusive as well. The way we socialize boys puts them at risk for not sharing feelings or actions that they think may make them look weak. That isn’t helpful to anyone, so my hope is that boys begin to learn that crying, sharing feelings, and asking for help are normal behaviors they can engage in.”
To wrap up the saga in the NFL is the ongoing case against Houston Texas Quarterback Deshaun Watson who currently has 22 women, who worked as massage therapists, who have come forward with allegations of sexual assault and the NFL hasn’t acted in any way that warrants respect to these women and is bound to be a case of history repeating itself where the NFL continues to turn a blind eye to violence against women and girls.
(Courtesy: USA Today)
Olympics
Then it was revealed that during the Tokyo Olympics that USA Fencer Alen Hadzic had pending allegations of sexual misconduct by three women who have accused him of engaging in such behavior from 2013-2015 according to an investigation by the U.S. Center for SafeSport.
(Courtesy: BuzzFeed)
Yet even after he was put on temporary suspension by the USOPC and USA Fencing, an arbitrator was able lift the suspension allowing him to compete in Tokyo which speaks volumes about what these institutions seem to excuse.
Sha’Carri Richardson can’t compete but Alen Hadzic can?
But on the positive side of things, we did get an example of a real male ally-ship when Hadzic’s teammates wore pink masks to show support for sexual assault survivors.
(Courtesy: The Indian Express)
The Path Forward
So it is clear that sports is far from having any sort of #MeToo reckoning and there is still so much catching up to the 21st century that needs to take place.
The awareness around gender-based violence in the broader society is at its peak in many ways but while the awareness is needed the accountability for those who engage in violent behavior is still lacking as evident in these recent cases.
We need both and Rita Smith has a solution.
“Accountability means that we approach the individuals from a non-judgmental place, we gather as much information and evidence as we can, and we create responses and sanctions that match the level of harm done” she said.
“The victim should have access to support and resources, and have a voice in how the case moves forward in whatever system possible sanctions will come from.”
“The perpetrator may also need resources to develop better-coping skills, but not at the expense of sanctions that matter and will match the level of harm they commit. The goal should be to help the victim find ways to move forward from the assault so that they can thrive again, and for the perpetrator to learn skills and self-knowledge so that no one else is hurt in the future.”
Simply put, the sports world needs to step up to the plate.
If you know anyone who is in an abusive situation, you can give them the numbers to the following outlets:
National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, Chat Online at https://www.thehotline.org/#, Text “Start” to 88788
National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN) 1-800-656-4673, Chat Online at https://hotline.rainn.org/online,
