Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

FINALLY, A REAL “TOUGH GUY” IN COLLEGE SPORTS

 

By Wendy J. Murphy

For The Patriot Ledger

November 20, 2010

 

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is one of the most powerful organizations in sports, with significant influence here, and growing influence worldwide.

 

It’s also under new leadership.  Mark Emmert took the helm only a few months ago and one of the first things he talked about was athlete-involved violence against women.  No doubt inspired by the gruesome killing of U.Va. lacrosse player Yeardley Love by NCAA athlete George Huguley, Emmert said: “At the national level, we have to have serious conversations to see if we can find a way to send an unequivocal message that this will not be tolerated…it’s something we’d like to move on quickly.  We’ve done a great job in terms of educating and working on alcohol abuse and drug abuse.  We haven’t done everything we can in regards to domestic violence and we absolutely have to.  One incident is too many.”

 

Emmert is right.  And he knows that the problem not only harms women, it’s a black eye for the NCAA. They’re associated almost daily with men who bring shame and stigma to a membership organization that prides itself on its commitment to the values of sportsmanship, fair play and good citizenship.

 

It’s pretty clear not all NCAA athletes are living up to these standards.

 

Fifteen years ago, a study of 107 cases at 30 NCAA Division 1 schools found that male college student-athletes, compared to the rest of the male student population, are responsible for a significantly higher percentage of the sexual assaults. Researchers found that student-athletes comprised 3.3% of the male student body, but were involved in 19% of sexual assaults and 37% of domestic violence cases.  More recently, an examination of news stories involving athletes and violence against women suggests the problem has gotten much worse.  During the past year alone, a search of the media’s Nexis database produced almost 700 such stories.  In 1995 there were 368 – and five years before that there were only 46.  Clearly some percentage of this uptick is related to an increase in cable and internet news sources, but there’s no question the numbers also reflect a bigger and growing problem. 

 

One obvious explanation for why the problem has gotten worse rather than better is that athletes are rarely held accountable. 

 

For example, despite recent reports of sexual violence involving two Michigan State University (MSU) basketball players, one of which admitted his guilt, neither man was charged criminally or even disciplined by the school.  In the past two years alone, 37 reports of sexual assault by MSU athletes have been reported, but not one disciplinary sanction was imposed by school officials against any of the men involved.

 

Kathy Redmond at the National Coalition Against Violent Athletes, (NCAVA), has been monitoring this problem for many years.  She and I had a chance to meet with President Emmert this week – to explain the Gender Violence Policy I drafted for the NCAA.  He asked all the right questions, and listened carefully for more than 90 minutes.  At the end, he sounded hopeful that the NCAA could construct an effective policy.

 

Our proposal would allow NCAA officials to recommend the imposition of sanctions against a violent athlete when the criminal justice and school-based disciplinary systems refuse to act.  Enforcement options would include that if a school rejected the NCAA’s recommendation, the offending student’s team could lose its NCAA membership status.

 

With such a policy in place, an athlete who might not fear school-based or criminal sanctions would still have to worry about causing his team to lose status in the NCAA.  Given the powerful allegiance athletes feel toward their school and their teammates, the possibility of losing NCAA membership would serve as a powerful deterrent.

 

Such a policy would also incentivize non-offending athletes to ramp up the pressure on trouble-maker teammates, to help them avoid situations that might expose the team to sanctions.

 

Male leadership in the fight against athlete-involved violence is desperately needed, especially for superstars who’ve grown used to special privileges as a reward for their athletic talents.  Someone needs to make it a lot clearer to these guys that no matter how great their free-throws, there’s no entitlement to impose their fists – or any other parts -  on the body of a woman.

 

President Emmert has an opportunity to restore the NCAA’s reputation before it gets worse by making this point a central theme in a new policy that will hold individuals and institutions accountable not only for athlete-involved violence, but also for the failure of existing oversight systems to respond promptly and effectively to every incident of sexual or domestic abuse, without exception.