Column : Rage Against The Sports Machine

Oregon Daily Emerald : 01/10/02

Like it or not, football seems to be a big part of college life. Eugene residents and University students can't escape hearing the latest about the Autzen Stadium expansion or donations from Nike CEO Phil Knight. And it's no different at many other schools, especially those vying for a national sports ranking.

Fiesta Bowl news ran throughout the break. But behind the glory of the Heisman Trophy competition, the controversy of the Bowl Championship Series rankings and tales of extraordinary road trips to the big game, a darker tale goes almost unnoticed, and so far, unpunished.

On Dec. 7, more than three weeks before the big game, a Colorado University student alleged she was gang raped while attending a party thrown for football recruits, according to Associated Press reports. The party reportedly consisted of approximately 15 high school recruits and a half-dozen Colorado University football players, all of whom were drinking heavily.

You'd expect to hear that the police are investigating and that there have been repercussions against the aggressors, but the police weren't called. Instead, campus police are handling the investigation, despite the fact the crime happened off campus. And surprise, surprise, no players were suspended from the Fiesta Bowl for the incident, and no arrests have been made even now, as investigations are "ongoing."

Few newspapers ran the article, and those who did used the same AP story. No one has questioned the fact that the underage recruits were allegedly drinking with their CU football hosts. The athletic department spent more than $5,000 in food, rental cars and entertainment ­­ not counting hotel or airfare ­­ to host the 15 recruits for three days, according to a Boulder, Col., newspaper.

The athletic department and the football team hosts used this wining and dining to show the recruits what could "be theirs" if they became college athletes. Did this display reach beyond food and liquor and constant attention to encompass women -- willing or unwilling?

Gang rape is not a new phenomenon, but today, it's exclusive groups that are committing these violent crimes. The highest number of gang rapes is committed by fraternity groups, followed closely in number by athletic teams, according to a study by psychologist Chris O'Sullivan, Ph.D., of Buckness University. Of athletes, it's football, basketball and hockey teams who are most prone to rape, according to a study by Bernice Sandler of the Association of American Colleges.

As these groups complain that they are the victims of unfair stereotyping involving rape, the statistics continue to support the facts. The origin of this violence is men who have developed a subculture based upon privilege and aggression, often leading to the scapegoating of women.

It's horrifying that the combination of elitism and power among men somehow produces a mentality that allows these crimes to happen in the first place. It's even scarier that most of the athletes accused escape with little more than a slap on the wrist, despite the growing awareness of the phenomenon. I'm angry that athletics really isn't the problem here, but a culture that elevates athletes to a demigod status, where any behavior is permissible.