At the time, I thought nothing of it. I didn't participate in the football program-- instead, a friend and I made our own shirts to support our friend on the soccer team, and even then I had them turn the "6" in his 16 sideways so it would represent both his 16 and my 19 when my season started. But in hindsight, the entire practice is ridiculous-- there was no mutuality of support between the teams. It was done ONLY for the football team, and there was zero expectation that when football season was over, the football players would return the favor for the girls' basketball team. Or track team. Or softball team. Heck, for the debate/forensics team.
Where was my locker decoration on opening night of the musical when I was a lead?
It feeds into this idea of exalting certain groups of individuals that fall within a certain level of athletic ability (although I don't remember our football team really being all that great). While it seems like a benign practice, engaging in this type of worship behavior can lead to some pretty terrible situations where members of the team can develop an indoctrinated notion that general rules of propriety and appropriateness no longer apply to them. And why should they think differently? How often are athletes given extensions, curved scores, or had a blind eye turned to a missing assignment if it impacts their eligibility? I remember there being an outrage when my eleventh grade English teacher gave the participants of the musical an extra day to turn in an assignment when it was due during opening week. It was a member of the football team that protested, and I remember the heat that flashed across her face when she quickly retorted, "It is far less than what the football players are given, so I don't see an issue with it." At the time, I thought she was amazing. Now, I still think she was amazing, and I'm also mad at my past self and those around me for have such general acceptance for a norm that was so unjust.
It's frustrating when the allowance and favoritism bleeds into academics, but it's scary when the attitudes cross over into moral behaviors. Recently, there has been a lot of press on the Steubenville, Ohio rape case-- all press that is in thanks to a few vigilante social media players/reporters who got wind of the incident and have fought for justice. Without their efforts, this case was going to be swept under the rug-- something a lot of folks in Steubenville are still trying to do. Coaches, teachers, people in the community have accused the gang rape survivor of "asking for it," "consenting," and even that she was trying to destroy the football community single handedly. Such accusations would be a little less disgusting (as anyone accusing someone who has reported a rape of "asking for it" is, in fact, disgusting), except there is a ridiculous pile of evidence showing how this girl was drugged and repeatedly sexually assaulted by members of the football team while they documented their adventures with their smartphones and posted them to the internet, bragging about their conquest.
This video is an amazing response to the incident, and something that EVERYONE should see.
It's a horrific incident. One that we can sit comfortably from a distance away and shake our fingers at, declaring its awfulness and terror and swear to never allow such behaviors to occur in our little community. However, Lawrence is a town with its own athletic worship-- and it comes in the form of KU Basketball.
Just over a month ago, Jeff Withey made a Twitter post after apparently viewing the Victoria's Secret fashion show. Jeff Withey is a basketball player, apparently a good one, as his name is usually plastered all over the home page of the local newspaper's website (you can tell I follow a lot of KU basketball). His post states the following:
Jeff Withey
I'm going to marry a Victoria Secret model!
By itself, it says a lot about who he is as a person. It's no secret that I'm not a fan of what this particular industry represents, its method of advertising, and its efforts to ensnare younger and younger girls into buying into the messages they're selling. All that aside, however, Withey has expressed a desire to marry a model-- any of the models. He has not singled one out, which would allow for some benefit of the doubt-- perhaps he has read up on that particular model and enjoys similar hobbies, appreciates her upbringing, or admires her aspirations to go back to school or have a family. No-- instead, his statement is generalized to ANY VS model, which indicates that the only value he is interested in is how well a particular woman is able to model lingerie. If one of the models were to walk off the runway and into his arms, he'd take her-- regardless of whether she was interested in curing Autism or slaughtering baby animals, it would all be moot so long as she's got the smokin' bod.
But that isn't the only issue-- it's what comments followed his statement.
What rings throughout is a general acceptance of this type of comment. Gone is any sense of what is decent and respectful of women, and instead is a tolerance and even promotion of this type of behavior. The last comment is particularly disturbing-- that because of Withey's athleticism and success on the basketball court, he is able to "have" his choice of women across campus. Gone is the idea that any of the women may not have any sense of requited affection, because the expectation is that because he is a good athlete, they want him.
Which isn't too far off from, "they're asking for him/it."
So we look down from our high horses and shake our heads at the small town of Steubenville, when perhaps we should look up and around at what is happening around us-- and instead of shaking our heads and simply saying, "Well, what do you expect?", we should raise our expectations and demand better.
Because that's something worth asking for.
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