Women in Sports: What We Still Haven't Learned

by The Rabbi, OTSL Video Editor/Producer

I am a chauvinist.

Yes, I know that's a very harsh first line, to say such a thing about myself, but the truth of the matter is this: you are all chauvinists too.

Why you might ask?  It is simply because of the fact that we have not treated women right in sports.

For all of the good advances we have seen over the last few years, most notably the hiring of Becky Hammon by the Spurs as the NBA's first female full-time assistant coach and the hiring of Kathryn Smith as the NFL's first full time female assistant coach, we have treated the woman's place in the world of pro and amateur sports even worse than before.

Before we get to the issues at Tennessee (the reason I'm writing this column) let's just look at a few reasons why our treatment of women in what is a male-dominated field is still tremendously wrong.

A little over a year ago, the NBA got into a little bit of hot water when, after a game, Chris Paul (who is only the head of the National Basketball Players Association) criticized a female ref after calling a technical foul which Paul thought he didn't deserve.  Postgame, Paul said about the technical foul, "That's ridiculous. If that's the case, this might not be for her."  The technical was one of many the Clippers received in that game in which they were routed.  If that were a male ref calling the foul, would the situation have been the same?  I doubt it.  Even if it was, the person who is the spokesman for NBA Players should not be saying things like that.  

Last year, ESPN employee and former softball star Jessica Mendoza became the first female to be a color commentator for an MLB Playoff game (and she did the job well enough to get asked back into the Sunday Night Baseball booth this year).  While this was a moment that was celebrated by many, there were some people who were outraged that a woman was taking what some called a "man's job" and what's even more disgusting was a tweet by Atlanta sports host Mike Bell saying this:

"Yes tell us Tits McGhee when you're up there hitting a softball you see a lot of 95 mile an hour cutters"

Bell got suspended for this tweet, but a short suspension doesn't hide ignorance.

Finally, let us take a look at what's going on at Louisville.  The accusations made by a former prostitute a little less than six months ago that between 2010-2014 Louisville basketball players and recruits were at dorm parties where strippers were the entertainment provided by a former assistant coach.  Also, some of the (non-college) girls at these parties were having sex with these former players after that same assistant coach paid for it.  So they were, in a not so nice term, whored out. 

There were two dozen of these such parties.  Louisville has a self-imposed postseason ban this year because of this, with probably more to come from the NCAA.  You know, because the only people that should be punished are the kids who probably had NOTHING to do with these allegations.

So from those three examples we've established that players and media personalities think a woman's place in a male-dominated game should be non-existent, other than to provide "entertainment" to those "hard-working" male athletes and coaches.

Then there's the University of Tennessee, a school with so many sexual harassment allegations it showcases those examples as well as any male "pig" ever could.  I'm not even going to mention Peyton Manning in this article.  The allegations of what he did to a female employee of UT in 1996 just solidify this even more.  Let's stay more recent.

First, as you may have heard, a lawsuit is currently being filed by EIGHT former female UT employees basically saying that the institution "created a culture that enables sexual assaults by student-athletes, especially football players, and then uses an unusual, legalistic adjudication process that is biased against victims who step forward."

It's a huge claim, one that has examples going back to the 1990's, which includes claims from last Spring that a Vols football player, accused of sexual assault, had his suspension lifted just to take finals, so that same player could be eligible to play the next season.  That same player’s lawyers allegedly were ALLOWED to contact witnesses that were going to be called during UT's investigation.

Second, three years ago, an alleged rape allegation against then UT football player Marlin Lane was essentially never disclosed because of pressure that was put on his alleged victim by fellow UT students and administrators.  Even though the rape claim against Lane was never reported (and he was suspended while the allegations were still pending for Spring games and summer practices), details have come out that the woman never pressed charges because she was threatened on Twitter, and even threatened over the phone by Lane's girlfriend.

Finally, a year and a half ago, another UT student was claimed to have been raped by football players A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams.  That night, another fellow player, Drae Bowles, drove the woman to the hospital as she was hyperventilating and crying.  What happened to Bowles next by players and coaches is beyond disgusting.

One linebacker allegedly beat up Bowles and punched him in the mouth, two other players (including Lane) said "people get shot for that sort of thing", and even (still currently as of this writing) head coach Butch Jones called Bowles "a traitor".  So, even the people who want to stand up for the rape victims are outcasts.

Tennessee could have done the honorable thing and taken these allegations as seriously as they should have been, but what would have been smart about that?  Instead, all 16 of Tennessee's head coaches had a press conference earlier this week, in a move that screamed PR at its worst level, to basically say why women were just "as equal" at UT as all the men were.  Examples of statements included:

"It's amazing to me to see the support of our female athletes," said Vols women's basketball head coach Holly Warlick, a move that came after a UT media relations assistant halted an interview last week with one of her star players about the allegations.

"Our competitors are using (the culture perception) against us," head coach football Butch Jones said.  This cites what the interview was REALLY about, telling recruiters that everything is going to be OK.  Don't believe the truths!

Finally, this gem, “These stories aren’t being told,” said softball co-coach Karen Weekly. “That’s why we’re here today — because we want people to hear the positives.” 

Yeah, that's about all that was for.

While everything in that press conference was all about the rosy picture going on at Knoxville (male coaches even come to women's games!), the crux of the matter wasn't mentioned till 25 minutes into the love-fest (neither was the lawsuit nor the damning allegations) and it was mentioned indirectly by a reporter asking a question, not by any of the coaches themselves.  In addition, those allegations against Butch Jones weren't revealed until 48 hours after the press conference, which just solidifies the disingenuous tone of the PR fest to begin with.

So, as we reach the end of this column, here's a little recap about what we've learned about the culture of women in sports (and all of these examples have taken place or have been revealed in the last 14 months):

1. If a woman does all the things a man does in a position of power like referee, be prepared for extra scrutiny.
2. Women are subjected to online bullying, regardless of how good of a job they do, just because they are a woman.
3. A woman's main place in the male dominated college world is to be used as sexual escorts or victims.
4. When it all comes down to it, the rights of victims only come second to a school's athletic success.  

While the allegations that have recently come out against Louisville and Tennessee reveal an abusive culture related to football and basketball on campus, rest assured they are most likely not the only colleges or even professional sports teams where this exists.

This may resonate with you, the reader, or it may not, but the fact that this isn't more of forefront issue in the world of sports or the fact that we don't care about this more as a society makes all of us…chauvinists.