Involuntary Action

           Well, it’s that time of year again. Nah, not the end of the NCAA basketball regular season and impending March Madness, although I certainly can’t wait much like every other year. It’s that time where a big name school and/or flagship university must have their alleged scandal exposed. Earlier, it was Louisville basketball with the prostitutes for recruits. Fairly recently, it was Carolina with the bogus classes that Rashad McCants felt so compelled to enlighten us about. And let’s not forget Bobby Petrino allowing himself to be lost in the sauce of a young jones and opening up the University of Arkansas to a vicious lawsuit.

            Speaking of lawsuits, it is now time for the University of Tennessee to take their turn at the plate. Six unnamed women have officially filed suit against the school citing Title IX violations that include an attitude of indifference against victims of sexual assault committed by athletes. Now, I won’t jump to conclusions on either side of this case. I will simply evaluate some facts as they have been presented.

            Let’s say Tennessee is guilty as sin of every allegation thrown at them by the six victims. Chances are that means this culture has existed for quite some time. Significantly longer than one of the most recent allegations against Michael Williams and A.J. Johnson dating back to November 16, 2015. It probably means these women finally found the courage to speak up against an oppressive “good ole boy” network. So, given their guilt, the next question becomes, how in the hell were soooo many people (coaches, support staff, trainers, athletic directors, presidents, and a plethora of others) convinced to look the other way on what was happening?

            Did not some of these people have college age daughters? Or at least women in their family for whom they cared deeply? Regardless, they all looked the other way, and now are banding together, doing press conferences in full support of the institution. 16 coaches to be exact. While it’s nice for them to come together on television and present a united front, they’re not who I wanna hear from on this issue. I’m not interested in hearing from anyone who still represents the University (especially employee or scholarship athlete). Of course we won’t hear any of them admit such a culture or own up to any wrongdoing.

            I want to hear from former students. Specifically female students with connections to the athletic programs. People like Jamie Naughright. The woman who accused the phony gee-golly Peyton Manning of sexual assault in 1996. The woman who won a $300,000 settlement from the university in light of the allegations on top of more money from Manning when he violated a gag order by talking about the assault in his book. Call me crazy, but it’s extremely difficult to comprehend paying someone that type of money for completely false accusations. So, while we will never know exactly what happened between Manning and Naughright, we do know that enough happened to make him and his alma mater dig ocean deep into their bank accounts to make this woman go away.

            But, she is the type of person I want to hear from. Someone who doesn’t represent the University’s favorable image or have any reason to be biased toward any side. I want to hear from former trainers about conversations they had with players. I want to hear about the conversations they had when reporting incidents to superiors. So, still assuming guilt on behalf of the orange and white, what happens next? Do they cough up $300,000 to each of the six victims and ask them to be quiet while this same thing possibly happens to more women? Do the perpetrators of the crime (not just players) continue to go on about their daily lives as if nothing happened? If that is the case, then what message is being sent? That if an athlete wants your body, your consent or lack thereof holds no weight? Good Lord, I hope not.

            If indeed that is the case, then nothing will ever change at Tennessee. The athletes won’t fix their behavior because they know the coaches won’t come down on them for it. The President and Athletic Director won’t come down on the coaches because they know they can just keep writing fat checks to pay for silence and disappearance. The ladies won’t be able to function at their best because they know their story will never be given a fair shake. It will all likely remain a continuing cycle until that fateful day when one of these ladies snaps and uses a weapon to do some serious harm to one of these athletes. Or maybe, she has some of her crazy brothers and uncles roll up on campus one day with bad intentions. Then the University will make sure to paint itself as a victim of unwarranted violence and tragedy. Also known as business as usual.

            Regardless of how it goes down. Regardless of the level of guilt on behalf of Tennessee, it is clear that some type of foul play is going on in Knoxville. And you can bet your bottom dollar that if any of the 16 coaches who sat and defended the Volunteers at that press conference had daughters or nieces in this situation, they would surely be volunteering to take serious action while being thoroughly unamused at anyone’s attempt to defend said culture.