Pro Sports Can Help to 'De-Normalize' Sexual Violence

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Pro Sports Can Help to ‘De-Normalize’ Sexual Violence
6/2/2022 by Gail Dines and Jackson Katz
The male sports culture—one of the most influential bastions of patriarchal privilege—must take a bold and unflinching approach to star athletes who have perpetrated sexual violence.


The third annual Women’s March Iowa inside the rotunda of the Iowa State Capitol in 2019. (Phil Roeder / Flickr)

Professional sports leagues find themselves increasingly in a quandary: What to do about star players who face credible and often multiple allegations of sexual misconduct? The case currently lighting up sports talk radio, podcasts and social media is that of Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who signed a huge five-year contract several months ago for $230 million, even though he faces 22 civil lawsuits from women alleging sexual assault and abuse. Watson is reportedly meeting with NFL officials as their investigation into the allegations continues. Speculation is rampant about whether they will suspend him for a period of time—and if that penalty will be accepted as legitimate in the court of public opinion, or seen as merely a public relations exercise.

This professional football drama comes on the heels of a related dilemma that Major League Baseball (MLB) faced recently amidst several reports of sexual misconduct by star Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer. Surprisingly, MLB meted out one of the most severe punishments for sexual misconduct in its history. In April, Bauer was suspended for two full seasons for violating the League’s “Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy” for multiple allegations of punching, strangling and non-consensual penetration. Though he will not be charged with a crime, Bauer will lose about $60 million. (His case is currently under appeal.)

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Part of that robbery is subtle, and in some cases turns on language. Media coverage of sexual violence is often clouded by misuse of the term “choking.” This activity is commonly depicted on major porn websites. Pornhub today features almost 8000 #choking videos, all freely available at the push of a button to anybody, regardless of age. Except it’s not choking by any medical definition. You choke when you chomp too hungrily on food. When someone has his hands around your neck, you are being strangled. Any pressure on the neck greater than, say, a tender kiss is a recipe for disaster. Oxygenated blood travels up your neck to the brain, and back down to the heart. Inside that plumbing—the carotid and jugular veins—is your airway. Mess with any of this for 10 seconds or more and you may fall unconscious; much longer, and you can die. Safe or consensual strangulation is as nonsensical as “safe drug overdosing” or “safe drinking and driving.” Strangulation, according to The Journal of Emergency Medicine, can result in such injuries as memory loss, vision problems, nose bleeds, miscarriage and suicidal thoughts. The National Domestic Violence Hotline adds vomiting and seizures. The Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention calls strangulation “an ultimate form of power and control, where the batterer can demonstrate control over the victim’s next breath.” Domestic violence professionals, in fact, increasingly recognize strangulation as a major homicide risk factor for women.

https://msmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/1612257218709-freaktok-1024x574.webp

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For this reason, it is especially important that the male sports culture—one of the most influential bastions of patriarchal privilege—takes a bold and unflinching approach to star athletes who have perpetrated sexual violence. The powerful message this sends to kids and adults is that men’s sexual violence against women is not “normal,” and will not be tolerated.

https://msmagazine.com/2022/06/02/deshaun-watson-trevor-bauer-sexual-misconduct-assault-abuse/