It’s scary to think that, though the world is progressively moving forward, when it comes to women advancing in traditionally male roles (such as working as analysts, coaches, etc. in professional sports), we are standing still when it comes to basic rights. We find so many excuses to defend the people who make life scary for women in sports. From trolls on social media to open threats and even stalkers, women in sports deal with a number of different violence against women acts. Erin Andrew’s case is no different and possibly even scarier than the typical trolling story that so many of us are so used to hearing.
In 2008, while staying at a Marriott in Nashville, Tennessee, a stalker, David Barrett, used a hacksaw to cut out the peephole and take a video of Erin Andrews nude before leaking it on the Internet a year later. On February 29, 2016, Andrews was in court for an uphill legal battle against Marriott on negligence after they placed Barrett in the room right next to her after his request for the room. Andrews is suing the hotel for $75 million and has spoken about the long-term PTSD damages that her career and personal life have suffered since the release of the video. The defense in the case is trying to say that Andrews’ career only boomed after the video. For example, she signed a longer, better contract with ESPN after the video was released. This would mean that their defending argument is that this clearly horrified woman “benefitted” from being stalked with her privacy and personal safety being blatantly violated, so therefore the real winner out of all of this is her... the woman who has to fear traveling for work because of instances like this.
What’s even worse: shortly after Andrews was seen breaking down in the stands talking about her experience on Tuesday, Neal Peskind (the representative of Nashville’s Marriott) was seen at a restaurant with the leaked, nude video of Andrews playing. A bartender/server at the restaurant tweeted, before deleting it later, that Peskind was asked to shut the video off as it was disturbing and alleged comments were made such as the fact that the video was “costing him millions so he was going to show everyone.” The bartender claims that Peskind and his friends were watching the video and making fun of Andrews’ body. Disturbing, right?
Peskind’s legal team will tell you that he objected showing the video and that the video was not on his phone, but instead of his friend’s phone. The fact of the matter is, someone from the table was showing the video and it actually violates part of the court orders thus putting the case, which is expected to be put in front of a jury on Monday, on hold.
One of the saddest things is the fact that once again we are back to saying that the victim in this violence against women case has greatly benefitted from the violence that was performed against her and so she has no right to sue based on the clear negligence of the company. She’s famous, notably more famous now than then, so surely this was a great thing for her. The PTSD? It’s no big thing, right? Wrong! As a woman pursuing a career in sports media and journalism, I’ll be one of the quickest to advocate against these sorts of crimes. The end needs to begin somewhere and this is one of the best places to see justice start to be served. If you are a woman pursuing a career in sports or if you love a woman who is pursuing a career in sports, it’s important to recognize the fact that this needs to end. We need to stop making excuses for the perpetrators and spreading the negative of the situation. We need to show support to those suffering daily from trolling, stalking, and many other instances that we have seen in recent times.
