The University of Minnesota has found itself in the middle of a scandal, after a female student accused ten other students of raping her. The courts did not find enough physical evidence to convict these ten players, but the University of Minnesota found enough evidence to suspend the ten players from all football activities. After this announcement was made, the entire University of Minnesota football team decided to boycott these actions, and refused to play in the Holiday Bowl scheduled on the 27th.
KSTP released a 23-page report of the incident that took place; it details the disturbing events that took place on that night. The football team’s reasoning for their strike was that since there was no reason for legal prosecution, they should not be suspended. They argued that the reputations of these ten boys were ruined and that the suspension violated their constitutional rights. Their Coach Tracy Claeys tweeted his support for his athletes: “Have never been more proud of our kids. I respect their rights & support their effort to make a better world!”
After discussion between President Kaler and other staff members and the football team, the football team decided to cancel their strike. They do not regret their strike however, because it helped to bring national attention to the lack of due process and transparency in the situation. They believe that there is a problem with the way that men are treated when being accused of rape. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center stated that, “A review of research finds that the prevalence of false reporting is between 2 percent and 10 percent.” and NPR reported that the Hennepin County Attorney’s office is reviewing the case again.
This isn’t “brotherhood.” This isn’t sticking up for the team. This is not boys just being boys. This is Rape Culture. This is the idea that we should teach women and girls how to avoid being raped, instead of teaching boys and men not to rape. This is the idea that what a girl is wearing makes it okay for men to rape her. This is a world in which we have to invent a nail polish to make sure that nobody puts “roofies” in her drink.
While there may not be enough evidence at the moment for legal prosecutions, the fact is that the University made the decision to suspend these ten players for a reason. The football team’s protest lacks a regard for this decision—since the events took place at the beginning of September. If the University is deciding to suspend these ten players, there has to be some serious reason for doing so.
We urge women to report sexual assault when it happens, yet the court systems usually fail to convict alleged sexual abusers. Rainn reports that “97 of every 100 rapists receive no punishment.” The football team has continued to promote rape culture when they had the choice to either support their teammates or to stand up against what their teammates have reportedly done and support the victim in their time of need. To the victim: I support you, I love you, and I am sorry that this happened to you. You deserve to be believed, and you deserve to be happy.