I have written on this topic several times on my blog, and I believe that besides the use of steroids and other drugs among athletes, sexual harassment in sports is one of the top issues that brings about PR crises and nightmares. For example, look at what is happening with Isiah Thomas and his sexual harassment suit. In this case, the jury found Thomas guilty of sexually harassing a former Knicks employee. Another example also in the news is the sexual harassment suit against UNC soccer coach Anson Dorrance, which first was brought up by a former UNC soccer player in 1998.
These two cases have many similarities to them. Both of these women involved in their cases were saying that the coach was making unwanted comments and advances to them. Both of these coaches had previous accounts brought up against them for sexual harassment from different people. But, there is a difference, the former employee had the choice to leave the Knicks, but the college athlete at UNC had limited options on where to go. She was dismissed from the team and she probably wouldn’t have gotten a release from UNC, so she would have had to sit out a year if she decided to go to another school. Another challenge that women in these similar situations also have to be aware of are those women that say “yes,” which I categorize as “honeybuns.”
In my opinion, I believe that the NCAA and all of the universities need to have a very strict code for coaches when it comes to the issue of sexual harassment. It should be plain and simple– just don’t do it. And if you do, you better be prepared to face the consequences.
So what does this say? It says that sexual harassment is an issue in athletics, and these organizations and teams have to be aware of it, and be proactive to make sure that it does not happen to them.
These are just a few things to think about. I hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen 🙂
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