Jenny Kutner, Salon:
But the video should not be necessary — at least not for us, for the public, to see. We should not need to watch footage of [Florida State University’s De’Andre] Johnson punching a woman in the face in order to entertain the possibility that a quarterback on one of the nation’s premier college football teams might have committed an act of violence. We have seen similar footage too many other times to write this off as implausible, and we have taken too many other opportunities to make excuses and poke holes.
The brutal images that got Johnson suspended indefinitely from the Seminoles and charged with a crime serve a purpose, and they could be key to securing justice. But they’re not the only clue that something is amiss in the sports world, especially and not exclusively. We should know by now that a [university-based] culture of virtually unchecked violence against women exists — and we shouldn’t need to watch a display of it on a loop to confirm our suspicions.
July 8th, 2015 at 7:55AM
“We should know by now that a [university-based] culture of virtually unchecked violence against women exists — and we shouldn’t need to watch a display of it on a loop to confirm our suspicions”
seems to miss the sort of pornographic thrill people get from watching such clips, see the whole industry of crippling tackles and flipping cars…
July 8th, 2015 at 9:48AM
“The sports world” is a world in which being good at sports is (very close to) everything. Performing and creative artists are cut a lot of slack too. You know who else has historically been cut a lot of slack? University students. What’s going on with college athletics specifically, I think, is that a “boys will be boys” attitude combines with a high valuation of athletic talent to justify bad behavior. Without that combination, for example if “college” teams were staffed by non-student pros, the whole enterprise might well be recognized as organized thuggery.