During high school football season last fall, the actions of a 16-year-old girl and two football players from Steubenville, Ohio, aged 16 and 17, went viral on social media as nude pictures or videos of an alleged rape started to appear online, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported in September.
The two athletes were charged with rape because prosecutors say the girl, who lives in West Virginia, was too drunk to consent to the sex that occurred after some end-of-the-summer parties in August. Defense attorneys admit a certain level of intoxication on the part of the girl but say she was able to make decisions for herself the whole time.
The trial has drawn attention from national and international media as a result of rumors that the athletes were getting preferential treatment because their school’s football team is often ranked highly in the state. Their coach, who text messages suggest knew about the sexual activities at the parties, is said to be an icon in the town, the New York Times reported.
Some organizations that aim to prevent sexual violence or care for victims of these crimes will take advantage of statements made by the defense as well as the widespread coverage of the trial, which opened Thursday, to discuss common myths about sexual assault and blaming victims for the crimes.
Katie Hanna, for instance, executive director of the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence, said her organization will be one of several media outlets and advocates crammed into the juvenile courtroom, where a single judge will hear the case without a jury present. Ms Hanna told the Plain Dealer she is concerned about the reports of bystander intervention—or, really, the lack of it—in this case. Teens witnessed, recorded, and posted the sexual activity but did nothing to stop it.
At an earlier hearing, two teens were asked why they didn’t step in to stop the sex. One testified he “didn’t think it was necessary.” Another said, “I didn’t know what to do.” Another said he was told, “It’s okay, don’t worry,” by a friend after suggesting they wait until the girl woke up.
Editorial
As every adult in the town should know, it was clearly necessary to intervene on the girl’s behalf. This earlier testimony highlights the kind of education badly needed among teenagers. This “it’s OK” attitude, even if these were the very best football players (they weren’t) in a town where high school football is what you do, has to be brought to an end through education and awareness programs.
Furthermore, if you have reason to believe some activity you’re witnessing might just be a felony, such as rape, many states, including Ohio, have laws that make it a crime not to report it. Attorney General Mike DeWine has indicated that other individuals might be charged in connection with these incidents after the rape trial has concluded.
The case has also drawn so much attention because it resembles the child sex abuse case of Jerry Sandusky at Penn State last year. In both cases, there was sexual violence and a famous school football program. Following the red herring, some exaggerated media reports suggested people were more focused on protecting the football program than on preventing sexual violence. This is not the problem here, and focusing on that aspect will prevent real solutions.
Let’s bring it back down to Earth: First, these two athletes weren’t exactly the stars on the football team. They were on the football team—and football is important to Steubenville, as it is to many steel towns—but some reports I’ve read suggest people would rather cover up a rape than tarnish the reputation of a football program. An interesting theory, that story line can’t possibly be true, as detailed in this NPR report.
Second, propagating inaccuracies about cover-ups and crimes does a great disservice to the many amazing sports programs in schools across America and to the healing process for victims of these crimes. There are too many reporters writing about rape who don’t have the first clue why the crime is such a big deal. I can’t blame the media, since they’ll get a story by sending the cheapest reporter to cover it that they can get away with, but at some point, professionals need to step in.
This is a general trend in education reporting as well: people who don’t have the first clue how kids learn or why they go—or don’t go—to school are commenting on education policy. And with every hyperbolic or even erroneous report, the media does a great disservice to the public and to our public schools.
The New York Times reported that the two teens were found guilty in this case, here.