Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby discussed multiple issues pertaining to college football at Big 12 media day on Tuesday, including sexual assault, and his comments were baffling.
The biggest college football scandal this year has been Baylor’s cover-up of sexual assaults, which led to the restructuring of the university’s staff and management, including the firing of coach Art Briles. The whole situation was handled poorly. Yet when discussing the Big 12 and sexual assaults, Bowlsby said it’s unrealistic to suggest sexual assaults won’t happen because of raging hormones, alcohol, and drugs.
“But let it suffice to say as it pertains to all of our institutions, we are very committed as a group of ten schools to eradicating sexual assault on our campuses. It almost goes without saying that when you combine alcohol and drugs and raging hormones and the experiences of 18- 22 years old, it’s probably unrealistic to think that these kinds of things are never going to happen. But we certainly want to make sure that from the center we do everything we can to ensure that they are minimized, if not eradicated.”
It’s a ridiculous response by Bowlsby. Yes, sexual assaults on college campuses will happen, but it’s the piss-poor handling by universities and their athletic administrations (in this case) which is problematic. The Big 12 should be ashamed of how the Baylor scandal played out. The conference is culpable. It’s mindsets like his that explain why sexual assault isn’t taken more seriously. To dismissively blame sexual violence on youth youth is unfortunate coming from someone in a position with such power. We need to think about this as moral outrage to be stamped out at all costs, not an unsolvable example of “boys will be boys.”
Colleges need to be more responsible handling sexual assault allegations. With statements like Bowlsby’s, it’s clear the Big 12 needs to do much better.
[Deadspin]
