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A headline from ESPN read, “Miami Dolphins won’t make trade for Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson.” This simple headline signified the buzz of the National Football League (NFL) trade deadline week and a premier star possibly on the move. However, a quick rewind of the tape and a short scroll through ESPN’s stories caused readers to bump into the buried lede of the article. The real story remains, the 22 active lawsuits against Watson alleging sexual assault or inappropriate behavior during massages. These lawsuits have not deterred teams from inquiring about trading for Watson and acquiring his elite football skills. This persistence of teams to attempt to play Deshaun Watson at quarterback may unearth a bigger issue, what should professional sports leagues and the media’s response be to active investigations into assault or sexual harassment charges?

TURNING BACK THE CLOCK

In 1997, three National Basketball Association (NBA) players, Antoine Walker, Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer were entangled in an assault case. These three young athletes were in the middle of a court case: Jane Doe v. Ronald Mercer, Michael Irvin, Chauncey Billups, and Antoine Walker. The case documents were open to the public after its proceedings and its eventual dismissal for each defendant. This 1997 case has resurfaced in 2021 because of the Portland Trail Blazers hiring of Chauncey Billups as their head coach. Billups was one of two coaches hired in the offseason who have had assault cases in their past, the other being Jason Kidd. Kidd, who pleaded guilty to spousal abuse among other charges, was hired by the Dallas Mavericks in 2021. Kidd was hired during the Mavericks own internal investigations, because of a sexist work culture and unsafe work environment that ranged from complaints of sexual harassment and domestic violence. Both of these coaches were hired over Becky Hammon, a head coach candidate and former assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs. Hammon, if hired as an NBA head coach, would become the first ever female NBA coach. Hammon eventually was hired to a record setting deal with the Las Vegas Aces of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). 

These two hirings and past controversy sparked the resurfacing of Billups’ settlement of his 1997 sexual assault case. The Trail Blazers defended their new head coach, releasing a statement and addressing the issue during Billups’ introductory press conference.

Neil Olshey, Portland’s president of basketball operations was quoted in Oregon Public Broadcasting’s article saying, “You’re just going to have to take our word that we hired an experienced firm that ran an investigation that gave us the results we’ve already discussed.” Olshey was referencing their investigation that cleared up the matter as completely in the past.

In the same article from Oregon Public Broadcasting, one of the original prosecuting attorneys shared that they were never contacted by the Portland Trail Blazers for information about the case.

The attorney, Margaret A. Burnham, said that she stands by the allegations from 1997.

In late 2021, Olshey was fired, just months after the interview that has been previously quoted. He was fired for alleged toxic and profane workplace behavior.

LOOKING AHEAD

This variety of cases does not deem all athletes accused of assault or violence against women guilty; however, the consistency of abuse or assault cases within professional sports provides opportunities for the leagues and media to respond in an ethically responsible way.       

Diana Moskovitz, Investigative Editor and Co-Owner of Defector Media and former journalist at the Miami Herald, had the opportunity to investigate Chauncey Billups’ case from 1997.

Moskovitz shared that, “There’s still so much more that can be done,” when referring to the media’s response to sensitive cases.

“I do feel like reporters, like any beat or any job, you have a responsibility to educate yourself,” Moskovitz said.

She continued on sharing the importance of educating oneself and approaching a topic head on even though it may be uncomfortable to whoever has to cover it.

One area of concern that she stressed was the fact that the media at times can feed into the fears victims of abuse might have. She referenced hesitations that victims have expressed about going public with claims of abuse and it being overlooked or not newsworthy.

Therefore, Moskovitz said again that it is very important not to brush over allegations or claims when it is a public figure, like a star athlete, because it can enforce those fears of speaking up.

Moskovitz taking on the challenge of covering an uncomfortable topic is an example of an ethical, important step that journalists can make. Moskovitz utilized resources that are available to the everyday citizen. She called the national archives and retrieved thousands of pages of court documents that were easily emailed to her for a small fee. This intricate, dedicated investigative work laid the foundation for her feature length work that delved deep into the murky details of the Billups case.

A telling excerpt from her feature posed an important question, “How could so little be known about a case that involved three NBA players, and two accused of sexual assault? At first I thought it must have been because the documents were squirreled away, hidden from public view. But that wasn’t the case at all. It was just because a woman saying she was sexually assaulted by famous men wasn’t deemed terribly important news.”

This excerpt provides a clear picture of the daunting but important task that journalists face, to bring stories to light that need to be told. Moskovitz shared that through her time utilizing the Nexis database and uncovering old articles from the time of the original case, that many headlines were about the athletes’ names being harmed. One headline from the Globe read that, “Celtics’ Walker: Accuser Sought Money.”

Instances of athletes abusing, assaulting or harassing women off the court may pop up on headlines often, but their feats of heroism on the field and court can overshadow any errors off of it.

Professor Guy Cunningham of Grand View University shed light on the topic of heroism and toxic masculinity that directly influences the ethical tension that exists with athletes and criminal cases.

Cunningham said in the context of cases of abuse that, “What you see with male athletes typically is because of their embodiment of masculinity, a sort of masculine heroics, is that they tend to get more of an excuse.”

Cunningham went on to say that athletes are “viewed as heroes probably more than anyone else.” This heroism can often cloud how the public perceives any wrongdoing and like Moskovitz clearly emphasized, an assault case involving famous men is not really newsworthy.         

This lack of newsworthiness is problematic, and it seems endemic to athletics more than any other sect of fame or power. When comparing the public’s response to other public figure abuse or assault cases, Cunningham said that, “Athletes get the pass forever, clergymen tend not to.”

A main theme of Cunningham’s point of emphasis and concern is that toxic masculinity and heroic virtues of a warrior are known elements in an historical context that are very difficult to remove or tear down. He recalled primitive stories in mythology of heroes being heralded for their accomplishments in spite of their destructive actions or faults in character.

The most telling thing that Cunningham was able to share was that in his experience within the context of treatment group settings with clergymen and athletes, athletes had an “insulating” and “god-like” quality about them in comparison to the irredeemable view of the clergymen. This insulating and god-like perspective of athletes can seep out into the public’s eye through the media.

LOCAL IMPACT

In Iowa there might not be as many large name cases with professional athletes but there are still a variety of abuse cases intertwined with public figures that impact many lives. Kirsten Faisal, director of training and technical assistance at the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, (ICADV) helps advocate for victims of abuse with different mediums of help.

Faisal, when sharing about the reality that victims of public figures might face, said that, “(They) certainly (will) not find justice in terms of the criminal system, that’s probably not going to happen, so instead thinking about what they need to heal.”

Faisal’s main focus on providing healing for those that have been abused by a public figure brings to light a glaring issue with how these cases are viewed, she said, “Putting it bluntly, those victims are screwed.”

This reality for abuse victims of public figures is in desperate need for a change. There needs to be an avenue for hope for victims like, Jane Doe in 1997 or those that have come forward in the Watson cases. Thankfully, until then, organizations like Faisal’s exist to provide support for victims when healing from the criminal justice system is not a feasible option. One avenue of change is within how the media responds and covers each story of abuse that comes to light with any celebrity. The media has an opportunity to boldly present facts within a case, celebrate victims bravely speaking out and give the public a chance to support victims. Providing hope for any victims in the future takes small, simple changes. For the media, turning a blind eye to abuse is no longer an option.