Sexual assaults at college universities, big and small, are a big problem in the United States. Recently, the Department of Education released information showing
55 open cases of sexual assault around the United States. University of Oregon did not make the list, but they have a similar issue on their hands. Three Oregon basketball players are under investigation for an alleged forcible rape leading to their suspension.
The players were Damyean Dotson, Dominic Artis and Brandon Austin. These are names who should never be heard in a good light again. These are terrible people.
Read the police report before you read this blog post because you will see the horrifying things that took place here multiple times within a night. No one ended up being charged, but all players were suspended indefinitely until further notice. But the question is why weren't charges filed against these three individuals and why hasn't Oregon asked them to leave the program yet plus why isn't this a bigger story?
I am not an investigative reporter nor do I pretend to be, but reading the police report seems like the evidence is there to charge these individuals with some of sort of crime. We can go with the whole 'Innocent until proven guilty' but seems like it is laid out pretty clear as to what happened on that fateful night into the following day. It is incredible the findings in the police report didn't lead to charges. I don't know how that's humanly possible given all the details featured in said report. To play devil's advocate, the police might have believe her staying overnight plus her admission to having consensus oral sex the next day led to the police's decision. Although it is really isn't that simple.
If anything, the victim clearly scared out of her goddamn mind hung around and succumbed to the heinous acts that night because she didn't or couldn't fight it anymore which might be the most troubling part of the whole thing. Further, the morning after activities with Artis more has to do with her being terrified of what happened versus her willingly performing these acts on Artis. These men used their power and strength to overpower a helpless victim. All sexual assault and rape cases are troubling no matter the individual but when it is a situation where three or four men to one, it becomes even more disgustingly obvious what went on here.
"She's crying because we fucked her too hard."
That's a comment from the police report from Dotson, one of the best players on Oregon's basketball team. Let that comment sink in for a second. Even in the midst of raping a female with two of his teammates, Dotson still finds an opportunity to thump his chest like he just hit a game-tying 3-pointer with no time remaining on the clock. The oblivious nature of this individual is stunning and shows you just how little they care and respect women. Honestly, it sounds like a man whom would do it again without any sort of remorse. Every time something like this comes across the wire, you want things to change and be different yet there are still cases like this all over the country.
The real question is why Oregon basketball has decided to keep these players on the team. Even if they are never charged, how can they expect students to cheer on three probable rapists? Artis is apparently transferring to which I hope no school takes him on. But if Dotson and Austin return, people will cheer for them because they are sheep and want to keep their head in the sand. Yet the horrifying thought of seeing them get away with a crime like this and the attitude of nothing happening is alarming. According to Eugene Police Department, they asked the program not to suspend the players for the NCAA Tournament since the investigation was ongoing. I fail to see the connection truthfully. We see all the time players are suspended for 'violation of team rules' without knowing what actually went on. Why did Dana Altman not use his power to sit down these players? Blaming the police feels like a scapegoat.
You also have to wonder if this were the Oregon football team if the national media attention would be greater right now. It could be due to the week of the NFL Draft, but the lack of attention it has received across the country is amazing. We live in a culture where there is a fear to talk about sexual assault and especially terrible ones like what we saw at Oregon. These aren't notable players in the spotlight therefore the attention will not be there. Also it doesn't hurt Nike funnels so much money through this school meaning they can make sure things get buried into the ground before they ever really become a national news story.
Best case scenario is we will see what's happening at University of Michigan, happen at Oregon in the near future. Currently, the
Wolverine football team is under a Federal Government investigation for Brendan Gibbons rape case in 2009.
The story is pretty troubling as well including the things done by Taylor Lewan whom will be a first round NFL Draft pick on Thursday evening. With the increased focus on sexual assaults being an issue on college campuses in the Federal Government, maybe it will not take five years to look further into what happened in March at Eugene.
This story broke two days ago, but it really stuck with me more so than other cases. I don't know why maybe because I want to believe we as men are better than this and when I see something like this, it depresses me because I realize we are ions away from progress. Hopefully, this isn't the end of the story for these Oregon basketball players.
Charlie.
