Sex Offenders and Their Law Enforcement Defenders
Not to be a downer during this week of Super Bowl countdown revelry, canada goose outlet but it is an opportune time to canada goose jacket outlet toronto cast an even canada goose outlet florida brighter spotlight on the open secret of the NFL’s feeder system: those in the ranks of certain high school and college football players who double as sex offenders, and whose communities routinely give them a pass.
canada goose store I like football. I’ll be watching Sunday. But why do so many communities, so many cops and prosecutors, treat high school and college football players as though the law does not apply to them? canada goose store
For an answer to that question, let’s examine the formative years of a hypothetical footballer. We’ll call him Mike. The kid’s got speed, size, talent. He excels in Pop Warner they start them, in the “Tiny Mite” division, as young as five, as small as 35 pounds.
canadian goose jacket Mike shines in middle school, attracts college scouts during his sophomore and junior years in high school, gets home visits from head coaches during the signing period of his senior year. He wins a fulltime athletic scholarship at a school known for the strength, bank account, and prestige of its football program, and for its record as a prime recruiting ground for NFL players. canadian goose jacket
From at least high school on, Mike is on a pedestal. He’s helping the local team win ball games, and championships. He’s a BMOC. He’s special. And knows it. Some of these officials are alumni of the local canada goose outlet sale high school and/or the college or university. They’re fans, if not fanatics.
Canada Goose Online So when All American Mike slips a young woman ecstasy and against her will or without her knowledge, has sex canada goose factory outlet vancouver with her he has committed a crime, a serious crime. Yet, the police soft pedal Mike’s offense, or wash it out completely. Canada Goose Online
Let’s say the police do the right thing. a thoroughly investigated case of Mike’s alleged offense. Now, it’s the prosecutor’s turn to fail, by protracting the charging decision, and by demanding additional evidence, far more than if the alleged offender sold shoes or framed houses for a living.
Mike’s case has now hit the papers, and TV and radio. The prosecutor’s delays allow Mike to suit up for the next game, the next, and the next, and the one after that. Weeks then months pass. Then, even with DNA and other overwhelming evidence, the prosecutor declines to prosecute.
Canada Goose Parka So, Mike goes on with his life, convinced he’s untouchable. He signs a multimillion dollar NFL contract. Canada Goose Parka
Canada Goose Outlet Meanwhile the victim and her family suffer shame, humiliation, financial and emotional ruin. Canada Goose Outlet
buy canada goose jacket It is not uncommon for a sexual assault victim to be so traumatized she can’t finish school, get a job or return to work. She’s lost her capacity to trust, to forge loving and canada goose outlet london uk lasting relationships. Some, like the 19 year old woman, who last August, nine days after she reported having been sexually attacked by a Notre Dame football player, kill themselves. Coaches, teachers, professors, athletic directors, alumni and other boosters, campus cops, fawning sports reporters, and university presidents, parents and friends can and often do collude with a system that excuses violent sexual assaults. (And drug dealing, kidnapping, hit and run violations, drunk driving, home invasion robberies, dope ripoffs, theft, animal abuse, child neglect, domestic violence, even murder.) buy canada goose jacket
canada goose clearance sale For the canada goose parka outlet record, as chronicled in Scoreboard, Baby, Seattle police detective Maryann Parker did a superb job investigating allegations that Jerramy Stevens, a walk on water tight end for the Washington Huskies, raped and sodomized a young virgin at a Sigma Chi party in June of 2000. In fact, following a jacketstockk SWAT operation, Parker and her colleagues did arrest Stevens. The canada goose outlet new york city King County Prosecutor’s office, following delay after delay after delay, during which time Stevens helped lead the Huskies to a 2001 Rose Bowl victory, ultimately declined canada goose outlet us to file charges. This, despite sufficiently strong evidence, including an eyewitness report, to let a jury decide. canada goose clearance sale
canada goose coats on sale Also for the record, most police officers are honorable, committed to doing the right thing. The same could be said of prosecutors, and other members of that 2000 UW team. And of every high school, college, and pro team in the land. Which makes it all the more tragic when the reputations of respectable cops, prosecutors, and law abiding players are tarnished by teammates canada goose discount uk who believe they are above the law. canada goose coats on sale
There’s something terribly wrong when a cop behaves more like a fan, and a prosecutor more like a defense attorney in the face of such onerous crimes.
I have no doubt that young “Mike” will enter the NFL with the same sense of entitlement and power that comes from being a celebrated athlete. Having not been held to account for his past crime(s), he will likely commit more in the future.
How do we stop it? Simple: stop treating athletes as gods. Given probable cause, arrest them. With sufficient evidence, charge them. Upon conviction, kick them off the team and out of school that’s in addition to whatever jail time they get.
canada goose uk black friday Not until these privileged few feel the sting of lost earnings, a wrecked career, and at least a tiny dose of the shame they have visited on their victims will we see any real improvement canada goose uk black friday.
