The Minnesota football team are boycotting football for their accused ‘brothers’, and it’s bullshit

A woman has claimed she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by as many as 12 University of Minnesota football players after the team beat Oregon State. The police decided not to charge the players so it’s now gone to a Title IX case.

She filed restraining orders against six of the players because of the alleged assault, and ten have been suspended. But now the rest of the U of M football team, in what they seem to think is a valiant stand, want to boycott football activity.

Whether or not what this girl is saying happened did actually happen is up to the court to decide. The Minnesota football team certainly don’t know, no matter how much faith they have in their “brothers.” To that end, this is the most insensitive way to react. I wonder if they will issue such a heartfelt and strong apology if the players are found guilty by the Title IX court.

Instead of allowing other victims of sexual assault to attempt move on with their lives, the team has made a public statement invalidating their terrible experiences. They have put athletics above trauma and it’s disgusting.

In the past year we have seen athletes receive special treatment in sexual assault cases. Starting with Brock Turner, who served a pitiful three months in jail, and now this. The idea these athletes are perpetuating is that punishment for sexual assault is less important than the success of college athletics.

With this act of protest, they are basically saying athletes are so infallible that there’s no way they can violate basic human rights because of their athletic prominence. It’s not up to the rest of the team to decide if they’re guilty, it’s up to the court.

This isn’t just immature boys either — the U of M football coach, an adult man — is supporting the team’s boycott.

It’s upsetting to think that these young men, who are looked up to and respected on campus do not understand the gravity of what their teammates have might have put this young women through.

Their boycott is further proof that society is not properly teaching young men about the inconceivable horror of sexual assault.

How would these “athletes” feel if their sister, best friend, or girlfriend was sexually assaulted? Would they still stand in solidarity with their teammates who have been accused of this? Or would they stand in solidarity with the victim and beg law enforcement to punish the players to the highest degree of the law?

And finally, how the fuck do you expect women to come to your game if this is how you treat them?