Two protests of rape culture mark college football Saturday

This past Saturday, Rice and Temple fans decided to stop normalizing and ignoring rape culture and sexual assault on college campuses.

In front of a sparse-but vocal crowd, Rice University took on mighty interstate rival Baylor — both on the field and during the halftime show. But while the Owls had few answers for the Bears’ high-octane offense, falling 38-10, it was what happened between halves that proved a far more noteworthy performance.

Featuring comments by the stadium announcer and several marching band formations related to Title IX — the federal law that prevents discrimination on the basis of sex, including sexual violence, sexual assault, and sexual battery — Rice’s halftime show reminded the country of just how far their rival’s star has fallen.

Baylor, of course, has been mired in a sexual-assault scandal since August of 2015. The crisis eventually mushroomed enough to warrant the dismissal of head coach Art Briles, whom many accused of standing idly by while numerous football players were accused of rape.

By Sunday, Rice had apologized for the performance, saying in a statement:

"The Marching Owl Band, or MOB, has a tradition of satirizing the Rice Owls’ football opponents. In this case, the band’s calling attention to the situation at Baylor was subject to many different interpretations. Although the band’s halftime shows are entirely the members’ projects with no prior review by the university administration, we regret any offense, particularly if Baylor fans may have felt unwelcome in our stadium."

Recently, Briles issued his own, decidedly more woeful apology for his role in covering up sexual-assault allegations, tacitly allowing for retaliation against at least one victim, and discouraging others from bringing their reports forward.

In an ESPN interview, Briles never used the words “rape” or “sexual assault”, insinuating that his only responsibility was indirect because of his role as coach. Even worse, Briles said that if he met the victims, he hoped they “would have a good cry session, and then a talk session, hopefully, a hug session, because it just appalls me that someone could victimize another human being.”

His apology came on the heels of a statement he gave in August, where he claimed, “I’ve been in it 38 years, and I’ve done, you know, lived the right way for 60 years of my live. I’ve never done anything illegal, immoral, unethical.”

In light of Biles’ lame apology, it was wrong of Rice to apologize for calling attention to Baylor’s transgressions and the larger, insidious problem of rape culture on college campuses. Though some construed the school’s halftime show as making light of sexual assault, the alternative would have been to ignore and normalize one of the most egregious (known) examples of rape culture on college campuses today.

While the Rice marching band was reminding its fans about the seedier shadows of big-time college athletics, Penn State was busy whitewashing its own history, honoring former coach Joe Paterno during their game against Temple.

Paterno, of course, coached at Penn State from 1950 until he was fired in 2011, leading the team to two national championships during his tenure and a record of 409-136-3.

During his time at Penn State, Paterno’s defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, abused numerous children, some in the football team’s facilities. Just as Briles was at the helm of the Baylor football program during his university’s mishandling of mounting rape allegations, Paterno was the de-facto Prince of State College.

The 2012 Freeh report on the incident specifically called out Paterno, calling him “an integral part of this active decision to conceal.”

The report elaborated on Paterno’s possible motives:

"In order to avoid the consequences of bad publicity, the most powerful leaders at Penn State University- Messrs. Spanier, Schultz, Paterno and Curley- repeatedly concealed critical facts relating to Sandusky’s child abuse from authorities, the Board of Trustees, Penn State community, and the public at large… In short, nothing was done, and Sandusky was allowed to continue with impunity."

In other words, Paterno sacrificed the safety of children in order to preserve his image. Saturday, many a Nittany Lion faithful carried on with their delusional worship of the late football coach, despite his role in the Sandusky scandal.

In response to Penn State’s decision to honor Paterno, Temple fans turned their backs.

Truth be told, more people should’ve followed the lead of these Temple fans. Instead, many chose to perpetuate the culture established by Paterno — a culture now sadly steeped in denial and delusion.

By burying their heads on the sidelines, the Biles and Paternos of the world make it possible for rapists and pedophiles to continue carrying out their heinous crimes. When the leaders of any community — be it a college-football-loving campus or a nation of millions — are more invested in protecting perpetrators than they are the victims, they’re doing more than merely turning a blind eye. They’ve become accomplices.

While perpetrators are responsible for the crimes they commit, people like Biles and Paterno are responsible for under-valuing, or outright ignoring, the reporting.

Just as more and more athletes are choosing to protest during the national anthem, perhaps Saturday’s events will spark more displays of righteous anger towards the sickening scourge of sexual assault, and the powerful people who seem more interested in covering up than standing up.