Abusers, enablers, and glory

He’s a predator, no doubt.

He stalks a victim, grooms a victim, lures a victim. He’s a master of charm, deception, distraction.

Hey, look over here. A championship. A scholarship. Golly, would ya look at that. It’s a seat on the national team. A shot at Olympic glory.

Nothing else to see here. Just a string of winners.

Bring those kids, parents. Give ‘em to me. I’ve got what it takes to get ‘em to the top.

Pay no attention to the sick son of a bitch behind the curtain.

A guy you’ve never heard of made headlines last month:

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/a-coach-accused-again-and-again/ 

Not patriotic: USRowing has some work to do.

Continue reading “Abusers, enablers, and glory”

Courage and Redemption

Room 103
– A Title IX Drama –

Room 103 is a stage play set on a contemporary college campus. Warning, what follows involves sexual violence, courage, entitlement, narcissism, and the troubling level of privilege we afford student athletes.

Title IX, signed into law over fifty years ago, is well-known for requiring gender equity in college sports. It goes way beyond that, prohibiting discrimination and harassment on the basis of sex among all students in schools that receive federal funds. Sexual assault is a violent form of discrimination and harassment, and is investigated by the school’s Title IX enforcement office separately from any criminal charges that may be filed.

Many thanks to the survivors of sexual violence whose courage is the inspiration for this work.

Continue reading “Courage and Redemption”

Room 103 Act I

Room 103
– A Title IX Drama –

Room 103 is a stage play set on a contemporary college campus. Warning, what follows involves sexual violence, courage, entitlement, narcissism, and the troubling level of privilege we afford student athletes.

For a cast list, scene summaries, and basic stage instructions, please click here.
All material copyright (c) 2023 by William Walker. Contact at rubycreekboathouse@gmail.com

 

Act I

Scene 1

Room 101 – Barbara Woods’ office, untidy, stacks of papers, cheap furniture: desk, conference table, 8 chairs.

Barbara Woods, preparing for an interview, sits at her desk urgently reviewing papers. If stage allows, could show Nancy Doe waiting next door in Room 103, in shadows.

PAULINA NETTLES (knocks, enters, seems harried):            What are you doing, Barbara? Aren’t you coming?

BARBARA WOODS (baffled):            Coming where?

PN:                  Barbara… softball stadium. There’s a-

BW:                 Oh yeah. Can’t. I’m booked. Got an interview waiting in 103. With another in 105 right after.

PN:                  President Clemons just called. He expects us all there. He’s not gonna be happy.

Continue reading “Room 103 Act I”

Room 103 Act II

Room 103 
– A Title IX Drama –

Room 103 is a stage play set on a contemporary college campus. Warning, what follows involves sexual violence, courage, entitlement, narcissism, and the troubling level of privilege we afford student athletes.

This is Act II. To start at the beginning, please go to Act I here.
For a cast list, scene summaries, and basic stage instructions, please click here.
All material copyright (c) 2023 by William Walker. Contact at rubycreekboathouse@gmail.com

 

ACT II

Scene 1

A week later – August 3
Leaving Room 101

Pop Hughes and Welly Harris, outside Barbara Woods’ office

POP HUGHES (pacing):    Suspended? It’s the first week of August! Three months delay, for this! You’re suspended?

Continue reading “Room 103 Act II”

Courage… Step by Step

What Is a Girl Worth?: My Story of Breaking the Silence and Exposing the Truth About Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics – by Rachael Denhollander

Available from Amazon in hardcover, Kindle version, and audiobook.
Or from your local library.

The specifics of what he did… Horrendous. Enraging. It’s all laid out in the book. The callous disregard for the well-being of the very athletes he was famous for treating. The brashness to violate girls right there in the exam room with their mothers a few feet away. The manipulation of their minds to believe he was doing nothing wrong, that they were twisted if they said something about it. The sheer numbers of girls and women he assaulted. Continue reading “Courage… Step by Step”

Another day in gym class

“I mean, it was fifty years ago, so…”

The old guy’s eyes are tired. Exhausted, desperate, like it’s fifty years of poison.

I sip my beer and try to stay calm. “Why does that matter?”

“C’mon, it’s just the way they did things then.”

“They say the same thing about slavery. OK. Does that make it right?”

“Well… well, hell no. But nobody ever complained, nobody ratted him out to their parents. If it happened to me, I mean it didn’t, but if it did, my parents and the school principal and everyone else would be like, ‘hey he’s a teacher, that’s his job, you shouldn’t have screwed up, and you wouldn’t have gotten it.’ And everyone else knew it too.”

Photo cred: The Atlantic

“Gotten it? What’s ‘it?’” Continue reading “Another day in gym class”

Football bonding: fun or sex abuse?

So it took a couple days to get my head around this one.

According to the Seattle Times, Bothell High School football players have a hazing tradition called Rape Squad. Now, yes, today, in 2019. It’s a not-so-secret, boy-on-boy pranking thing, and it’s got the community outraged. The fellas call it “jubies.”

Bothell: Nice leafy suburban school. With a creepy criminal secret abusive bonding ritual.   (Google)

Continue reading “Football bonding: fun or sex abuse?”

Abuse looks like this

This is what abuse looks like, and it’s not even about the abusers.

Where would abusers be without their enablers?

Will we ever have the courage to look in the mirror and realize who the enablers are? But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s circle back to that in a minute. Meanwhile grind your teeth at a few examples.

Kathie Klages, comfortably retired. Maybe.

Michigan State University has been front and center in the Larry Nassar scandal. But how did he get away with it for so long? Continue reading “Abuse looks like this”

Too little too late, Mister Pope


It is I, Francis, your shepherd. Hear me, I have spoken.

Great news, Catholics. This week in pedophilia, your very own Pope Francis wrote you a nice letter. A letter too long coming, a letter strong on intention, a letter too weak on real-world action.

As reported by BBC, His Holiness penned the message after a sharp kick in the ass from the Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Continue reading “Too little too late, Mister Pope”

Target Practice

Readers: This piece is full of metaphor. Please don’t go shooting anyone. Thank you.

Where’s the bad guy?

Been going to the gun range once a month. Not in a flag-waving, Second-Amendment, don’t-tread-on-me way. Just a nice thing to do with friends, then we go out to dinner, talk about our kids, families, stuff that really matters. It’s a better Friday date night than a movie or a church potluck. Continue reading “Target Practice”