Opinion: Sports Culture Is Impermissibly Toxic

How society upholds instances of sexual assault, homophobia, and toxic ideas of masculinity through a skewed lense of athletic prowess

Friday Night Lights, Black-Out-Theme, Homecoming, Signing Ceremonies, and the canonization of athletes on placards across campus are synonymous with the idolization of male athletes despite possessing allegations of abuse, sexual misconduct, harassment, and dishonorable actions against vulnerable populations on high school campuses.

The social hierarchy of athletes’, is further problematic when it comes to the treatment of victims and advocates of victims when it comes to repercussions they face socially. It is often that those who speak out are told not to, blacklisted, and ostracized because of the flawed belief that their voice will “ruin the lives” of their rapist, bully, abuser, etc. By continuing to deify those who hurt others it creates an all-consuming cycle of abuse, on and off the field.

For those who have been sexually assaulted, it is already hard enough to speak up, but that struggle is made further prominent when your assailant is a star athlete. Jane Doe 1 said, “A prominent athlete sexually assaulted me; the mental anguish that I experienced was already severe but was not made any better by the fact that people continued to defend him, and felt like the “fuss” that I was causing could unfairly ruin his future careers”. 

The response is often unfriendly after misconduct accusations begin to circulate amongst students. Many regard the victim as a “snitch”: a malicious person looking to diminish the future of their rapist, and are told they are “taking too much of what he has going for him”. Jane Doe 2 said, “After people began talking about what a boy on the football team allegedly did [rape], many other students got upset and told me to stop spreading rumors and that I could ruin the football player’s future and reputation; nobody expressed remorse or even believed the victim, students were split.” 

Overall, because of how deeply rooted the idea that school spirit stems from the performance of athletes is, and by proxy, how many people put athletes on a pedestal, they can often evade punitive consequences. This paradigm continues to silence victims, administrators, and those hoping to speak up because of the social consequences they face. 

However, the issue is not consolidated to sexual assault but disadvantages students based on a multitude of identities. Aside from women, one of the most commonly targeted minorities on campus is their homosexual peers. One of the hallmark experiences of being openly gay on campus is often bullying and harassment in athletic spaces, most notably occurring in locker rooms, sports games, PE classes, and sports practices; according to the Trevor Project, 49% of LGBTQ high school students have been bullied, with 29% of those going on to attempt suicide. In an interview with an anonymized openly gay high school student, John Doe said, “Since middle school, I have been picked on because of my sexuality, being called effeminate, weak, gross, and obviously, the F-slur, most of this bullying occurred when I was in all-male spaces such as locker rooms and PE classes, although the instances where the bullying became physical, such as being groped and shoved, was done by boys who were extolled athletes and acted as ring-leaders to this harassment.” The recurring theme of insults and taunts being hurled at gay students is encouraged by the way athletes are coached and riled up by both their coaches and teammates. The notion of poor athletic performance is associated with the skewed perception of sexual orientation among athletes. Many associate being gay with simply being feminine, which in hand equates to physical weakness; not only is this idea misogynistic, but it is indicative of toxic ideals of masculinity perpetuated by coaches, teammates, and sports culture, given it is a day-to-day occurrence to overhear athletes using homophobic and derogatory language.

According to a 2015 study, 78% of people believe that, “an openly gay man would not be safe in spectator stands”, with an additional 80% saying that, “they have witnessed or experienced homophobia in sport”.

Many coaches and athletes alike commove students by intertwining hetersexuality with “what it means to be a man”. Grouping gay men in with women who they collectively insult and diminish.

A reasonable solution to these issues is not using blanket statements of condemnation or support on behalf of administrators but actively dissenting from exalting the accused in the name of spirit and rerouting that support to those fighting for accountability and social justice for women, gay men, and other marginalized by athletic culture. As a society, we must divert away from the narrative that athletes do no wrong, and enforce accountability, for we are the forefront of change.