Editorial: Sports Don’t Always Produce Good Men

Time and time again, society has linked athletes with the same integrity and heroics of soldiers fighting for our freedoms. There is also the perception that only All-American men play sports and these individuals embody everything that is righteous in America, but the unnerving discoveries of athletes involved in sexual assaults leave a bitter taste in the mouths of skeptics.

Brett Kavanaugh, speaking before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, proclaimed that his pristine character is paramount in his variety of athletic endeavors. Referencing his career, nearly 50 times, in sports-based projects to demonstrate and exploit the American patriarchal fallacy that the quality of one’s personality correlates to their athleticism.

Kavanaugh has also attempted to deflect these allegations by often citing his experience as a volunteer girl’s basketball coach at Blessed Sacrament School in Brooklyn, New York. He used this in his defense by bringing some of his current players and parents during his testimony to Congress.

This appeared to be a cheap ploy to show that he could not have done the things he is accused of because of his relationship to these young women. And the Republicans on the committee played right into it. Instead of grilling him about the alleged sexual assault, Senators asked him about his experience as a youth basketball coach, attempting to portray him in as positive a light as possible.

With accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick, the Supreme Court nominee has been called upon to never instruct women’s basketball again. With such allegations, it is understandable why women may feel uncomfortable around him in such a setting.

By claiming he is a privileged athlete, Kavanaugh is trying to prove he is not capable of what the three women thus far have accused him of. Being a college athlete in no means should excuse the behavior he is being accused of.

Kavanaugh claims to love coaching his daughter’s team. In his opening statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, he blamed the committee for the fact he may never coach again, instead of taking ownership for the accusations brought against him.

Other scandals have caused the nation to initiate new training protocols for working with and coaching children. The nation is divided and faces a tough topic of debate: should accused sex offenders be allowed to coach youth sports, both genders, without prior investigation?

Athletes are not perfect. In recent years, more and more have been facing damning allegations. However, just because they are put in a higher tier due to their athletic ability does not mean they are not excused from the actions they partake in. Just because Kavanaugh was an athlete and a coach does not mean he is excused from the repercussions a ‘normal citizen’ would receive.

Kavanaugh is vying to become one of the highest-ranking officials in American politics. If he is unable to make a judgment over right and wrong, and the definition of consent, how will he be able to rule on history-changing court cases? Kavanaugh might’ve been an athlete, but he is also being accused of sexual misconduct, a serious charge and that should come with serious consequences regardless of social status.