Utah State coach blasted for telling players ‘it has never been more glamorised’ to be a sexual assault victim
Blake Anderson’s apology Friday came the same week university police chief resigned over similar allegations
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Utah State University’s football coach has apologised for comments to his players made earlier this year in which he claimed it had “never been more glamorised to be the victim” of sexual assault.
Blake Anderson, 52, issued a statement on Friday regarding a talk he gave to students in August – a month after players attended Title IX-required sexual misconduct training.
In a 40-minute recording of the talk, Mr Anderson warned his players that they are a “target” for sexual assault allegations and “way more at risk” than others because they are athletes.
“You don’t need to put yourself in a position that you can create a victim,” he said. “And it doesn’t take a whole lot. So it scares the s*** out of me.”
The recording and statements by Mr Anderson were brought to light after a federal lawsuit was filed this month by Kaytriuana Flint, who claims the university mishandled her report of assault in 2019 and alleges it still protects players.
In his apology, Mr Anderson wrote: “In the course of that conversation, I used a phrase regarding victims of wrongdoing to magnify that message to our team, but after reading my comments in the transcript that was released, I realize my choice of words was hurtful.
He continued: “We have to do everything we can to encourage and protect anybody who has been the victim of a wrong, or whose personal rights have been violated. Anyone who knows me knows how strongly I feel about this.
“Giving victims a safe platform to address wrongs they’ve suffered is always the right thing to do, and something I’ll always stand for.”
The university - in the highly conservative and heavily Mormon state - said when the allegations surfaced that it would review the matter and that statements described by The Tribune were “not consistent with the university’s trainings”.
But the university in Logan, Utah – about an hour and a half north of Salt Lake City – has been embattled in recent years when it comes to sexual assault.
The same week as Mr Anderson issued his mea culpa, the university’s police chief resigned after a damning recording surfaced in which he suggested Mormon women were likely to wrongly accuse men of rape.
The recording, obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune - which has meticulously been following Utah State’s track record in sexual assault matters - features USU Police Chief Earl Morris speaking to players this fall.
He said athletes should ensure that sex was consensual, especially when with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS).
“He said LDS women will often tell their bishop that sex was nonconsensual because it’s ‘easier’,” the Tribune reported. “They might be feeling ‘regret,’ he continued, for having sex before marriage, which goes against the faith’s teachings of abstinence, so they’ll say it was assault.”
USU has such a dismal track record regarding sexual assault response that it attracted the attention of the Department of Justice - which reviewed the university’s policies, procedures, and responses to sexual harassment complaints over a more than four-year period,” the DOJ said last year in a release.
Complaints had been levelled against everyone at the school from athletes to frat boys to the music department.
Unsurprisingly, the DOJ concluded that USU “did not comply with Title IX”.
In an agreement reached between USU and DOJ, the school agreed to “revise its notice of nondiscrimination and all other relevant sexual harassment policies, procedures, and practices; respond promptly, equitably, and adequately to known sexual harassment that has created a hostile environment; and train students and employees on University policies and federal laws pertaining to sexual harassment, how and to whom they can report allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation, details on the resources available and how to access them, and the University’s Title IX grievance procedures and potential outcomes.”
Other conditions were applied, and USU said this month that it had “made a great deal of progress in our sexual misconduct prevention and response efforts over the last five years”.
Still, however, it added the caveat that “students and employees bring their own developed perceptions and beliefs around sexual misconduct with them to our campuses”.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments