Early education in sport is necessary in combatting negative talk among players
In October, an investigation into the Harvard men’s soccer team led by the student newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, revealed some shocking revelations.
Documents were discovered that showed members of the 2012 men’s team had created “scouting reports,” lewdly detailing the incoming class of athletes to the women’s soccer team. Upon further investigation from the University, it was discovered that the reports continued through 2016. This resulted in the cancellation of the men’s team’s season by the University administration.
The story came at a significant time, as conversation in the media was being dominated by Donald Trump’s excuse of “locker room talk” for his salacious comments. This meant that the discovery garnered massive attention from the media and social media users alike.
In the wake of Trump’s excuses, many professional male athletes came forward denouncing what Trump had said about locker room talk.It was good to see athletes stand up and say that those comments are not said in all locker rooms. However, the investigation into the Harvard men’s soccer team begs the question: What really is said behind closed doors?
The document, with the grossly detailed “scouting report” of the women’s soccer team, was circulated over email between teammates. The nature of this report was shocking and I cannot help but wonder if it’s not an isolated case. The unfortunate truth is that likely, this kind of report is being circulated somewhere else. Whether it’s by a sports team, in an office, or among a group of friends.
The women affected by this report released a statement and one quote in particular stuck out to me: “To the men of Harvard soccer and to the men of the world, we invite you to join us, because ultimately we are all members of the same team. We are human beings and we should be treated with dignity. We want your help in combatting this. We need your help in preventing this. We cannot change the past, but we are asking you to help us now and in the future.”
The women of Harvard soccer are right: we need to band together. Only with men and women working together can we create real change and opportunity to combat these kinds of disrespectful comments.In my opinion, this starts with better, more thorough education of young men and women on these sensitive topics.
Another way of preventing this kind of lewd behaviour comes with how universities communicate with their sports teams. Harvard set a precedent by cancelling the men’s soccer season and their swift response was respected by the larger community. However, what policies—if any—were set in place prior to this event?
Universities should communicate with their teams—both men’s and women’s—from the beginning of a season and throughout the year about ways of preventing, counteracting, and responding to this kind of talk.
It shouldn’t make you “cool” to follow along with what other people might be saying or doing. It should make you cool to stand up to your teammates, to tell someone when something that’s happening is wrong. The strongest way we have of fighting these events is to be proactive, to stop a situation before it goes too far, and to stop it from even beginning in the first place.
Photo by Mariah Bridgeman.