Another violent act, more weak discipline
Before Les Miles could talk about how his offensive and defensive units were shaking out or how he is rebuilding a program that hasn’t tasted success in years, the new Kansas football coach had to address a more serious issue.
Miles on Monday used his opening statement at Big 12 Media Days to defend the decision to reinstate running back Pooka Williams Jr. and give him a one-game suspension for a misdemeanor domestic battery charge filed in December.
Miles said the star player “has taken responsibility” and “been remorseful.”
“No violence against a woman is OK,” Miles said. “I did not make this decision, but I stand by it and see it as a right one.”
Later in the day, Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley fielded a few questions about Kennedy Brooks, a Sooners running back who this summer was accused of physical violence by a female student.
There are a lot of lingering questions and missing information when it comes to both cases. The only thing that is clear is that when it comes to discipline for athletes who engage in violence, things are very unclear.
At some point, the situation has to change. When there are no cut and dried policies in place and Title IX investigations vary by institution, there is no consistency.
Sexual and domestic assault of college students is an epidemic. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, one in five women is sexually assaulted in college. Additionally, 32 percent of college students report having experienced dating violence.
When these incidents occur, they are often reported to the campus Title IX office, sometimes to local police, and occa
sionally to both.
When an athlete is involved, athletic department officials are notified at some point and then left to their own devices to come up with adequate discipline.
Thus, what happens at one school might not at another. What happens one year with an athlete might not happen the next. There is no clarity and no consistency. While it causes problems in fairness, it also keeps fostering a culture in which these cases aren’t taken seriously enough.
If an athlete was clear on the fact he or she would be removed from a team or suffer long suspensions and harsh consequences for committing an act of violence, culture would change.
But as is the case with Miles and Williams at Kansas, a one-game suspension is next to nothing for the preseason All-Big 12 player. It certainly won’t do much in the way of swaying other players to refrain from engaging in violent acts. The message is that if you assault another person, you’ll only have to miss one game.
Entering his first season with the Jayhawks, Miles is establishing the precedent that domestic violence is not that serious. His message in sticking to a one-game suspension says the victim doesn’t matter as much as winning football games does.
Williams was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence after the victim alleged she was “punched in the stomach, as well as grabbed by the throat,” according to the arrest affidavit. In March, Williams entered a 12month diversion agreement. Charges will be dropped if he completes it.
The agreement requires Williams to have no contact with the victim, undergo a domestic violence assessment, complete an anger management course, complete 40 hours of community service, and refrain from alcohol and drug use for the 12-month period. In addition, the university issued its own sanctions. Williams is on probation until graduation and will have to attend monthly meetings with a university conduct officer, perform an additional 40 hours of community service, and complete a sexual accountability course.
While it appears Williams is being disciplined and taking some courses that hopefully will help him, the punishment is not enough. A one-game suspension is laughable for this offense, and Miles is sending a terrible message.
“Violence will not be acceptable with women, period,” Miles said at Media Days.
If that were true, Williams would be missing much more than a seasonopening non-conference meeting with Indiana State, a FCS member.
Here’s where things get dicey. Kansas and Miles did adhere to the Big 12’s policy on serious misconduct, which requires decisions on player eligibility not be made by athletic department officials, including coaches.
Part of that policy is good. Coaches and athletic department officials should not be involved in the Title IX investigation process. Investigations should be left in the hands of individuals who have no rooting interest in the outcome.
But the results and findings should be passed along to coaches and/or athletic department officials so adequate punishments can be implemented.
Brooks was cleared by the Title IX office at Oklahoma. Riley said Monday he wasn’t involved or updated at all on the case.
It’s good that he wasn’t involved in the investigation, but Riley should be updated on the findings. After the way OU botched the whole Joe Mixon incident, athletic department officials should be involved in making sure players are properly punished. Mixon, who in 2014 punched a female student in the face, should have been released from the team based on the information the athletic department had.
That’s not to say Brooks is guilty of anything. But Riley is in charge of setting a culture among his team. He should be given all adequate information to do so.
If a coach can punish his players for everything from poor grades to skipped classes to breaking unspecified team rules, he should be able to decide when a player should either be dismissed or draw a multigame suspension for acts of violence.
All of this could be easier on athletic departments if clear policies were in place. Several schools have signed sexual assault survivor/advocate Brenda Tracy’s “Set the Expectation” pledge, which ties eligibility to behavior. The Big Sky Conference implemented a Serious Misconduct Rule, which prevents individuals with a history of violence-related convictions from receiving athletic-related financial aid or participating in practice or competition.
Miles has set a terrible standard to start his tenure at Kansas and failed to foster a better culture at the school. Every university should take a closer look at its Title IX policies and work toward rules that protect victims and give athletes and coaches clarity when it comes to discipline for these actions.
Every athletic conference should look at options for blanket policies that address sexual and domestic assault. Because the Big 12 doesn’t have a comprehensive policy, a player charged with assault will miss only one game.
It’s not enough.