Cal has lost much more than a basketball game
What was supposed to be a glorious time for Cal basketball instead turned into an embarrassing week, one that ended Friday with an unexpected loss to Hawaii in the NCAA Tournament.
And now that the games are over, the Bears have to deal with the far more serious issue of sexual harassment within their program.
On Monday, assistant coach Yann Hufnagel was fired for sexually harassing a female reporter, following an investigation by the university. The athletic department has subsequently said it will investigate head coach Cuonzo Martin’s role in the
scandal.
Sadly, this is an all- too familiar story. A young female media member trying to make her way in the male- dominated world of sports is sexually harassed and made to feel unsafe by a person she needs to work with in order to do her job.
The difference in the story that emerged this week out of Cal basketball from many past stories is that, rather than grit her teeth and tolerate the abuse, the young woman in question did the right thing.
UC Berkeley is embroiled in several sexual harassment scandals. This particular one involves the athletic department but — because of the nature of sports and because of the timing on the eve of the NCAA Tournament — it has become the most high- profile.
Many questions in case
There are a lot of questions about the Cal case that led to the firing of Hufnagel. Such as why did the university — which started its investigation in July — wait until the Monday before the team’s NCAA Tournament appearance to release the investigation findings and take action? What did Martin do with the information he received from the young woman? What did Hufnagel mean when he told The Chronicle that he thinks he has a very strong case against the university?
And why is the school that prides itself on being “the finest public institution in the land” dealing with this troubling issue so frequently?
Sexual harassment is part of the landscape. It happens in every profession — just look at the lawsuits and scandals in the tech industry. It’s a frequent part of the sports world. I don’t know any woman working in sports who has not faced sexual harassment at some time, on some level. Sexual innuendo, propositions during the course of interviews, late night phone calls when on the road, explicit harassment in the workplace: Those are all part of the unofficial job description.
In the past, many of us have spent too much time tolerating such behavior. The reasons are many: We want to do our job and be successful, we don’t want to rock the boat, it’s implied that you have to be “one of the guys” to function in the sports world. We want to pass the tests. We walk a tightrope, deciding which disgusting behavior is worth fighting and which will be grimly tolerated.
Younger women are more likely to suffer such harassment. They feel they have more to lose at the beginning of their careers and don’t feel they have the leverage or position to be taken seriously.
But we live in different times. Young women feel more empowered. Sexual harassment and abuse are no longer a dirty little secret. And institutions and workplaces have specific rules prohibiting such behavior.
The young woman in question at Cal was trying to get her career in sports journalism started. She is smart, ambitious and self- confident. She tolerated some of the abuse, telling investigators that she did not see a viable option that would allow her to do the job ( Hufnagel was the unofficial press liaison for the team). In May of 2015, she contacted Martin, Hufnagel’s superior, about the harassment. She followed up again. Finally, six weeks later, in July, she followed up yet again when no action had been taken.
In the 23- page campus investigative report released this week, “Witness 1” — whom The Chronicle identified as Martin — said the victim did not provide details that constituted sexual harassment during the original complaint in May. The woman told investigators that she made it clear, both in May and July, she felt she had been sexually harassed.
In July, according to emails obtained by The Chronicle, Martin responded to the woman’s second round of inquiry with the following: “I addressed this when you original contacted me. Is there still an issue?”
There was still an issue, according to Cal administrators, who fired Hufnagel seven months later.
In other words, this young woman did the right thing. She didn’t meekly tolerate it. She reported it to the person in charge of the program and hoped he would do the right thing.
Problem Cal’s, not accuser’s
She is not to be blamed for how this played out. Not for Hufnagel’s behavior. Not for the prolonged length of the investigation. Not for the timing of the discipline. Not for Cal’s ugly loss to Hawaii.
But she’ll be blamed. It’s already happening around the Cal program. The whispers have started, denigrating the young woman by talking about her looks, her behavior, her motives. That’s the kind of behavior that keeps other young women from taking action, from doing the right thing. It’s the kind of behavior the powerful always use against the less powerful, as a way to marginalize and control. Sadly, that’s also a familiar part of an all- too- recognizable story.
But no matter what the whisperers say, this problem is Cal’s. Not the young woman’s.
Cal basketball lost a tournament game this week. The program and the university lost a lot more off the court.