Another sports sex scandal?
Don’t be surprised: sex sells

March 19, 2004
by Mike Moore
Staff Reporter

Here we go again.

Another controversy, another investigation, and another shockwave rips through the media. Isn’t this getting a little old? If we have learned one thing about the sports world and the society it operates in, it should be that nothing is impossible, especially when sports and sex unite.

Allegations have surfaced from Colorado University that football recruits were taken to parties with strippers and served alcohol. Before long, more accusations arose concerning sexual harassment and even rape. Meanwhile, head football coach Gary Barnett played dumb, denying he knew anything about the parties or the circumstances surrounding the sex crimes.

While this information may appall the public, my question is simple, “Is it really that big of a surprise?”

Put yourself in the shoes of a Division I football recruit. You’re 17 or 18 years old, leaving home for probably the first time. You fly first-class across the country to some of the most tradition-rich schools. You are surrounded by people whose sole job is to remind you how great you are and how bad their program needs you. When you fly home are you going to consider class sizes or the past night’s “college experience?”

Most Division I programs recruit talent, not character. They are looking for players who can run the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds, not players who help old ladies cross the street.

Oh, yeah, and the other thing, SEX SELLS!

It’s amazing how every major media outlet, from CNN to ESPN, has covered this story with such surprise and ignorance. Reports include former players who explain how crazy parties and endless nights of arranged sex attracted them to certain schools.

Let’s think about this logically. If one program is competing with another for the same recruit, they’re not going to take that player to the library and show him how many books the school has. Does this make what major universities are doing right? Of course not, but it cannot be a surprise.

Schools, including Albion, have certain rules and restrictions concerning overnight recruits and what is and is not allowed. The University of Colorado, in a desperate attempt to repair its reputation, instated rules including 24-hour chaperones, and an 11 p.m. curfew for recruits on campus visits, all of which will be strictly enforced.

Which brings up the ultimate question: Who is to blame for all of this?

The recruits for playing along? The schools for turning a blind eye? Or society for being ignorant to the truth?

We all have to wake up, join reality, and understand that we live in a society saturated with sex and compelled by sports. We keep sports stars on pedestals, often considering them heroes and always giving them the benefit of the doubt, something we cannot afford to do.

So what’s next, baseball players using steroids?