An exterior view of Norlin Library. (Alec Levy-O’Brien/CU Independent)
On Wednesday, April 5, a University of Colorado Boulder student-led organization, Students Against Campus Sexual Assault, held their final discussion panel of the 2023 spring semester.
This week’s panel focused on the existence of rape culture in athletics. Students Against Campus Sexual Assault has held a variety of similar events this semester, each focusing on sexual misconduct or health.
This discussion came in the wake of a CU Independent investigation which found CU Boulder football recruit Anthony “Deuce” Roberson II had been accused of multiple incidents of harassment, sexual assault and rape. Roberson was under investigation by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office when the CU Independent first published its story.
Roberson has been “away” from the team since late February and is not currently allowed on campus.
The discussion also coincided with the beginning of sexual assault awareness month.
Allegations against collegiate athletes, including Robersons, were one of the evening’s main points of discussion.
Participants in the discussion said they felt misconduct allegations were often ignored or treated as less serious when the perpetrator was an athlete, specifically in the case of football.
“It’s like these people have all these allegations against them and [they get] a free pass,” said Celine Long, a member of the CU women’s hockey team that attended the discussion. “If it’s football, it doesn’t matter for some reason.”
Other participants echoed this sentiment.
“[Football] is like a get-out-of-jail-free card,” said Elle LaPerle, another member of the women’s hockey team that attended the discussion. “It’s ridiculous.”
The discussion also covered related topics such as “locker room talk.”
Mia Ammond, the leader of the roundtable discussion, defined locker room talk as speech that “demeans women, fosters homophobia and glorifies violence.”
“It equates positive, athletic acts to derogatory and violent sexual acts,” Ammond said.
Participants discussed their ideas regarding why locker room talk, as well as rape culture in general, appear to be so persistent in the world of male-dominated sports.
“I feel like there are probably people that are uncomfortable with what is being said, but this sort of talking, like, we’re used to thinking they are the ways to homogenize the team,” Ammond said.
The discussion then allowed time for participants to share their ideas on raising awareness of rape culture in athletics or creating change, specifically on CU Boulder’s campus.
Suggestions included fighting for a zero-tolerance policy for sexual assault and harassment, hosting student-led protests and filming a social media video to spread awareness.
The majority of these suggestions centered around CU Boulder students themselves, with the goal of encouraging community members to learn how to take action against rape culture.
“If adults aren’t protecting us, and we don’t know how to protect ourselves, who will?” LaPerle said.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Jessi Sachs at jessi.sachs@colorado.edu.
