Intimidation tactic?

To the editor:

When powerful coaches testify to never seeing Kansas University’s Mark Mangino abuse a student-athlete, it looks to me like a campaign to intimidate victims from complaining of harassment. Similarly, calls for postponing investigating complaints during the season devalue students and, in effect, sanction abuse.

The university’s personnel guidelines clearly state that “personal harassment, abusive behavior, and violence are not tolerated.” Yet victims rarely complain because they fear retaliation: a lowered grade, loss of scholarship, and especially threats to their careers.

Another example. When women graduate students complained of sexual harassment by a professor, I naively asked why they didn’t file complaints. Fearing for their careers, they said that the prominent professor could damage their job search, getting tenure or a fellowship award.

Coaches’ support of Mangino and attacks on those complaining might have the same intimidating effect. The threat of retaliation is real; if you complain, you risk your future in football. The victims’ careers in coaching may already be jeopardized.

Don Fambrough told the Journal-World that investigating student complaints during the season is “the dumbest damn thing I ever heard of.” He is mistaken. If timely investigations are dumb, delay is dumber. We devalue KU’s integrity when we put off investigating complaints of harassment or abuse. Students speaking out show real courage, especially in the face of potential retaliation and multimillion-dollar coaches rallying to protect their own.

If defenders of abusive behavior by football coaches are correct, we should amend KU’s policy to read: “personal harassment, abusive behavior, and violence are not tolerated except by football coaches.”

Intimidation tactic?

To the editor:

When powerful coaches testify to never seeing Kansas University’s Mark Mangino abuse a student-athlete, it looks to me like a campaign to intimidate victims from complaining of harassment. Similarly, calls for postponing investigating complaints during the season devalue students and, in effect, sanction abuse.

The university’s personnel guidelines clearly state that “personal harassment, abusive behavior, and violence are not tolerated.” Yet victims rarely complain because they fear retaliation: a lowered grade, loss of scholarship, and especially threats to their careers.

Another example. When women graduate students complained of sexual harassment by a professor, I naively asked why they didn’t file complaints. Fearing for their careers, they said that the prominent professor could damage their job search, getting tenure or a fellowship award.

Coaches’ support of Mangino and attacks on those complaining might have the same intimidating effect. The threat of retaliation is real; if you complain, you risk your future in football. The victims’ careers in coaching may already be jeopardized.

Don Fambrough told the Journal-World that investigating student complaints during the season is “the dumbest damn thing I ever heard of.” He is mistaken. If timely investigations are dumb, delay is dumber. We devalue KU’s integrity when we put off investigating complaints of harassment or abuse. Students speaking out show real courage, especially in the face of potential retaliation and multimillion-dollar coaches rallying to protect their own.

If defenders of abusive behavior by football coaches are correct, we should amend KU’s policy to read: “personal harassment, abusive behavior, and violence are not tolerated except by football coaches.”