Sports and Media: A Platform for Racial Bias and Racial Disparities in America
Racial disparities in America are present in everything ranging from annual income to public education. One area in which these disparities are evident is the justice system and the media’s portrayal of such cases. These cases usually attract a high volume of media attention and coverage but the ways in which the athletes are convicted and are portrayed in the media largely differ based on the color of their skin. This paper discusses the racial disparities present in the media particularly regarding the treatment of white male athletes versus black male athletes. This paper focuses on white male athlete Brock Turner who was sentenced to six months in jail for raping a woman. His sentencing is further analyzed and contrasted to black athletes accused and convicted of similar crimes but given harsher sentences.
On the night of January 17, 2015 22-year-old and recent college graduate Jane Doe, whose name has been kept private and has not been released, traveled to the campus of Stanford University to spend the night out with her younger sister. What started out as innocent fun soon turned into a nightmare that would change her life forever. Jane Doe’s night would end in a blackout, sexual assault, and no recollection of the night’s events. Two cyclists and graduate students from Sweden, Carl Fredrik Arndt and Peter Jonsson, were biking by a fraternity when they noticed a man sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a dumpster. The man was Stanford varsity swimmer Brock Turner and the woman, Jane Doe. The two men intervened and Turner fled. He was chased and apprehended by the two cyclists who held him until the authorities arrived. Turner was intoxicated but could clearly recount the night’s events. His victim, however, was unresponsive and rushed to the hospital. Her blood alcohol concentration was later determined to be three times the legal limit. Turner’s was determined to be two times the legal limit. Jane Doe eventually regained consciousness but had no idea what happened to her. A rape kit was performed and she was told to go home. She would later find out secondhand what truly happened to her--by reading a news article she came across while at work, nearly a week after the incident occurred (Lombardo, 2016).
Turner was arrested and charged on January 27, 2015 with five counts of felony sexual assault: rape of an intoxicated person, rape of an unconscious women, sexual penetration by a foreign object of an intoxicated woman and assault with an intent to commit rape. He withdrew from classes and hired lawyers. He pleaded not guilty to all charges brought against him. His defense team argued that what happened between Turner and Doe was consensual. During preliminaries hearings, later that year in October, it was clear Turner was not going to back down. Two charges, rape of an intoxicated person and rape of an unconscious person, were dropped but he continued to plead not guilty to the three remaining charges (Lombardo, 2016).
In March of 2016, Turner was finally tried and the decision was unanimous. Turner was found guilty and convicted of all three remaining charges of sexual assault. However, presiding judge Aaron Persky sentenced Turner to six months in prison and three years’ probation. His argument, “prison would have a severe impact on him”. Persky heavily took into consideration statements given by both Turner and Turner’s father, Dan Turner. Persky did not seem to care at all for any statement given by the victim. Turner was released after serving merely three months of his original six (Koren, 2016).
Unfortunately, Brock Turner’s light sentencing is typical and common in the justice system. Turner’s case reveals racial disparities and inequitable treatment of male athletes due to race. White privileged males convicted of crimes are all too often given much lighter sentences, especially in comparison to their black male counterparts (who are sometimes wrongly convicted). According to article on Mic “Black men, on average, receive jail sentences 20% longer than their white counterparts accused of comparable crimes” (Noman, 2016). Consider the case of black high school football player Brian Banks. Banks was a linebacker for Poly Tech High School and had verbally committed to play for the University of Southern California. At the age of seventeen, he was accused of kidnapping and rape by someone he trusted and knew well. Though no substantial evidence could be brought forth and DNA evidence came back negative, it did not matter. His bail was set at a million dollars. In comparison, Turner’s was set at $150,000 (Lombardo, 2016). This outrageous amount forced Banks to stay in jail for an entire year. He was advised to plead no contest and served five more years for a crime he did not commit. His alleged victim would later come forth and admit to lying about everything. Consider also the case of black football player Cory Batey who played for Vanderbilt University. In July of 2016, Batey was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for raping an unconscious fellow female student. Clear photographic and video evidence of the rape was brought forth. The victim was gang-raped by three other men along with Batey and showed Batey urinating on her (King, 2016). The stark contrast in sentencing for similar crimes is astonishing. At the end of the day, sexual assault is sexual assault, someone is left a victim, and justice should be served.
Turner’s victim wrote and read a letter to her offender and Buzzfeed released the full statement. She perfectly analyzes what is wrong with the justice system’s unfair and unequal treatment of white privileged males. She stated:
How fast Brock swims does not lessen the severity of what happened to me, and should not lessen the severity of his punishment. If a first-time offender from an underprivileged background was accused of three felonies and displayed no accountability for his actions other than drinking, what would his sentence be? The fact that Brock was an athlete at a private university should not be seen as an entitlement to leniency, but as an opportunity to send a message that sexual assault is against the law regardless of social class (Baker, 2016).
Not only was there racial bias in the sentencing of Brock Turner but it was evident in the media’s portrayal of him as well. As Claire Lampen (2016) points out, “Turner was represented in the media using not the mugshot befitting a convicted felon, but a headshot taken during his days as a Stanford swimmer”. Authorities refused to release his official mugshot until days before his final conviction (Lampen, 2016). This portrayal easily favors Turner as blameless and as someone who made just made a simple mistake. A simple mistake, however, does not ruin someone else’s life. Why did Brock Turner immediately hire lawyers to fight the charges when wrongly accused Brian Banks was advised to not even consider alternatives? The answer is simple and comes down to race. Brian Banks’ lawyer knew Banks would receive tumultuous media backlash not because he was guilty but because Banks was black and played an aggressive sport. He fit the picture of “rapist”. His fight was lost before it even began. Brock Turner, in contrast, was white, wealthy, and competed in a non-aggressive sport. Turner did not fit the typical picture of rapist and as result, had a good chance of fighting the charges. The media would portray him as a gentle and innocent and he could use this to his advantage.
She was speaking for the countless number of rape victims whose voices have been silenced and whose stories have been forgotten simply because their perpetrator was white and wealthy.
Jane Doe’s story was unforgivable and clearly shows how the case of Brock Turner was handled poorly and despairingly. He should have been given a harsher punishment and portrayed as such in the media. Though his punishment was minimal, most of America recognized this and was outraged. Since the trial, presiding judge Aaron Persky has received overwhelming backlash. An online petition was started to recall him and as of June 2016, it had over a million signatures. Additionally, many lawyers in the Palo Alto area have come together to remove Persky from his duties and some jurors have even refused to serve under him. While most of America may have lost faith in its justice system, they have not lost faith in doing something about it. As for Brock Turner, he will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and USA Swimming, the governing body of swimming competitions in America, has banned him from any and all future USA Swimming sponsored competitions and events (Koren, 2016).
The case of Brock Turner shed light on a prevalent problem in America, the way America handles race in the media and its contradictory treatment of criminal white male athletes and black male athletes. Whatever the crime, the punishment should be delivered justly and accordingly. Race nor the sport the offender plays should be a considering factor. The only considering factors should be the victims of such atrocious crimes.
References
Baker, K. J. (2016, June 03). Here’s the powerful letter the Stanford victim read to her attacker. Retrieved June 07, 2017, from https://www.buzzfeed.com/katiejmbaker/heres-the-powerful-letter-the-stanford-victim-read-to-her-ra?utm_term=.qx6B3OQkMO#.biy2QAkEyA
Noman, N. (2016, June 10). How the Stanford rapist case exposes society’s rapist hypocrisy. Retrieved June 07, 2017, from https://mic.com/articles/145788/brock-turner-gets-months-in-jail-a-black-student-got-5-years-for-a-rape-he-didn-t-commit#.xs51wKkGR
King, S. (2016, June 07). King: Brock Turner, Cory Batey show how race affects sentencing. Retrieved June 07, 2017, from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/king-brock-turner-cory-batey-show-race-affects-sentencing-article-1.2664945
Koren, M. (2016, June 17). Why the Stanford judge gave Brock Turner six months. Retrieved June 07, 2017, from https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/06/stanford-rape-case-judge/487415/
Lampen, C. (2016, June 09). This is why you’re only now seeing Brock Turner’s mugshot. Retrieved June 07, 2017, from https://mic.com/articles/145494/this-is-why-you-re-only-now-seeing-brock-turner-s-mugshot#.PJBMuaTEr
Lombardo, K. (2016, June 09). The Brock Turner sexual assault case, explained. Retrieved June 07, 2017, from https://www.si.com/more-sports/brock-turner-stanford-swimming-sexual-assault-rape-case
A Strategic Public Relations Plan for Purdue University Swimming and Diving
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, swimming ranked as the highest viewed sports event and has consistently ranked number one at past Olympics. But when it comes to fan support for Purdue Swimming and Diving, the numbers do not match its golden counterpart. Attendance and corresponding fan support at Purdue Swim and Dive meets is embarrassing and mainly consists of dedicated parents and loyal friends of athletes. This is surprising when one considers the level of success the program has had and the amount of past and present athletes who have competed at the professional level. The 2016-2017 season alone had two returning Olympians, three returning All-Americans, ten returning NCAA qualifiers, thirteen Olympic Trials qualifiers, one returning NCAA champion and Olympic silver medalist, and one returning Big Ten Champion. Few other sports teams at Purdue can boast of such national success. In contrast, Purdue’s football team drafted one member, Ryan Russell, to an NFL team in 2015. Purdue sports fans have the chance to witness a professional level competition nearly every other weekend from October to February and interact with athletes who have traveled and competed all over the world. They can do all of this and at no cost (admission is free for home competitions).
In addition to the teams’ success in the pool, Purdue Swim and Dive represents their university exceptionally well at the academic level. The women’s team had the sixth highest team GPA in the country last fall and has won numerous President’s cups, an award given to the Purdue athletic team with the highest team GPA. However, no one outside of the small swimming and diving community knows of this success. This is largely due to the lack of interaction with the fans and teams’ publics. In short, the swim teams’ PR issue is they have no public relations campaign.
Recommendation 1: A suggested objective for the Purdue Swim and Dive is to increase meet attendance from the 2015-2016 season by 10% by the end of the 2016-2017 regular competition season. The last home meet is Saturday, January 28 when both men and women’s teams compete against Minnesota and Northwestern. This objective will be achieved through a variety of PR campaigns, two of which are outlined and detailed later in this paper. Increased meet attendance for the Swim and Dives teams will increase fan support for the teams. Additionally, it will further and expand interaction with the teams’ publics. If the objective is achieved,, it will not only promote the teams themselves but Purdue Athletics as well.
Recommendation 2: In order to increase fan relations and achieve the previous mentioned objective of increasing meet attendance by 10%, the student-athletes on both men and women’s teams need to interact with their publics. This will be achieved in two ways, public information and two-way symmetric forms of communication. The meet schedule and upcoming competitions should be issued in press released to local media outlets. Additionally, steps will be taken to inform the publics of the teams’ wide success. These promotions include newspaper features on the athletic and academic success of the teams and radio and televisions interview spotlights on individual athletes.
The best way to create and maintain a successful PR campaign for any group is to establish a real two-way symmetric communication with a group and its publics. For Purdue Swim and Dive, this will be done through interaction with their publics to promote both the academic and athletic success. Increased, personal interaction of student-athletes with their publics will drive and continue support and corresponding fan attendance. The best way to understand this issue is to work directly with their publics, listen to them, and change what they (the teams) are doing. One suggested way to establish a two-way symmetric line of communication is to invite fans to a meet and greet of the student-athletes before a home competition. This will allow the fans to meet the student-athletes, ask questions about their success both in and out of pool, and receive an overall better understanding of who the athletes are and why they do what they do. This will hopefully create personal relationships between the student-athletes and fans. Additionally, it will encourage support of the teams and entice more fans to attend home competitions.
Another suggested way to establish a two-way symmetric line of communication is to have a Purdue Swimming and Diving tent on the Engineering Mall before home football games. Home football games are a popular event for Purdue sports fans. If representatives from both teams are at the tent to interact with fans and other publics, the student-athletes and coaches will have the opportunity to gain feedback and revise the PR of the two teams.
Purdue Swimming and Diving continues to remain one of the most successful athletics teams for the university. The dedicated student-athletes who make up the teams are not just athletes but champions and scholars. It is time the men and women who make up these great teams receive the recognition they deserve.