The Daily Iowan
Opinions Ed page 8A
Nov. 20, 2002

Boycott men's B-ball

By Calvin Hennick
DI Assistant Opinions Editor

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good basketball fans to do nothing.

Each time that new information comes to light in the Pierre Pierce sexual-assault case, it becomes more and more painfully obvious that the UI Athletics Department has no intentions of dealing with the situation internally (unless, of course, you call allowing men's basketball coach Steve Alford and UI General Counsel Mark Schantz to be consulted by attorneys negotiating Pierce's plea bargain "dealing with the situation"). Therefore, it is left up to us, the fans of Iowa athletics, to force the department into action.

Only one thing will get the attention of the Athletics Department: We must boycott the team.

Now that the contents of a statement by Pierce's victim has been made available to the public, we can see just how much the department is willing to ignore. It is willing to ignore accusations and medical evidence of forced vaginal and anal sex by one of its players. It is even willing to ignore the fact that the female making these claims happens to be a Hawkeye athlete herself. And certainly, it has ignored Alford's gross mishandling of the entire situation. But there is one thing the Athletics Department cannot ignore -- empty seats.

As long as the Hawkeye faithful continue to buy tickets, Athletics Director Bob Bowlsby will have no good reason (besides basic ethics, of course) to revoke Pierce's scholarship or reprimand Alford for his numerous insensitive comments. Unfortunately, however, the last day for students to order season tickets was Sept. 4 (a month before Pierce was charged with third-degree sexual assault), so many are stuck with a $170 ticket package that they may not have ever bought had they known the situation that was about to unfold. These students should call the ticket office and demand a full refund; after all, the product they ordered and the one that's being delivered to them are entirely disparate.

At this point, I don't want to hear any more about how Pierce pleaded guilty only to a charge of assault causing injury, so the UI should only be able to take that into account. The victim made a statement, and that statement (supported by a medical examination) says that Pierce violently raped her. If her statement is accurate, there is no way in hell he should be getting paid to go to school here. And if anyone thinks the woman is lying, I dare that person to come forward and publicly say so.

As soon as the charges came out, Alford announced that he supported Pierce 100 percent. "There'll be that other side [of the story] coming out shortly," he said, "and I think that's what we're confident about." Funny, I haven't head any "other side of the story." I've only heard Pierce admit to "inappropriate sexual conduct," which doesn't exactly sound like a conflicting account of the situation.

The Athletics Department appears to be waiting for this whole thing to blow over, lifting the suspension against Pierce as soon as he pleaded, and allowing him to sit out this season as a redshirt while retaining his scholarship (which, in a sense, rewards his despicable conduct with an extra year of free education). By next year, it seems, everyone will have forgotten about this pesky rape business, and Pierce will be able to rejoin the team.

Bowlsby himself was scheduled to appear on Opinions Editor Amanda Mittelstadt's radio show, "Viewpoints," this semester, but he later canceled, insisting that his Fridays are completely booked until next semester. Apparently, he, too, is banking on the whole thing blowing over.

It is our duty, however, to ensure that it doesn't blow over. The powers that be will only know that our intolerance of rape is real and permanent if we continue to throw it in their faces. We must do whatever we have to do -- protest outside games, refuse to buy basketball tickets. Hell, it might be a good idea to call up Bowlsby and threaten not to buy Rose Bowl tickets until he deals with this situation. Just don't let the Athletics Department continue to foster a rape-friendly environment for its student-athletes.

Bowlsby is not a stupid man. He understands the language of facts and figures and dollar signs, and that's how we need to speak to him. Until he properly deals with the Pierce situation (which, in light of the victim's statement, would entail no less than booting him from the team), I will not attend a men's basketball game or even wear Hawkeye apparel. Who's with me?

I started this column with a bit of an altered quote, so I might as well finish it with an unaltered one. Dante once wrote, "The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who, in times of moral crisis, preserved their neutrality."

Don't be neutral on this one.