When a news story breaks about a sports figure such as NFL quarterback Deshaun Watson, the media snaps to attention. As stories develop, every journalist must evaluate the potential effect of each word and phrase as they report on both sides of an issue. Investigative journalist Jessica Luther shares wisdom gained from covering high-profile gender violence cases in college and professional sports.
Then, beginning on March 16 and continuing over the next few weeks, 22 women filed lawsuits against Watson, all of them saying that during massage therapy sessions with him, Watson committed sexual misconduct ranging from exposing himself to forcing oral sex. This can be a difficult transition. It seems like every few years I pen a piece after someone in the sports media fails to cover gendered violence as carefully or thoughtfully as they should.
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Covering gendered violence is difficult work. Most of these cases are not resolved within the legal system ; if they are, it often happens in civil court, and we learn very little about their outcomes. Headlines alone can help shape our cultural ideas about sexual violence. How reporters, writers, and editors approach the subject and do their jobs can have serious and lasting consequences. This is particularly true when gendered violence intersects with sports.
Their outcomes can have an impact on which players or coaches are able to take the field, court, or pitch. People can find themselves with a chance to literally cheer for those accused of harming someone β and, chillingly, some fans take that opportunity when presented to them.
A study found that this phenomenon can have real-world consequences. Most sports coverage is about individual players, their teams, the university or organization for which they play, the coaches who lead them, and the owners of teams.
