Youngstown State and Sexual Assault (What the Actual Hell, Ohio?, Part 3)
A FaceBook friend posted a link on my page. Their alma mater, Youngstown State University, is under fire after it hired a new women’s tennis coach. You see, he had sexually assaulted someone, and they knew it….
According to reporting in USA Today, in 2016, YSU suspended one of its tennis players, Bassem El Mekawi for sexually assaulting another YSU athlete. In 2016, a female athlete accused three male athletes of assaulting her in two separate incidents one year prior in 2015. According to YSU’s own investigation, all three were found “responsible” for the assaults. The other two athletes were suspended for 10 months and 2 months, while Mekawi was suspended for 7 months. He was also required to complete an online module regarding drinking habits and healthy relationships. At the victim’s request, the case was handled by the Title IX office, and not the police.
Also according to USA Today, Mekawi petitioned for readmission to YSU following his suspension and completion of online training. His application was accepted, and he played another year of tennis for the university for the 2017–2018 season. Following his final season as an athlete, he became an assistant coach, first for the men’s team, and later for the women’s team.
While YSU administration is vowing a review of its policies regarding student athletes and sexual assault, a YSU graduate student, Mykaela Wagner, has started an online petition to “encourage Youngstown State Athletics to Institute Serious Misconduct Rule.” Wagner is asking YSU to follow the model of the Big Sky Conference’s rule which prohibits any athlete convicted of violence from participating in practice or competition. As of this writing, Wagner’s petition is short of its goal.
All of this is troubling enough, but this is not YSU’s first rodeo.
In 2012, in Steubenville, Ohio, two high school football players raped an inebriated female student, and they posted it on social media. The case drew national attention because of the attention on social media and because of the perpetrators’ attitudes. The two athletes, Ma’lik Richmond and Trent Mays, were both found guilty of rape in a juvenile court. They were given the minimum sentences, and Richmond was released in early 2014 — less than a year after sentencing. Upon his release, he returned to Steubenville High School and to the football team.
In 2016, Richmond was accepted by YSU to play on its football team. Unsurprisingly, his arrival on campus spurred protests. When YSU told him that he would not be able to play, he sued. He also sued to have his sex offender status expunged, which was granted. YSU reached a settlement with Richmond, and he was allowed to play football.
To be sure, the problem here is not unique to Ohio or to YSU (though it clearly does not have a good track record). We’ve seen too many cases, from Brock Turner to Jameis Winston. However, the two cases at YSU suggest several things. For one, YSU — and all universities with athletics — must have robust policies in place regarding their athletes and violence. Sexual violence, and all violence. Not to do so sets a terrible tone and threatens all students on campus. And, honestly, an online training module is insufficient rehabilitation. For another, allowing them back on campus and back on the team sends the wrong signal. It says that athletes rule, that the threat to the student body pales in comparison to the prospect of a successful athlete, that the health and well-being of victims are secondary. Those priorities must be reversed.
Not a difficult call to make, Jim Tressel….
Ritch Calvin is an Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at SUNY Stony Brook. He is the author of Feminist Epistemology and Feminist Science Fiction and editor of a collection of essays on Gilmore Girls.
