A Kick in the Mouth

When a scandal hits, most coaches have the foresight to tread carefully around every public word they say—or simply shut up. Gary Barnett, head coach of the University of Colorado football team, chose not to follow this example when he spoke at a press conference discussing the rape allegations of former placekicker for the Buffalos, Katie Hnida.

“She couldn’t kick the ball through the uprights,” Barnett said. “It was obvious Katie was not very good. She was awful. Katie was not only a girl, she was terrible.”

Though these quotes were in response to Hnida’s place on the team, and not the charges of rape, they still clarify the most evident change needed: the coach.

The last few weeks have only added to the marred past of athletics at Colorado—something that Barnett was originally expected to change. Yet bad behavior is a habit that Colorado isn’t ready to kick. Reports of recruiting parties where sex and strippers are the main event are becoming common; even more disturbing are the alleged sexual assaults of six women by players since 1997.

While the university is certainly to blame for not addressing these issues directly (they certainly knew what was happening as Boulder County District Attorney Mary Keenan met with school officials in 1997 and 2001, after the reported rapes), they are also to blame for never once questioning Barnett until he stuck his foot in his mouth.

When Hnida first came forward with her experience, the rape charge might have been the most shocking disclosure, but it was her experience as a member of the football team that left little room to acquit Barnett. Hnida says she was repeatedly verbally abused, called vulgar names, and had her breasts and crotch groped at practice.

Perhaps Barnett thought the footballs being thrown at Hnida’s head were a part of playful camaraderie, but it’s unlikely that a coach would miss such behavior on his own field. Barnett readily admits that “none of the players wanted her on the team,” which makes you wonder why he wasn’t looking out for harassment.

The obvious answer, as his comments show, is that Barnett didn’t care. Nothing was done when Hnida’s father talked to him about the abuse (a conversation Barnett has separately admitted and denied) and he certainly didn’t value Hnida enough to demand proper treatment for her. Even if her skills weren’t up to par, it’s hard to imagine him making similar comments about a male member of his squad.

A coach has a greater responsibility than winning. He or she fosters an atmosphere, which should be one where zero-tolerance is given to harassment, just as it is given to other transgressions. But Barnett chose to perpetuate the “good ol’ boys” network, for which he’s a card-carrying member. Also, by consistently turning a blind eye, he condoned the actions of his players even off the field.

There’s no reason to assume that this treatment is inevitable for a woman playing football. Hnida is currently fighting for a sixth-year exemption to return to her current team at the University of New Mexico—where she became the first woman to score in Division I football. Playing with the Lobos, she has yet to experience a single incident similar to her treatment at Colorado, something that Hnida attributes to “the standard Coach [Rocky] Long sets…for behavior.”

Colorado needs to take drastic action with a coach who is unable to model or demand such behavior. Barnett is not the disciplinarian they had hoped for, and worse, he is of the same mindset as the players he defends. Vast reforms will soon need to be made and a firing should be first on that list.

Margaret M. Rossman ’06, an associate editorial chair, is an English concentrator in Mather House.