CLEVELAND — Barb Anthony is the co-founder and executive director of the Northeast Ohio Women’s Sports Alliance. The organization's goal is to support and promote community-based women’s sports.
She said Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson's suspension and return to the field calls for a broader discussion on how women are portrayed in sports culture.
“We can’t just rely on the negative stories or these terrible reports," Anthony said. "This what gets people’s attention. When the truth comes out in some of these reports that we are seeing, we can’t ignore them. We can’t ignore what is going on and pretend it’s not happening.”
She said that’s especially true since a new report came out this week on the National Women’s Soccer League. It found that the players dealt with rampant sexual harrassment and misconduct, even though they were the public figures on the big stage. Anthony said these kinds of stories hopefully can elicit change.
“I think we’ve been battling and we continue to battle," Anthony said. "I think the foundation shaking that you’re seeing and hearing and the change in sports culture that women are bringing to the table is a result of a lack of change or too slow of a change toward equity and a reduction of violence and assault and the power differential that exists and has existed historically.”
More than 20 women accused Watson of sexual misconduct. No criminal charges were filed but Watson was sued by his accusers. He has settled with nearly all of them. Details of those settlements are confidential. Only one case remains open. He paid a $5 million fine and had to sit out the first 11 games of this season as part of an agreement with the NFL and the players union. He also agreed to counseling by behavioral experts before he could return to playing.
Donisha Greene is with the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. She said that it can be harder for survivors to come forward if their accused attacker is a public figure due to the power imbalance.
“Decisions to put those who commit violence against others in positions of power and celebrity exactly perpetuates the culture and it sends a clear message to survivors that their stories don’t matter," Greene said.
Greene said the Rape Crisis Center has received around $120,000 in donations from around the country since the Browns traded for Watson. Anthony said the Watson situation and the reports on the soccer league go beyond just sports.
“This is about historical inequity and regular attempts to limit access and power and empowerment for anyone other than the traditional historic, data-proven kind of cis-male perspective," Anthony said.