Earlier this year, a widespread sexual assault scandal involving numerous members of the Baylor football team was uncovered. It was revealed that school officials covered up the assaults and encouraged victims not to speak up. Head coach Art Briles was fired, athletic director Ian McCaw resigned and university president Ken Starr was demoted. NFL free agent Ray Rice spoke at the Big 12 Conference’s “State of College Athletics” forum and called sexual assault on college campuses an “epidemic” and offered his take at part of the solution.
He noted that “the teams that get it are the ones who hold themselves accountable” and believes players must police themselves outside of the locker room.
“If someone witnessed a rape,” Rice said, according to USA Today. “That team has to be unified not just in the locker room. It’s society, too. You can’t just say, ‘that’s my teammate having a good time.’ Because a lot of guys forget who they are once they’re out of the locker room.”
Rice, who played in college at Rutgers, added that discussions about sexual assault and domestic violence — within teams in high school, college and professionally — need to take place at the right time, when players will actually pay attention, noting that oftentimes players don’t listen during educational and informational exercises because of fatigue or poor timing.
Rice saw his NFL career come to an end after video was released of him knocking his wife Janay Rice out in an elevator. He has since done a few speaking engagements trying to help college athletes.
At #Big12Forum, Ray Rice on the role of coaches and responsibilities of being “more than a football player.” pic.twitter.com/yURdebbLyK
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) September 28, 2016
