Is Kathy Redmond for athletes or is she against them? The answer is both. An athlete herself, the 26-year-old former lacrosse player is waging a campaign against violent athletes–especially those who believe they are above the law.
Calling violence among athletes an “epidemic” in our country, Redmond says there is a double standard for sportsmen.
“Athletes should be held to the same standards as everyone else,” she says. But often, she says, crimes such as rape, assault and domestic violence committed by athletes seem to go unpunished. Players continue on the field after receiving little more than a slap on the wrist. Redmond knows this reality all too well.
The daughter of a former University of Nebraska baseball player, Redmond enrolled at his alma mater in 1991. Although she is under a gag order and cannot talk about the incident, it’s known that she filed rape charges against Nebraska athlete Christian Peter, who denied the charges. He now plays for the New York Giants.
Outraged at what she considers the injustice in her own case, she decided to do her part to stop it from happening to others. In 1997, Redmond founded the National Coalition Against Violent Athletes.
With the help of numerous volunteers, the coalition aims to educate coaches, players and the public on issues involving athletes and violence. It also strives to be an advocate for victims of violent athletes, providing everything from advice on the judicial process to referrals. It even can serve as the victim’s voice to the media.
“The coalition is my after-work job,” says Redmond, who works in communications for the Colorado state government and uses vacation time and weekends to travel the country speaking to schools, coaches and athletic teams.
While many sports institutions believe they have no problem with violence and their athletes, one incident shows just how wrong they can be, Redmond says.
“I went to speak at a private college in North Carolina. The day before I arrived, a girl was gang-raped by 10 athletes. The school asked me to keep quiet about the incident.”
After Redmond’s speech, 19-year-old Sarah Ferguson, a sophomore majoring in sports management, came up to speak with her.
“I work with the men’s baseball team,” Ferguson says, “and I told Kathy, `That doesn’t happen here. We don’t have violent athletes.’ “
But two months later, Ferguson says she was raped by one of the school’s soccer players, a man she knew from one of her classes.
Devastated and scared, Ferguson called Redmond for support.
“She listened to me,” Ferguson says about Redmond. “She was so supportive and could relate. She’s given me pointers, like what to wear at the hearings and what to expect with the court process. She warned me that they’d try to make me look like a bad person in the court proceedings. In the court, they try to find any way they can to belittle you, to make it look like you deserved it or asked for it.”
Most of all, Ferguson says, Redmond has been honest yet encouraging.
“She told me, `It’s hard, but you’re going to get through this. It will always be with you. But you’re going to get through it.’ “
Ferguson’s experience opened her eyes to the problem of violence among athletes, she says.
“After I was raped, another girl in one of my classes came forward and told me that the same athlete had tried to rape her.
“The problem is that not enough people talk about the problem,” Ferguson says. “If anything, I’ve learned that it’s a reality and it can happen to you. But there are people to help you. You may not want to talk about it, but it’s the best therapy. I go to a chat room for rape survivors on AOL (America Online), and many women there won’t talk about it except in the chat room.”
Such stories show exactly why the coalition’s work is so necessary, Redmond says. She receives calls from victims all over the country. According to statistics posted on the coalition’s Web site (campussafety.org/NCAVA), in 1995 about 8.5 percent of the general population was charged with assault. But among college and professional athletes, that number was 36.8 percent. And while among the general population, the conviction rate was 80 percent for those charged with a crime, athletes who were charged were convicted only 38 percent of the time.
Why are athletes more prone to violence? Redmond believes there are many reasons.
“It starts with little kids,” she says. “Even in Little League, we sometimes give the wrong example. Parents yell or get into fights at games.
“Kids start to realize that because of skill you get better treatment. Your skill means you’re better.”
The coaches can also be at fault, she says.
“Coaches often teach kids that sports is about winning instead of teaching them the values of teamwork and discipline. Kids need to hear from their parents, `We love you because of who you are, not because of how you play,’ ” Redmond says. “And they need to be taught to respect others. They learn this from their coaches and their parents.”
While the number of victims who report assaults by high school athletes has increased, the majority of assaults are by college and professional athletes.
“(Many teams) have a problem with what is important,” Redmond says. “They keep players on who are repeated batterers and don’t think it will affect the integrity of the game.
“You never hear of players going after a coach’s daughter, though,” Redmond says. “That’s because they know there would be serious consequences. But with other women, they often don’t hesitate because they don’t see any repercussions. Wouldn’t it be a great team rule if players had to treat all women with the respect they give the coach’s wife and daughters?”
Victims of professional athletes are often too intimidated to bring charges against sports stars. When they do file charges, victims sometimes become so frustrated with the apathetic response they receive, or even worse, how their own name gets dragged through the media mud, that they drop charges.
“Victims have such little support or are so scared that they often opt not to be retraumatized,” Redmond says.
Football players O.J. Simpson and Rae Carruth, who is currently jailed on charges of conspiring to kill his pregnant girlfriend, are two of the most well-known athletes associated with violence against women, but Redmond says there are thousands of cases just like theirs.
“During the year of the O.J. trial, there were nine cases of homicide filed against athletes. Seven were acquitted; two got a lesser sentence. People see the O.J. case as a travesty, but they don’t see the others.”
One remedy, Redmond says, is for fans to start holding players and teams accountable. “One huge public outcry can influence the team to get rid of a bad player,” says Redmond. “The power is in the fans.”
Redmond believes that sportsmen and coaches need more education on the subject of athletes and violence. She has developed a program that has been requested by the Buffalo Bills and that she will present at the next NFL owners meeting.
Most of all, she hopes her work will prevent more cases of assault, and will help those who have suffered the same horrible nightmare she has.
“Psychological trauma is like a cancer,” she says. “If you don’t deal with it, it just gets worse. One girl told me that `rape is like murder. It killed my soul.’ “
Redmond tries to be a voice for such victims.
“Counseling was great,” she says, “but using my knowledge and experience to help others is very therapeutic.”
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Name: Kathy Redmond
Age: 26
Resides: In the Denver area
Committed to: The National Coalition Against Violent Athletes, which she founded in 1997.
Passionate about: Educating coaches, players and the public on the issues involving athletes and violence.
In her own words: “Psychological trauma is like a cancer. If you don’t deal with it, it just gets worse. One girl told me that `rape is like murder. It killed my soul.’ “
