Jackson Free Press

Colorado will probably be looking for a new football coach soon. And a new athletic director and president, too. Coach Gary Barnett said something really stupid in response to a former female kicker's charge that she was raped in 2000. So stupid that the school president suspended him with pay. Doctor S predicts Barnett will be gone in a week. And the prez will soon follow.

The off-field antics of the CU football team were a national disgrace long before this latest scandal came to light. (Hell, when Bill McCartney was coach, his daughter had a child out of wedlock with the team's quarterback.) ... This week, Katie Hnida, a former female kicker claimed that she was raped four years ago by a teammate. When told about the charges, Colorado coach Gary Barnett said: "It was obvious Katie was not very good. She was awful. Katie was not only a girl, she was terrible. OK? There's no other way to say it." Wrong answer, Gary. So wrong that the school president called a news conference at 10 p.m. Colorado time to announce she was suspending Barnett. Clean out your desk, Gary.

Previous Comments

ID

118109

Comment

I don't think having a child bears any comparison whatsoever to rape (if they were both in college, they were both likely over 18 and what consenting adults do in the privacy...), but you're absolutely right that Gary should clean out his desk. It seems as if that entire program needs to be scrapped and redrawn. Something's rotten in that fieldhouse and it ain't just the head coach. There's something wrong culturally with an athletic program that thinks it's normal, acceptable male behavior to belittle and rape women. And there's something wrong administratively with a school that tacitly condones that kind of behavior (that culture didn't develop overnight). A sixth rape allegation surfaced this morning, and that rotten smell is becoming to engulf the entire school.

Author

Nia

Date

2004-02-20T14:31:41-06:00

ID

118110

Comment

Nia, you are correct, and it wasn't my intention to equate rape and having a child, especially since this was the result of actions by consenting adults. I was very clumsily attempting to say something about the culture of the Colorado football program. For the last two decades, it's basically been anything goes as long as the team wins games. One of the reasons Gary is in trouble is because the team went 5-7 last year.

Author

Dr. S

Date

2004-02-21T03:35:32-06:00

ID

118111

Comment

I don't follow college football, so I'm ignorant on the subject, but if this behavior has been part of CU's program for so long, why haven't these allegatios surfaced before now? Have they?

Author

Nia

Date

2004-02-21T09:30:27-06:00