She was unconscious.

They took videos and laughed for six hours.

She was sexually assaulted, dragged around naked, and photographed.

They were released early from their one and two year long sentences in a juvenile detention center.

She was ridiculed online by classmates, town members, and people around the country for her character and her decisions to attend a party and consume alcohol.

They were offered spots on Division I and II football teams.

Found delinquent in juvenile court of rape in the spring of 2013 at the ages of 16, Mal’ik Richmond and Trent Mays were students at Steubenville High School at the time of the crime.

They assaulted a 16-year-old girl and showcased the events on social media, where videos of other male students joking about the assaults were posted.

Penetrating the unconscious female with their fingers after a night of partying, the two male students were sentenced to time in a juvenile detention center.

Mays received a harsher sentence for his involvement in circulating the images of the victim. Both were released before their sentence was completed, and both of them finished their high school careers before attending state colleges.

Richmond transferred to Youngstown State University after a stint at a different institution and found a spot on the school’s Division I football team for the 2017 season.

The team’s head coach, Bo Pelini, offered Ma’lik Richmond, a “second chance” under the judgment that “every case is different.”

Mays played college football at a two-year institution and has a roster spot on the Division II team at Central State University for the 2017 season.

Living off-campus as a registered sexual offender, Mays is suited up with the current team, vying for a starting position under the school’s support of his “second chance.”
Both of these men received a second chance.

They returned to high school, received diplomas, and dedicated their lives to earning a degree in higher education.

Their respective colleges accepted their applications and provided learning opportunities for both.

At Central State University, the president of the college endorsed Mays’ enrollment with a school-wide email dedicated to second chances.

Then, what comes next is the end of the compassion for others, mistakes, forgiveness, and the ability to move forward.

Education is a right deserved by all people, including those who commit terrible grievances and horrific crimes against others.

In the case of these two young men, education may be one crucial step in turning their lives from ones of despicable decisions to ones used for the goodness of others.

Yet, these two men received more than the goodwill of a second chance on their education.

They were offered central roles at the heart of their respective institutions.

The privilege of playing a college sport is not a guaranteed right, and nor should it be.

Putting on a jersey is more than an opportunity to throw a ball.

It signifies the school’s endorsement of the logo-bearing student-athletes and all they represent.

And at institutions where one in five female college students will be sexually assaulted before they graduate, we can only hope the need to take a stand against the heinous crimes is one value held above the privilege to play.

But for Richmond and Mays, the idea of a second chance extends beyond the classroom and onto the field.

Their respective institutions made executive decisions to effectively forgive sexual assault in favor of boosting football rosters.

These choices are not unique.

The National Football League has long offered examples of the same logic.

Peyton Manning was accused of sexually assaulting his athletic trainer in college and became part of the decade long cover-up.

“Their respective institutions made executive decisions to effectively forgive sexual assault in favor of boosting football rosters.”

He went on to win two Super Bowls and become an NFL hero. Ray McDonald, a NFL player, was released from the 49ers following the announcement of an investigation into charges of rape.

He would go on to be signed by the Chicago Bears months later despite former domestic violence arrests and the sexual assault investigation.

“We believe in second chances, but when we signed Ray, we were very clear what our expectations were if he was to remain a Bear,” team chairman George McCaskey said, in his justification for adding McDonald to his team’s roster.

The list of the NFL’s ability to forget and forgive is exhaustive.

The league owners, chairmen, and coaches repeatedly choose sports and talent over questions of decent humanity.

And subsequently, fans and other athletes follow suit. In the case of Richmond and Mays, the town of Steubenville poured out support for the two men even in the face of their despicable actions.

Americans across the country turn on the TV every Sunday, offering a new justification for a forgiven sexual assault or act of domestic violence each week.

As of two weeks ago, Richmond will no longer be eligible to suit up this season.

A petition started by a Youngstown State University student changed his status.

The petition demanded the removal of the convicted student from the school’s team, receiving thousands of signatures as it circulated social media.

The backlash against the coach’s decision to allow a convicted rapist to represent the school spread, edging the school administration to quickly reverse the action.

The announcement to remove Richmond from the roster came under the assertion that the school “takes sexual assault very seriously” and is “committed to a safe learning environment for all.”

The words sound nice, but quickly collapse under the weight of the truth.

Both the school administration and the coach were prepared to have Richmond put on a school jersey this fall, fully aware of the gravity of his past conviction.

The decision to take a critical stance against sexual assault was not their first move.

It was purely damage control.

And it came with a quiet, yet telling asterisk.

Richmond will remain with the football program for this season.

He will also remain eligible to suit up next season.

At Gustavus, where these crimes are also present, we must be prepared to hold our institution to a standard much higher than the ones offered by the NFL and the two colleges in question.