YU's Basketball Success Dazzles, But A Cloud Of Concern Persists
A record winning streak is marred by troubling allegations that remain unresolved.
All eyes on Yeshiva: Winning on the court, but still answerable to the court of public opinion.
I was excited to attend a Yeshiva University men’s basketball home
game a couple of weeks ago with my son and teen-age grandson.
It was a chance for us to see the Maccabees, the NCAA Division III’s top
team, go after their 50th consecutive win – the longest current streak
in the country. It also gave me the opportunity to share with my family
some memories of how far YU basketball has progressed since my
student days, when a .500 season was a success and, lacking a gym on
campus, the team’s “home” court was Power Memorial High School on
West 61st Street, 125 blocks south of YU.
(Power Memorial had one of the best high school basketball teams in
the country at that time, led by a tall, lanky kid named Lew Alcindor –
later known as Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul Jabbar. We’d see him
practicing in the gym sometimes, hard to miss at 7’2”.)
I’d planned to write a piece here about the pride in seeing a YU team
that was no longer the underdog but a genuine powerhouse playing
before a full-throated, full house – a far cry from the days when the
biggest cheer we could muster in the stands was “Whaddya do when
you’re cold?” “Ye-SHIV-a!”
The game turned out to be surprisingly close, but in the second half the
Maccabees seemed to turn on the juice and pulled away. I saw for
myself how these players, with their selfless teamwork and winning
ways, have attracted glowing national coverage in the mainstream media.
Somehow managing to wear kippot as they race up and down the court, they are seen as ambassadors of Modern Orthodoxy to the rest of the
Jewish community and beyond – a true kiddush HaShem (bringing
honor to God’s name).
And yet ...
As the game progressed, I couldn’t help thinking about a shocking
allegation made last summer by a student at YU’s sister school, Stern
College for Women, that a member of the YU basketball team had raped her.
Was it possible that one of these 16 Maccabees I was admiring for their
skill and poise on the court committed – and got away with – a horrific
criminal act?
The accuser wrote an essay in the YU undergrad newspaper, The
Commentator, in August, focusing her ire at the administration. She
asserted that school officials had her and her alleged assailant sign a
non-disclosure agreement and undertook a long investigation that in
the end was deeply disillusioning for her.
“I have been told to just deal with it, and that nothing can be done by
YU – not one thing,” the student wrote.
She did not identify in the article the alleged rapist or one of his
teammates, who she said “slut-shamed” her by calling her vulgar names
in “a semi-public place.”
“I am not sure why YU has chosen to ignore me and try to silence me,”
she wrote in The Commentator essay, “but I think it has to do with the
reputation of the basketball team.”
In the immediate aftermath of her article’s appearance, there was a
flurry of responses, with many students expressing frustration over the
school’s statement, which noted that its “final determination was made
based on a full evaluation of all available information.” It did not say
what the final determination was.
The controversy seems to have died down, though the troubling cloud
lingers, as do many questions. Why have there been no follow-up reports on this case? Has the school focused more on its reputation than the health and safety of an apparent victim? Where are the tangible expressions of Torah values that are the foundation of a faith grounded in speaking out against wrongdoing and protecting the innocent? Where is the outcry from the YU community and others?
Only now does the issue seem to be resurfacing.
In a letter to The Commentator that appeared last week, Doniel
Weinreich, YU Class of 2021, sharply criticized the school
administration, the athletic department and the newspaper itself for a
lack of public action on behalf of the alleged victim. He said the virtual
silence has sent a message that “prestige conveys impunity” and that
victims are “alone.”
He chastised The Commentator for neglecting to mention the sexual
assault allegations when reporting on the Maccabees’ success on the
court this season. Most upsetting, he called out a recent Commentator
editorial that praised the team as “a source of inspiration” to the
community, calling on readers to “show our support.”
Avoiding the conflict is not being neutral, Weinreich argued, but rather
“malignant ... serving the interest of perpetrators, allowing them to
continue unabated. It communicates to survivors that if they raise their
voice they will be ignored or forgotten.”
Presumably in response, The Commentator published an editorial Dec.
26 in the name of its editorial board, noting that it has been four
months since the Stern College student’s allegation that she was raped
and that the university was of no help. During this time, the editorial
said, despite statements from administrators that addressing the issue
was a “top priority,” “headlines quickly became another forgotten
skeleton stowed away in the communal closet.”
The newspaper reported that a faculty committee charged with dealing
with sexual assault and harassment on campus has been meeting and working on improving areas of communication and educational programs that it will soon make public. But The Commentator asserted that such an approach “is only half the battle,” failing to address the alleged victim’s complaint of insensitivity, if not disregard, from the administration in acting to make her feel protected on campus.
The current situation, the editors wrote, has not improved and “this is unacceptable. Students cannot be safe on campus if they cannot rely upon those meant to protect them. As of now, YU has not given them a reason to do so.”
Hopefully, The Commentator’s renewed interest in the case will spur more students and others in the community to raise their voices, coming to the aid of those on campus who feel unsafe and unheard, and prevent future students from enduring such pain.
For YU, fielding a championship team is a source of understandable pride. But failing to deal effectively and empathetically with a young woman alleging rape by one of its own leaves a dark stain on what could otherwise be a perfect season.
YU's Basketball Success Dazzles, But A Cloud Of Concern Persists
Let’s hope that a through investigation is done. And if the allegations are true, the perpetrator is punished appropriately.
Have we heard from YU's athletic director.