COLUMBIA, Mo. — The University of Missouri is once again in the national spotlight, but not for reasons that anyone will be boasting about.
ESPN published the results of an Outside the Lines study on athletic departments and crimes committed by student athletes from 10 schools representing the major sports conferences. The results are chilling, and say that the University has the second highest rate of alleged sexual assaults by student athletes.
Missouri had 63 total criminal cases pending against 46 athletes during the five-year period of study between 2009 and 2014. Missouri had the second highest number of allegations of sexual assault, violence against women, and harassment. The study concluded that in many cases the accuser declined to prosecute their alleged attacker as a direct result of the attacker’s status as an athlete. Victims cited fear of harassment from fans, negative publicity, and even fear of losing scholarships, and more.
The University of Missouri is working to reverse an unfortunate trend of public scandals placing it’s athletic department in national headlines including the tragic suicide of swimmer Sasha Menu Courey, an alleged victim, charges against former Mizzou football player and top rated NFL prospect Dorial Green-Beckham, and a string of other accusations against male athletes.
Missouri state lawmakers have suggested that newer state standards might be required to more closely monitor public institutions of higher learning, and even U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, has publicly spoken out about the need for more accountability related to sexual assaults.
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
