Last Friday, Feb. 26, the Yale Men’s Basketball team completed its first season sweep of Harvard since their 2007-08 season, in a decisive win in John Lee Amphitheater. An at-capacity student section and FOX Sports cameras witnessed their victory. But in front of this sold-out crowd, during a nationally televised game, the team wore warmup shirts that displayed the nickname and number of Jack Montague. The Feb. 10 withdrawal of the former captain from Yale, whose official departure from the team was not announced until Feb. 25, sent shock waves through campus. Now, these shirts have generated a controversy of their own by appearing to publicly protest his absence. The narrative of Friday night’s game has become centered on a message about “Gucci,” rather than a huge win in the pursuit of the dance. But why did they choose this particular display of solidarity, and why show it now?
Campus has been charged with speculation for the past week. Most recently, signs bearing messages such as “Teammate. Family. Brother. Rapist,” and “I stand with Yale women. End rape culture. Don’t support rapists,” were posted in an SSS lecture hall on Wednesday. Two days earlier, posters reading “Yale Men’s Basketball, Stop Supporting a Rapist” were removed from bulletin boards around campus. TheYale Daily News and sports blogs first began to comment on Montague’s absence when he failed to play in a game after Feb. 6, but there was a sense that much was left unsaid. But while there has been significant public response both on campus and online over the past week, the actual details of the events leading to his departure remain only rumors.
Due to government regulations and internal policies, Yale cannot confirm or deny any questions about his withdrawal, including whether or not formal University-Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct (UWC) proceedings took place. However, Montague has withdrawn from Yale, despite stating to the YDN as late as Feb. 17 that he intended to return to the team soon. UWC cases will only result in expulsion if the committee finds a preponderance of evidence that a respondent severely violated Yale’s sexual misconduct policy, a decision that takes into account prior violations of a similar nature. This preponderance standard means that there was convincing evidence that an expellable offense occurred. A look at any semi-annual Report will show that expulsions are infrequent relative to the volume of complaints; last semester’s Report cites only one such case.
So if a UWC panel recommended that Montague be expelled for sexual assault, as the posters imply, I find it hard to believe that his teammates were wholly unaware, given their purported degree of closeness. By wearing those warmup shirts, the basketball team itself entered the conversation. Despite assurances that the shirts were simply a display of solidarity for a teammate who was missing after a four-year Yale basketball career, these shirts did not appear to be solely an ode to a missing teammate. Words are powerful, and the presence of “Gucci 4” on the back of the shirts and a backwards “Yale” written on the front sent a clear message to the crowd. In attendance at the game to support my friends on the team, I felt uncomfortable and sad, and I imagine that I was not alone.
The shirts did, in fact, “make it as clear as possible that Jack is one of [their] brothers,” as senior forward Justin Sears told the YDN. It’s just that their expression of brotherhood is incompatible with a campus climate in which everyone can feel safe. The basketball team, or any varsity team for that matter, stands in a particularly privileged position; inherently, some voices will be heard louder than others. There is a power in the scope of their public reach that can also be a burden.
Whether or not the team will admit it, the shirts were an orchestrated act of protest. The context under which these shirts were presented was meant to cause a reaction, and it has: I believe reactions like those articulated in the posters are justified. The display of support for Montague in such a public and televised setting is an irresponsible use of their spotlight. Regardless of their stated intent and attempt to distance themselves from the backlash that follows an act of protest, I sincerely doubt that the majority of the team was unaware of what they were implying to their audience.
There were a few particularly poignant, intentional elements of these shirts. The inversion of Yale, ostensibly due to copyright restrictions, could have been avoided if the message had been printed on shirts that were not Nike brand. Many campus organizations print Yale logos on plain t-shirts and do not face copyright concerns. It is unclear exactly what the backwards Yale meant, but one can infer that the inversion was a pointed critique of the university’s role in Montague’s withdrawal. Furthermore, the Harvard game was a specific choice of venue, especially considering the fact that Senior Night was the following night, during Yale’s game against Dartmouth. If the team had solely meant to express their brotherly affection for him, it would have made more sense to wear the shirts at the Dartmouth game, on the night when Montague ordinarily would have been honored as senior captain were he not withdrawn. Given Yale’s long-established rivalry, however, attendance for Harvard games are usually the highest; there’s no doubt that there were significantly more people, more buzz, and more coverage surrounding the Harvard game than the Dartmouth game could have ever garnered. And this is the game for which the team decided to wear these shirts.
At no other point in recent history have players worn shirts in solidarity for a missing teammate. Whether a teammate was travelling with the Whiffenpoofs or out due to injury, the sense of solidarity was unspoken. Surely, those teammates knew that their brothers missed them without needing a public assertion. If they feel it’s necessary, there are surely ways to let a former teammate know he is missed besides staging a protest. They shouldn’t be doing their healing as a team at the expense of the rest of the campus. Sears asserted to the YDN that, “Everyone on the team supported it and wanted to show our support for Jack.” It is hard to believe that of all of the members on the team, no one felt or expressed reservation about wearing the warmup shirts. This points to the power dynamics within sports teams that groom underclassmen members into subscribing to the groupthink mentality of the team, or that pressure members into conforming to public displays of unity.
In addition to the name being inscribed on shirts, chants of “Gucci” echoed in the gym as the team went on to beat Harvard. With each cheer, it became apparent that the crowd’s support was for more than just a name on a shirt. Sure, some fans may miss their friend Jack, but these chants were not present at previous games or on Senior Night. Regardless of whether or not the cheers were merely a demonstration of support for the missing player, they reinforced the message of the t-shirts: Montague is not truly gone so long as his name is chanted and glorified, and those who feel uncomfortable about it are unwelcome in this gym. The nature of some conversations on campus surrounding sexual violence or hookup culture has made behaviors like these appropriate.
The consequent media coverage of the team has exposed just how broad the reach of this platform is. From the YDN to ESPN, reporters are giving a voice to these players, enabling them to make comments that derail the conversation and perpetuate rape culture. Much of this coverage centers around bemoaning the effect that Montague’s absence will have on the Bulldog’s chances of securing the Ivy League title and advancing to the NCAA March Madness tournament. Senior Brandon Sherrod told ESPN, “…So, yeah, there’s been some, ‘Get this one for Gucci.’ But we’ve also rallied around one another. Sometimes teams crumble in these sorts of situations, but we’ve showed a lot of resilience.”
However, they are hardly rallying around one another if their focus remains on winning “for Gucci.” Furthermore, the use of the word “resilience” in this context inappropriately references the experiences of marginalized groups in order to describe the current state of Yale men’s basketball. Each time a member of the team chooses to make a comment, their ability to pretend that the conversation they’re engaged in is solely about the team and the game is a convenient crutch. There is an option to say “no comment,” yet this too might be an irresponsible use of their platform, similarly born of the privilege to ignore the impact of their actions.
Montague has the privilege of his teammates’ continued support on national television, and in front of the entire university. This is a luxury the average student does not have. His character becomes synonymous with the honor of being captain of the team and scoring three point baskets, rather than his withdrawal. The team has the privilege that media and fans come to watch them play, and that the amphitheater could consequently be a platform for their protest and public display of solidarity. Their actions attempt to sanctify Montague at the cost of making people feel unsafe.
If I wear a shirt in support of a political candidate, am I not also tacitly supporting his actions and his viewpoints, and indicating that support to others? In choosing to represent myself in this way, I would allow anyone who sees my shirt to make assumptions about my views, and to assume that one of those views is a sense of respect for the candidate’s actions. By wearing that shirt, I also suggest that the person with whom I stand in solidarity deserves my support, even if I know that he makes a significant number of people feel unsafe. Of course, when I wear a shirt, I don’t ensure that thousands of people see me do it.
Our words and our actions actively influence the culture we create for ourselves. It can perpetuate and normalize instances of great wrong. It can also isolate groups, like those who have experienced assault, or those in the gym on Friday who recognized the harm represented by those shirts and chants. Just because we cheer these players on does not mean that they don’t need to check their mindset or behavior; their collective action contributes to the legacy of male privilege acting to silence people who have experienced sexual violence. This privilege is particularly apparent in groups, and particularly apparent when its proponents are placed on such a visible platform.
As we move forward, the way that our words shape sexual culture needs to become an active conversation that we have with our friends, teams, and classmates. We must all make a concerted effort to confront these issues regardless of how awkward or scary it may be, or however much we don’t want to believe that they involve people close to us. Each person must actively contribute to the creation of an inclusive and aware environment in the social spaces we inhabit.
Walking out of the gym Friday night, I felt confused and uneasy about what these shirts could mean for our community. The front of the team’s jerseys still reads Yale, inverted though the letters may be. As representatives of Yale on the court, this power—of having a voice and stage on which to be seen—has to be accompanied by a greater sense of accountability and responsibility. A responsibility to understand the implications of one’s actions, yes, but also to respect the safety of the students who inhabit the space alongside them.
EDITOR’S NOTE: As of Thursday, March 10, it was confirmed that Montague has been expelled due to sexual misconduct.
An entire opinion piece predicated on speculation? Color me surprised.
Innocent until proven guilty is the law of the land precisely because of hive-mind mongering like this.
Similar thing happened in 92-93. He was exonerated AFTER being expelled…let it play out before jumping to conclusions please.
But maybe, just maybe, he should be given a trial before we condemn him? Last I remember it was innocent until proven guilty. Not saying I defend anything he may have done, but I don’t think any of us have enough information to make a judgment, much less sentence him in this manner.
A trial would be ideal, but impossible within Yale since Montague withdrew. And if we have to go back to a case 20 years ago to find someone at Yale who was expelled and then exonerated, it seems safe to say that something serious enough happened that the team should keep their expressions of solidarity to themselves.
No, actually a trial would be impossible since the woman never went to the police and then waited a year to report the incident, after he started dating one of her sorority sisters. But no you’re right this case sounds like a total slam dunk.
It is very sad to read this publication, and I totally agree with the previous, in this country innocent until proven guilty. I will be the first one to condemn anyone who has committed such terrible crime as you explained, but for now there is only speculations.
How would you feel if you have a brother that is accused of such a crime and someone without any prove writes about it???
when accusations like this appear it doesn’t matter if at the end he is innocent, you already created a doubt and that is the new crime that we see in our society, I hope you are never accused of anything in your life. Maybe you should focus more in morals and respect in the university…..and that goes for women and men.
Very sorry about your article.
Yale people are sounding pretty cut off from the world.
Get a job lady. Try exiting outside the gates of your Ivy League glass palace.
This while story makes me ill.
Let’s say he was expelled for vandalizing school property or cheating on a test. I wonder if there would be so much support for him? He obviously broke some rule serious enough to be expelled. The “let’s see if he’s proven guilty in court before we have any discussion about rape culture” argument does not work here, because you ignore the fact that the justice system is notorious for failing victims of sexual assault and even if someone is found not guilty in a broken system, it doesn’t mean he’s innocent. The argument is simply a distraction, and a refocusing on the issue of protecting women from getting raped to protecting a man’s reputation.
The argument you put forward is the same argument that lynch mobs would use when a court found a particular person not guilty. “Well, those courts have too many technicalities, and the prosecutor was stupid, so let’s hang ’em anyway!”
Sexual violence is indeed a problem that has gone unaddressed. But your op-ed is premised on a belief that the young man is Guilty. On what FACTS do you base that conclusion? In recent years campus adjudicatory bodies have been shown to deny due process to accused students. It does not “perpetuate rape culture” for the accused’s teammates to show their support for him. To the contrary, it is an exercise in free speech — the very concept this nation chose to protect in the First Amendment. Is the young man Guilty? We don’t know. But the Duke Lacrosse case tells us that we should not blindly assume the worst, and thus condemn a team full of players with whom you disagree.
I’d love to read more uninformed speculation from someone who has no more information than the rest of us.
Silly commenters, we don’t need a trial. The liberal mafia has declared him guilty.
Now, back in line.
This article offers no evidence at all that UWC proceedings took place. Meanwhile, there are lots of other reasons he might have been expelled. It is beyond irresponsible for The Yale Herald to cast these aspersions without offering any rationale beyond anonymous posters.
Why in the world is it considered “liberal” to presume someone guilty or consider due process an obstacle? Is that not the opposite of liberalism?
It is liberal to think rape is wrong….so be it, call me liberal.
Thank you for sharing your important perspective, Lucy! I am happy to see that not all solidarity on the Yale campus is “misplaced.”
I hope your readers remember (or take the time to learn) that only 2-8% of reported sexual assaults are false, the same rate of false reporting for any other felonious crime. Also, empirical research has shown us that only .2-5.2% of committed rapes result in a conviction the perpetrator. As such, we shouldn’t be waiting around for the courts to let us know whether or not an assault was “real”– the American court system is not well adjusted to the complicated dynamics of sexual violence.
If the readers of your article truly believe that they would be the first to condemn acts of sexual violence, then I would suggest that they begin by supporting the author of this piece, and then by supporting and believing individuals who tell us something bad happened to them.
I harbor no conviction on guilt in this case but please, if your going to throw around statements like “only 2-8% of reported sexual assaults are false, the same rate of false reporting for any other felonious crime. Also, empirical research has shown us that only .2-5.2% of committed rapes result in a conviction the perpetrator” make the proper citations.
I can’t believe that someone completely supports the writer of this article, as others have noted in this country you are innocent until proven guilty in the court of law period!!
Shocking and scandalous this kind of attitude, specially on a colleague campus.
Let’s don’t forget what happened with the Duke lacrosse players six years ago who were tried in the court of progressive public opinion and found guilty before they ever saw the inside of the real court.
Put your own sons in their shoes, how would that feel? reputations of the INNOCENT RUINED!!!! They were found innocent of all charges.
I wonder if we would be talking about this rush to judgement if this player was an african american?? Perhaps then the progressives will be asking to wait until the investigation and subsequent court action will be over?
I actually generally agree with the article but this statement is just absurd:
“Furthermore, the use of the word “resilience” in this context inappropriately references the experiences of marginalized groups in order to describe the current state of Yale men’s basketball.”
That’s not even remotely true. The word resilience has absolutely no intrinsic reference to marginalized groups. It is VERY commonly used in contexts that have nothing to do with marginalization by others and has been for over a century.
The author wrote, “Whether or not the team will admit it, the shirts were an orchestrated act of protest.” Is that supposed to be a bad thing? Why is it wrong to protest the idiotic and indefensible way that colleges and universities now adjudicate cases of alleged sexual misconduct? The author also wrote, “We should all feel safe and believe we are being heard.” How about the team’s views? Don’t they deserve to be heard? The author wrote, “I felt uncomfortable and sad, and I imagine that I was not alone.” I hope a great many people feel uncomfortable enough to examine this issue carefully and ultimately ask colleges and universities to get out of the law enforcement business.
As of this comment Jack M has been found guilty of sexual misconduct by Yale. Additionally, his father has also stated: “soon enough I’d love to tell the other side of the story. It’s ridiculous why he’s expelled.” At this point whether or not Jack is truly guilty is beside the point that I will make, but keep in mind the fact that in this country you are innocent until proven guilty, and no one but Jack and the alleged victim know exactly what happened so I will not state my uninformed opinion of the actual event that occurred because I don’t know what happened.
I also am not commenting on whether or not the alleged victim is lying, and let me be clear I am not defending rape culture I am simply commenting on your writing. If it is okay for you to write this type of article criticising the team for wearing those shirts prior to any definitive sentence of the accused then it is also within their right to support a teammate prior to any definitive sentence of the accused. But as a writer with a stage you must stick with your facts as oppose to conjecture or you will lose all credibility.
My main point is to state that your writing is incredibly irresponsible. As I have stated I don’t know exactly what happened between the accused and the alleged victim, but realistically, neither do you. As of your original posting it was not determined whether or not the accused was guilty, so ultimately your article is irresponsible at best, slanderous at worst. And let me repeat I am not assuming anything of the accused or the victim, I do not support rape culture I am merely commenting on your writing.
You say that there are other ways to support a teammate without staging a protest. My question to you is, how is this passive support of a teammate (i assume they were not aware of allegations at the time sincd it was not released by Yale) not acceptable when Nicholas Christakis was essentially harassed by angry and aggressive protesters. Additionally both instances did get national coverage so this is a bit contradictory to suggest that protesting on a national stage was irresponsible.
Not only did professor Christakis offer a platform for students with grievances but he was attacked for stating he believed in freedom of speech (despite the fact that he didn’t agree with what was being said). This is exactly the type of “groupthink” that you refer to, only one was aggressive while the other was to support. Regardless of whether or not the accused is actually guilty the two examples of protest have to be considered improper or proper socially in order to have a fair organized society, it cannot be both.
You say that the shirts made people feel uncomfortable if they did not support what the shirts stood for. Regardless of the message you need to to understand that in the real world people will have a difference of opinion from you (based on the basketball teams apology these shirts were to support a teammate not a rape culture). Its understandable to be uncomfortable at a violent Trump rally where protesters are assaulted, but not understandable at a peaceful collegiate sporting event.
Your criticism of “resilient” is also unwarranted. This is by no means a “marginalized peoples” issue. In basic terms, anyone can be resilient, in this case it’s a basketball team, and resiliency is manifested when an individual or group remain strong despite difficult times.
Now I will say if the accused actually is guilty of sexual assault or rape he will rightly be considered a criminal. However I do not consider Yale to be a proper justice system to dictate innocence or guilt and the abundance of uninformed opinions are perpetuating a guilty until proven innocent society. Regardless of the outcome the accused will have to deal with this for the rest of his life, however until that time comes I strongly believe that contradictory, irresponsible and slanderous articles such as this one only perpetuates subjectivity in the way society percieves these types of cases.
I would also like to repeat that despite my writing I do not support rape culture, I only support the idea that until all facts are public, all opinions of the public should remain limited to the facts in order to create a fair and objective system. Also getting into the slander game is a poor life choice.
If the procedure is that a student is not expelled unless there is a pattern of previous sexual misconduct then I am not sure why so many commenting here are up in arms. The student in question must have done this before and now he fouled out. Thankfully the young women on campus will be a little bit safer from now on. The other players on the team should be ashamed of themselves. Instead of supporting their team mate they should have been protecting their sisters on campus. How would they feel if it was their actual sister, mother or girlfriend?
Your comment: if the procedure is…..the student in question must have done it. ……. there you go again, are you certain that he did this, do you have prove..but just reading your post is obvious who you are sister….if this was a case of a brother…….you will not be making any assumptions and you will be the first to say that he was innocent and it was because of his color. Shame of you and the person who wrote such outrageous article, she should be glad and grateful that has the opportunity to go to a school that is out of the reach of many people instead use the school to instigate hate and racism.
Even if he has been found guilty by Yale’s procedure, such a determination would not be equivalent to our criminal justice system’s potentially finding someone guilty of rape or even sexual assault. That the standard necessary to expel someone is only preponderance of the evidence (51%, in other words), not clear and convincing evidence or beyond a reasonable doubt, is bad enough, but it is mandated by the federal government. Moreover, the lack of discovery, the lack of meaningful participation by a lawyer, and the lack of effective cross-examination at many campuses (including at Yale) is craven and indefensible, and Yale’s procedure is more problematic than many other colleges or universities in that its definition of sexual assault is said to be more expansive. The people who should be ashamed right now are those who would stifle a legitimate protest. I suggest that everyone who wants to know more about this issue should read KC Johnson’s posts at Minding the Campus.
Put me down in the corner of this young man. Consensual sex gets converted into rape? How is that possible? If it takes a year to determine that a rape happened, it is not rape. There is only one person being violated here, and that is the young man. We all know his name. I call for the woman’s name to be publicized as well. His good name is damaged. It’s time for her name to be made public.
So guys, here is the moral of this story:
Many of you are working on a degree that has a value in the marketplace of millions of dollars. You need to balance that against the pleasure of dating or sleeping with women at Yale.
Considering that you can be throw out of Yale without proper due process, based on the accusations of a student that has their thinking twisted by a moonbat professor, and then have it voted on by a moonbat professor, I ask, why would you do it?
Date the girl at the coffee shop, or the bar, or find a girl at a local community college. But for god’s sake, stay away from the crazies at Yale. (And even if they don’t seem crazy now, they may have crazy friends that will push them that direction if you break up with on, or hurt their feelings) The risk just isn’t worth it. I wouldn’t recommend it, but even an escort is probably a less risky option than sleeping with a Yale chick.
His teammates, his present coach, and his former coach all support him. I am beginning to think that this is well-placed solidarity.