“What has to happen for someone to actually stand up for us and say ‘Enough?’ To use their power or their clout ..to say,’enough of this?'”
In a scathing report published by the Washington Post late Thursday afternoon, fifteen female employees of the city’s NFL team alleged a toxic work culture of intimidation and harassment that took place over the course of a decade.
The stories are painful to read but they’re also, sadly, unsurprising. As the Post’s report spread across social media, the reaction was one of dismay and horror, but not of surprise. It was not surprising that this kind of culture was allowed to thrive inside the Washington NFL team, nor was it a shock that men would behave this way towards their female co-workers.
Unfortunately, the refrain from many women, especially those who work in sports media, was that the stories of these 15 women were all too familiar. For too long, harassment has gone hand-in-hand for women trying to work in a sports landscape, and as much solidarity as women show with each other, it’s well past time for men, in the front office and on the field, to stand up and show real allyship.
In a moving segment on ESPN Radio’s The Intersection, Elle Duncan spoke about the pain of not just having to live through these moments, but the specific kind of hurt of watching men stand to one side and do absolutley nothing.
“This is where I ask for allyship from our brothers,” Duncan said in tears. “If this was a situation involving racism the men on that field would take a stand and they would…use their power. But it’s women. That’s how you affect change. It’s 53 dudes on that roster saying, ‘I won’t play for this man.’ Because, you’re standing up for women. And no one will do it. Nobody stands up for women. They say, ‘This is what you get. You entered this field, you knew what you were doing.’
Duncan kept fighting through her tears, echoing the frustration and heartache of so many women.
“When? What else has to happen? What else has to happen? They have to be accused of actual sexual assault? What has to happen for someone to actually stand up for us and say, ‘Enough.’ To use their power or their clout and their cache for us. To say, ‘enough of this?’ I’m tired of it. I’m tired of hearing these stories and I’m tired of being numb to them…that’s why nothing will change because no one will stand up for us. Nobody that has any power to stand up for us will stand up for us.”
The truth of what Duncan said is hard to ignore, especially considering the absolute garbage response Washington team owner Dan Snyder put out after the Washington Post’s story.
Snyder didn’t apologize, he showed zero contrition for the culture he enabled and has so far refused to answer questions directly about the alleged incidents. Under Snyder, there’s very little hope that anything will actually change in Washington, despite the resignations of two top team officials.
Like Duncan said, misogynistic cultures grow when the people in power, specifically the men in power, refuse to stand up and dismantle them.
Women can not win this fight on our own. We need help. We are begging you to help, and still, many just want to turn a deaf ear.
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