Kat O’Brien: I was raped by an MLB player

This story isn't about the rapist you mouth-breathing jerk @ThomsonONE. It's about her, it's about all women, it's about how women are devalued, it's about how when even a women who tells a trusted friend about an assault there's always a "yeah, but ..." it's about how, still after all these years, women are at risk when they walk in spaces dominated by men.
It's not about him FFS

 

I'm sure it was a real picnic to be the person who accused Patrick Kane in 2015. Oh, wait. It wasn't.

 

Quoted for truth.

And I'm amazed people don't understand that.

 

If you read that and think it's meaningless, you're probably male.

 

So if this same thing happens in 2021, can she report it immediately? Have we grown that much as a society?

Are we close?

 

Can she? Yes. Will she? I think in great degree that depends on where she is and what the support system at work and around her looks like. There are certainly states where doing so would get her branded with an offshoot of a Scarlet Letter. Some employers would be supportive, most would likely be lukewarm and semi-supportive at best. It would also depend on the degree of "he said-she said" involved versus provable allegations.

I think that the odds favor that she keeps silent, at least for a period of years to get her head wrapped around all that was involved. That's sad, but I think it's true.

 

If she's a 22-year-old woman just out of college and starting in a career dominated by men? Probably not.

 

Closer than we were 20 years ago and light years compared to where we were 60/70 years ago but that doesn't mean we're perfect.

Short answer, yes, she can report it immediately. She always could. Your real question is if she reports it immediately, will her report be acted on and believed and not given some token attention? Maybe not. We're a post Me Too society, but we're also a post Trump society. As one dipshit poster already proved, there's hundreds of ways that the report is taken "seriously" not seriously. Especially in the boys club of athletics. I mean look at Deshaun Watson. Twenty-two sexual assault accusations and people's biggest concern is where he will play next year a not the 22 women making accusations.

As Mngwa mentioned, if she isn't a seasoned reporter vet, this doesn't get quite the exposure or "belief."

 

Thats like running around saying Beetlejuice. You are risking a return visitor from another realm.

 

The NFL let Art Schlichter play with a gambling addiction (until it could no longer abide) and it will let Deshaun Watson have a normal offseason like any dude who has been accused of nearly two dozen assaults.

Fact: The league has yet to interview Deshaun Watson.

 

You ask "Can she/someone similar tell her story in 2021?" That's more a reflection of us than her and the answer sadly is most probably a resounding no.

The support for attackers is mind-boggling; sports means SOOOOOO much to people its sickening.

Here's my story; I moved to a new neighborhood about 14 yrs ago and within a year a story breaks in the community about an inappropriate relationship between a very popular (I find out) girls volleyball coach (40s, father with daughter on the team) at the middle school (a friend lived on same street and confirmed this). The vast majority of the support I read about in the press (no Twitter or NextDoor then) is for the COACH!! Nothing about the 8th grade girl. People are outraged about such an allegation against THEIR beloved coach, "he would never do that." Well during the investigation its revealed that there were 1000s of text messages between the two, the evidence was damning. Thankfully he was imprisoned and kept away from other kids.

Its sad that people try to pretend they know what goes on behind closed doors.