The Masked Fencer
Another week, another infuriating story from the Olympics….
Alex Hadzic competing in Tokyo
USA Fencing alternate, Alex Hadzic, is under investigation for multiple sexual assaults that occurred between 2013 and 2015. So far 3 female fencers have reported Hadzic to the US Center for SafeSport, the nonprofit created to protect athletes from abuse.
True to form, both SafeSport and the Olympics replied to the allegations with a “no worries bro” and let Hadzic compete anyway.
Hadzic's teammates, however, were not on board with SafeSports' judgement call. They protested the decision by wearing pink masks in support of sexual assault survivors. A pretty mild demonstration, but Hadzic did look like an utter loser his un-coordinated black mask.
On game day we wear pink.
The deeper you go into the story, the worse it gets. Prior to the games 6 different women, including 2 other Olympic athletes, asked the committee to reconsider having Hadzic on the team. To appease the complaints USA Fencing created a "safety plan" to protect other athletes from Hadzic.
Truly I couldn't make this shit up if I tried.
As part of the plan Hadzic had to fly in separately and find accommodations outside of the Olympic village. He was also forbidden from practicing with female teammates.
Here's a thought: if your athlete requires a “safety plan” to not rape other competitors, maybe it’s time to pick a different alternate. And yes, let's not forget that Hadzic is an alternate. Ultimately he didn't even compete, and the US finished in 9th.
A pretty shitty standing to even attempt to justify sending a predator to Tokyo.
The fencing uniform
Fency Pants
Of all people to represent the country, why choose the rapist? Any fencer would love a chance to compete. Surely someone else wouldn't have required the same amount of planning to keep women safe.
Though, admittedly, fencing doesn’t seem to care about their female athletes in general.
A 2018 survey found that 3 out of every 5 female fencers polled had experienced sexual harassment at the hands of someone within the fencing community.
...so not the most welcoming sport for women.
Remember the demographic that's interested in fencing to begin with. We’re talking about rich, white men, who thrive on nepotism and evading consequence. Brianna Sacks and Melissa Segura for BuzzFeed News found the environment regularly includes women being told to sit on coaches' laps, getting groped at tournaments, and being threatened.
Ew.
In theory, none of that garbage should matter for USA Olympic teams. After Larry Nassar was outed, the government set up SafeSport to investigate claims of sexual misconduct for teams participating in the Olympics - a huge step in the right direction. That said, the nonprofit is still in its infancy and struggling to make good on their initiative. In Hadzic's case in particular, SafeSport has moved at a glacial pace, gotten basic facts wrong, is not reaching out to witnesses.
One women told BuzzFeed News that she was stalked by a referee to the point that he threatened to kill her dog if she didn't have sex with him. Eventually he pressured her tournament roommate to give him their hotel key so he could come assault her.
In 2019 she reported this and other instances to SafeSport, but ultimately they didn’t work quickly enough to see any major change. She dropped claim this year on the condition that he go to counselling, and, as far as I can tell, he’s never seen any punishment for that pre-meditated attempted rape.
Hadzic’s story is eerily similar. In university he was known to corner drunk freshman at parties because they “do whatever you want." In addition to the 3 investigations of sexual misconduct, 10 different women have filed complaints to SafeSport about Hadzic's sexual and violent behaviour. In one report a woman alleges that he kicked a sleeping homeless person and laughed about it.
His conduct got him suspended from Columbia, but that didn't stop him from prowling on other campuses. Hadzic would often party at Penn State while unwelcoming at his own school. Fencers in the community knew him, but had no idea of the allegations of sexual misconduct surrounding him on Columbia's campus.
He was free to keep hunting on a different turf, unbeknownst to the first-year women he routinely took advantage of.
he NCAA hiding rapists at other schools
Chain Mail
Looking at Hadzic’s fencing career shows a level of negligence for women’s safety that is truly appalling. Though in the NCAA that’s just good business…
In December 2019 an expose of the National Collegiate Athletic Association found horrifying evidence of what I like to call "rapist trafficking" among their athletes. Like the Catholic church, the NCAA has found ways to hide their demons in plain site, by moving them around from school to school.
It's truly amazing what organizations will help you get away with if you can run fast, throw a ball, or have a direct line to the Lord.
In an article called "The Predator Pipeline", USA Today reported that college athletes who are proven responsible for sexual assaults can continue to play for the NCAA, regardless of whether or not they have been suspended, expelled, are facing, or have been convicted of criminal charges. Even worse, sexual offenders are able to transfer from school to school without damaging their athletic careers so long as they haven't committed any other infractions from the organizations' 440-page rulebook.
So we're clear, the NCAA has regulations surrounding weed, bad grades, and accepting free meals, but not a single rule citing "penalties for sexual, violent or criminal misconduct." In essence, you can rape as many women as you'd like and we'll turn a blind eye, but don't you dare flunk a test
USA Today found 28 athletes in the last 5 years who had transferred schools despite being disciplined for a sexual offence at another college. They also discovered more 5 athletes who continued playing after being "convicted or disciplined for such offences through the courts."
It's a make bail on Monday, make baskets on Tuesday kind of model.
Transferring is also an extremely common part of the university world. NCAA itself reports that 12% of their current Division I student-athletes have transferred in from other campuses. Just for reference, 12% is roughly 55,000 athletes, so we aren't taking about a couple rogue stars that are forced to move.
This is a highway of athletes, and they are running over female students. No questions asked.
The Other Side of the Fence
We have a desire to protect straight white males to a degree that is baffling. Compare that to the experience of black women at the Olympics, and the divide is clear.
The grass is greener on the side with the predators.
Take, for example, Sha’Carri Richardson. She was banned from competing in the Olympics for testing positive for cannabis - the world’s least performance enhancing drug.
What the actual fuck.
Apparently staying ‘clean’ is more important than not attacking fellow athletes. The Olympics would rather you abuse women and endanger other competitors than hit a bong.
Let’s not forget that Sha’Carri is the fastest woman in the fucking world. Hadzic is an alternate. If the argument is about winning medals, the US got it blatantly wrong. This isn't about sending the 'best athletes' forward, it's about prioritizing male potential over women's experiences. Simple as that.
Sha'Carri is one example of many. The Norwegian beach handball team was fined for wearing shorts instead of bikinis, swim caps made for black hair were banned, female racers weren't allowed to compete because they had too much natural testosterone....
The Olympics only wants to have white girls in bikinis and rapists in their midst. Show some skin, shut up, and ‘stay safe’.
Of course this isn't only a problem within the Olympics. Right now we're just seeing more women compete. In reality female athletes are often up against abusive teammates, systems, fans, and coaches.
Mary Cain, for instance, was the “fastest girl in the world” at age 17. She was the youngest athlete to make the World Championships team, and most of us expected to see her in the Olympics. Back in 2013 she signed a deal with Nike to become part of their elite Oregon Project team. Instead of being catapulted into running fame, however, Cain faded away into obscurity. She left the team and came out against Nike and her coach in 2019.
While training with the Oregon team, the main focus became on Cain's weight. Her coach, Albert Salazar, believed 'the heavier you are, the slower you are.' She became so thin that lost her period for three years, starting breaking bones, and was contemplating suicide. It was never enough for Salazar.
The choice to leave the team ultimately became a critical decision about health, and the New York Times reported that staying could have lead to osteoporosis or infertility
In July 2021 Salazar was given a lifetime ban by SafeSport for emotional misconduct, a big win for track and field and the nonprofit. Slowly demons are crawling out of sports like they are from Hollywood.
Unfortunately the systems to protect them have been in place way longer than people have been believing women.
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Where My Dudes At?
In all of the stories I’ve told about gender-based violence, sexism, and assault, I don’t think I’ve seen male allies be as supportive as they are in this one. Sure, Hadzic's teammates only sported different coloured masks, but at least they had no interest in being associate with a predator. That counts for something.
Many think it isn’t enough. At least one other female fencer thought the masks were a form of “performative activism.” At this point I’ll take what I can get.
In 2015 College Humour released a video urging men to pay attention to sexual assault. The sketch has 5 guys surrounded by an angry bear. "Don’t worry", one says, "he’ll statistically only eat one of us."
As poignant as the video is, the stat is now widely believed to be 1 in 3. This isn't just a women's issue. If 1 in 3 men were eaten by bears, you best believe we'd be going to war in the woods.
The hashtag #BelieveWomen is generally not said for the ladies. Statistically speaking we aren’t the ones raping people. We also tend to understand the obstacles other women face. Real change comes when men start holding each other accountable. As cute as the pink masks were, next time I hope the USA fencing team feels empowered to file their own reports.
Or, if they felt like it, feed their teammate to an angry bear.
