Dan Snyder’s going to be pissed

I woke up this morning to some wonderful news: the United States Patent and Trademark Office canceled six federal trademark registrations for the name the Washington R*dskins. This is kind of big news. I saw it on Twitter, and I guess the Washington Post has an article about it, but I’m still not reading them because they troll or full on hate women. Know who doesn’t? ThinkProgress. Travis Waldron has a post up over there. Go there, read it.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office found the name is “disparaging to Native Americans” and therefore can’t be trademarked under federal law because it prohibits the protection of offensive and disparaging language. Two immediate thoughts: 1. It took how long for you guys to figure this out? And 2. Someone alert the rightwing, a racist’s freedom of speech isn’t getting special protection so clearly the first amendment is in danger. Just kidding, but really wait for them to descend all over this.

This ruling stems from a case brought against the team by plaintiff Amanda Blackhorse on Wednesday. The U.S. PTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board said in its opinion: “We decided, based on the evidence properly before us, that these registrations must be cancelled because they were disparaging to Native Americans at the respective times they were registered.”

No shit. Obviously, the plaintiff is happy about the ruling. Of course, in 1992, the U.S. PTO rescinded the team’s trademark protections, but that was overturned due to a technicality, but that is supposed to be fixed this time around. I’m going to wait and see what happens before we get too excited. I mean the ruling could be reversed again. Or if it holds, this doesn’t mean the name changes. Instead people can bootleg the shit out of Washington merchandise. I’m also thinking this will piss off other owners because they are going to lose money too. Oh, capitalism, we might get a name change yet. Not because it is the right thing to do, but because white men are going to lose money. How did we not think of this before?

"Oh chief runs without moral compass"

John Oliver on the Washington football team. I'm really loving all things Oliver.

If a team avoids drafting Michael Sam because he’s gay, can he sue for discrimination?

This is a question posed by Ian Gordon and Matt Connolly for Mother Jones. As everyone heard by now Missouri All-American defensive end Michael Sam came out on Sunday as gay. Almost immediately after Sam came out people started noting that some football teams might not want THE GAY on THE TEAM, team cohesion and all that.

So what do we know? Well, 27 of the 32 NFL teams are in jurisdictions that have some kind of state or local laws prohibiting discrimination against gay employees. We also know that in 2011, the league and the NFL Players Association added an anti-discrimination policy in their collective bargaining agreement. Additionally, the New York attorney general’s office reminded the NFL that questions about intimate partner relationships constitute as discrimination under state law (the NFL is based in Manhattan).

If a player thought that a team was breaking the league’s policy (or state/local laws), the union could file a grievance on behalf of the player. That could lead to arbitration and some kind of penalty for individuals or teams involved. Then if a player wanted he could pursue the case in the courts.

That said, what about drafting? If not being drafted a form of discrimination? Like any kind of job, skills and a variety of other things go into being picked or not. However, if someone who is consistently qualified keeps getting passed because of gender, sexuality, etc. then it is discrimination. But like every kind of discrimination, that is hella hard to prove. As far as anonymous discriminatory comments would have to be traced back to the source and could then be used to prove a gay player wasn’t picked up.

Sam is one of the best players around right now, and I can’t imagine some progressive team wouldn’t pick him up. Anyway, in Cleveland beggars can’t be choosers.

Cleveland, we're winning

It has been rough. We can’t get a break and every time national attention is on us it is because some new kind of terrible is happening. But yes, in on Sunday, we win. And not just win, but seriously win.

The Cleveland Indians (yep, hate the name) won their tenth game in a row on Sunday getting them the AL Wild Card spot. They beat the Twins 5 to 1. They will play the Rays or the Rangers on Wednesday in the Wild Card game. It is all pretty crazy given Terry Francona is leading a “group of ruffians and no-names.” Come on Cleveland.  

Full disclosure, I don’t care much for baseball. I pull for the Indians because CLEVELAND, but I don’t watch  close or follow stats. But it is hard not to be swept up in it (see what I did there with the sweep reference ? *brushes shoulders off*).

But what about football? The sport I actually love? We’re winning. I know! I’m shocked too. We beat the Bengals like red-headed stepchildren (17 to 6). We’re tied with the Ravens and the Bengals for first place in AFC North. We traded Trent Richardson to the Colts for the first round draft pick. So everyone thought we’re not going to do much and once again hedge our bets for next season, but no. Backup quarterback Brian Hoyer has led us to victory in both games since the trade. The article linked concludes with this “All in all, a pretty nice little Sunday for Cleveland. Browns win, Indians claim a playoff spot, and LeBron James didn’t win any game that we know about. Go on Cleveland.”

*Self high-five*

Oh Fuck No: Steubenville continues

There was a beautiful write up about Steubenville on feministing about not wanting to live in a world where this is acceptable. I understand the sentiment, but this shit just fuels the flames and fires me up. I know at least half the people who read this blog are dudes. I don’t have any idea why mind you, but I know who you are. Thus, I understand your knowledge about “mean girls” originates with Tina Fey, maybe a sister, a female friend, or maybe even a gay friend who understands women. But this shit happens, and it can be way worse than a “burn book,” boyfriend stealing, and name calling. 

 

Jezebel had a piece written by Doug Barry on two teenage girls being charged with menacing Steubenville’s Jane Doe on social media. Menacing? How bad could that be? Oh, bodily harm and death threats, my bad. The two girls had taken to Facebook and Twitter after Richmond and Mays were convicted to threaten the life of Jane Doe, who by the way is asking any donations be made to a local women’s shelter (amazing). 

 

Attorney General Mike DeWine announced one girl had been charged with aggravated menacing after “weaponizing” her Twitter account to threaten Jane Doe. Question: “weaponinzing” a Twitter account? I’m not sure if this is awful or amazing. Next step in drones? Maybe a new app on Facebook? DOD hands off my ideas. DeWine added that another girl had been charged for making similar threats on Facebook. The girls are 16 and 15 respectively. 

 

Both girls will be charged in juvenile court. DeWine issued a statement to send a message to those who hide on the Internet:

“Let me be clear. Threatening a teenage rape victim will not be tolerated. If anyone makes a threat verbally or via Internet, we will take it seriously, we will find you, and we will arrest you.”

 DeWine is going to be pretty busy in the next few months because he will convene a grand jury next month to continue investigating the Steubenville rape case, specifically if anyone at the parties are guilty for not stopping the rape or reporting it. According to the Plain Dealer so far there have been 56 interviews, including the owners of the home where the party occurred, the Steubenville high school principal, superintendent, and 27 football coaches. An additional, 16 people refused to cooperate for various reasons. 

 

Of course this continues…Can anyone explain to me how Reno Saccoccia, Steubenville’s head football coach hasn’t been fired? Katie Mcdonough has a piece on him for Salon. I always assumed that Ohio’s law stating that coaches (and all other school officials) have to report crimes involving students was kind of universal. Given that there was evidence presented during the Steubenville rape trial that demonstrated Saccoccia knew about the rape of a 16-year-old girl and didn’t say a word to the school or local law enforcement. So I’ll ask again, why is this man still employed?

 

Deadspin editor Barry Petchesky has the theory that like his players, Saccoccia believed he was above the law because they are local football celebrities. Additionally, Saccoccia is a pillar in the community: the football stadium is christened “Reno Field;” he has breakfast with the sheriff; he is in the Ohio Coaches Hall of Fame (we have one of those?); and he is a licensed mediator for the county’s juvenile courts.  Mays’ cellphone indicated that he texted a friend: “I got Reno. He took care of it and shit ain’t gonna happen, even if they did take it to court. Like he was joking about it so I’m not worried.”

 

Because no one in this town is worried apparently. Petchesky noted that “the players were convinced they were untouchable because they’d committed the rape on Saccoccia’s turf…They were right, for a while. If the Times hadn’t turned its eyes to Steubenville, and hacker groups not exposed the graphic evidence, it’s a legitimate question whether justice would have been done at all. Whether or not Saccoccia took a personal hand in protecting his players, the Steubenville reaction is a symptom of what happens in a football-mad small town run by a deified coach.”

 

I agree with a lot of what Petchesky is saying here except that the Times didn’t break the story, a local blogger did, and then Anonymous got involved and shit got real, fast. Secondly, as noted by Mcdonough, this isn’t just a small football-mad town’s culture, this is indicative of a culture where sexual assault is normalized and women are dehumanized. This happens a lot in high schools and colleges across the county, and it isn’t limited to small towns. It just manifests in different ways. I have my fingers-crossed that Saccoccia is one of the coaches interviewed by DeWine’s investigation and hopefully with an indictment from a grand jury to follow. 

 

Finally, I saw on AtlanticWire  this morning that Ma’Lik Richmond is going to appeal the decision because his brain wasn’t fully developed. #IHateEverything I'm beginning to understand that Steubenville slogan about "Roll, Red, Roll." This shit isn't going to end.

I’m going to lose my damn mind. I swear.

I saw this story come over The Atlantic Wire this afternoon on the Steubenville Rape case; Alexander Abad-Santos wrote the story. Today the public trial of the alleged Steubenville student athletes begins. The lawyers for Trent Mays and Ma’lik Richmond are claiming the victim (Jane Doe) consented to the whole thing despite the pre-trial testimony from three (untried) high school students who witnessed the 16 year-old woman being “dragged around by her hands and feet, and slurring her words, and at one point lying on the ground before she was penetrated.” As many of you remember that picture that was up everywhere about this story.

Stay classy.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports “Defense attorneys [Rachel Dissell, Richmond’s attorney, and Walter Madison] believe the girl, who lived across the river in Weirton, W. VA., made a decision to excessively drink and –against her friends’ wishes—to leave with the boys. They assert that she consented to sex. [Citing]  an abundance of evidence here that she was making decisions, cognitive choices…She didn’t affirmatively say no.” 

Hear that ladies? No take backs, if you go anywhere with a dude expect to be raped especially when there is alcohol involved or you've been sexually active in the past. I hate everything. 

The victim will not be testifying when the trial begins in Jefferson County juvenile court (judge Tom Lipps took over for a recused judge with ties to the Steubenville High football time) because a West Virginia judge blocked a subpoena of the girl and two witnesses called by the defense.

Richmond’s attorney, Madison,  has taken this as an excuse to bully the victim, “The person who is the accuser here is silent just as she was that night, and that’s because there was consent.”

He seems to be using a definition of consent I'm not familiar with, or he doesn't know what it means. 

The Atlantic Wire wanted to take a moment to remind everyone “date rape” exists. I’d like to remind everyone that rape is rape. If she didn’t say yes then it is rape. If she didn’t provide consent without a doubt then it is rape. Don’t want to be a rapist? Then ask for consent and don’t rape. I just googled Madison, and they have an email address set up to funnel all the emails about the Steubenville case. I’m guessing they already received a lot of "you know what rape it right?" emails.

In the US, under the law, a woman or girl can accompany her attacker, but that doesn’t equal consent. Also, under the law if a woman or girl is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, willingly or unwillingly, she is not at fault for the assault. Additionally, date rape is a felony under Ohio state law (suck it nerds) with two mentions of controlled substances in the National District Attorney’s Association classification of rape (as pulled from The Atlantic Wire):

Mays and Richmond are being charged with rape, the kidnapping charge has been dropped, however, Mays may face a charge for “illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material.” Of course this is juvenile court (which is bullshit right out of the gate), the defense seems to be claiming the victim was a out-of-town groupie who was drinking a lot and following Mays and Richmond from party to party, but not so drunk that it impaired her judgment (which makes her responsible as a groupie and the players innocent because that's how it works? Yeah it is crazy to see in type.). This relies on hearsay and the lack of physical evidence from the police despite the leaks and viral videos.

This defense doesn’t align with the pre-trial testimony from the three student athletes who witnessed the assault. It also doesn’t align with the pre-trial testimony of Mark Cole, the Steubenville football player who drove from party to party who said the girl “was just sitting there, not really doing anything…She was kind of talking, but I couldn’t make out the words she was saying.” Or the New York Times account of the pre-trial testimony of Steubenville athlete Anthony Craig, that said "At one point, the girl was on the ground, naked, unmoving  and silent, according to two witnesses who testified. Mays, they said, had exposed himself while he was right next to her. Richmond was behind her, with his hands between her legs, penetrating her with his fingers, a witness said.”

There will be media allowed in the courtroom, so I suspect live tweeting in addition to actual journalists. I need to know how these attorneys are going to prove this girl gave consent while being carried from party to party unconscious with witnesses. Personally, I think everyone involved should be tried as adults. I'm also not optimistic about the boys being found guilty or any punishment they might receive if they are.

I knew I was lazy my whole life for a reason...

Shocking news was uncovered by CNN.com today! As it turns out, there is a link between multiple concussions and brain damage. Gasp! Anyway, this will teach my parents to give me grief about never playing sports in high school.

Someone has been opening the brains of dead athletes and they have found "chronic traumatic encephalopathy" in 4/5 brains of formal football players. As it turns out, we all knew concussions were bad, but no one knew how deep the damage really was:

"The damage affects the parts of the brain that control emotion, rage, hypersexuality, even breathing, and recent studies find that CTE is a progressive disease that eventually kills brain cells."

I guess the part that confuses me about all this is that we're just now figuring this out.