Missoula Journal: Sex Charges Cast a Pall on a Montana College Town
But as the season gets under way, some longtime fans in this mountain-ringed college town are wrestling with their feelings in the wake of a series of allegations of sexual assaults by football players that were either unreported or minimized, and the most serious of which remain unresolved. Susan Hay Patrick, chief executive of the Missoula United Way, is a Grizzly supporter who will not be in the stands. “The magic has not gone away for me,” she said in an interview. “But I want to stand with the people for whom the magic has gone away. It’s my way of having it not be business as usual.” There is no professional football team anywhere near Montana, and for many in this city of 67,000 and beyond, the Grizzlies are the team. Fans pour into Missoula from hundreds of miles away, from around the state and beyond, to watch the games in the scenic 25,000-seat stadium that sits beneath the grassy flank of Mount Sentinel. The Grizzlies, in the Big Sky Conference, won a national championship in 2001, and are perennial playoff contenders in the Football Championship Subdivision. Last year they were in the semifinals. And then the sky fell, as stories started emerging at the end of last year. One student told the police that in December 2010, she was drinking and passed out. She awoke to find herself being assaulted by four football players. Later three other football players were implicated in two separate sexual assaults. The police investigated all of the allegations but did not press charges. In February of this year, the Grizzlies’ starting running back, Beau Donaldson, was charged with rape in connection with a 2010 episode. The starting quarterback, Jordan Johnson, faces rape charges as well. Both have said they are innocent. If convicted, they face two years to life in prison. In April, the contracts of Robin Pflugrad, who was Big Sky Conference coach of the year in 2011, and Jim O’Day, the athletic director, were not renewed. No explanation was given. There was widespread feeling in Missoula that players had been coddled, their transgressions ignored or played down. Three players involved in the sexual assault allegations, for example, including the two charged with rape, are represented by lawyers who are board members of a Grizzly booster organization. The series of events led to a federal Justice Department investigation into how the university, the City of Missoula and Missoula County handle the reporting of sexual assaults. It is also investigating the university under Title IX, part of federal education law, and Title IV, under the Civil Rights Act, for how it handled sexual assault accusations. And many wonder if the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which has its own investigation under way, will impose penalties. Changes have taken place. The university has introduced new prevention programs, and law enforcement officials have overhauled how they handle sexual assault complaints. The new coach, Mick Delaney, has vowed to emphasize character over football. And this week he suspended a starting cornerback for an unspecified offense. Despite the uncertainty that hangs over it all, many are ready to move on. “I’m really excited about the first game,” said Drew Owens, a student and a member of the track team who was running up and down the steps of Washington Stadium as a swarm of workers cleaned the seats. “The whole school and the whole town is excited. It’s a small town, and when it’s football season, it’s football season. This game is the biggest step to moving forward and putting all of the bad stuff in the past.” “People are more wary of associating with football players,” said Hannah Click, a freshman from Bozeman, who plans to attend the game. “As far as excitement for the game, though, it’s the same, and we’re going to go and cheer them.” The usual signs of the football season have cropped up all over town. A new Grizzly apparel store opened downtown, and John Carlon, a fan, was putting the last touches on a window painting at a local sports bar of 16 players, something he has done each of the past 24 years. “Football season is an exciting time,” Beau Anderson, a white-aproned bartender at the Missoula Club, said as he flipped a fragrant grill-full of homemade hamburgers. The club is a longtime sports bar with dozens of faded photos of past sports heroes. He believes enthusiasm for Grizzly football is undimmed. “This place will be packed from 8 until 2 in the morning.” Still, how the problems are resolved could have a big effect on this season and perhaps future ones. “There’s such a focus on the Penn State scandal, we’re under a microscope,” said Chris Badgley, a fan having lunch at the Missoula Club. Yet he said the team and the university would recover. “The football culture, the drinking, the binging, is unfortunate, but it comes with the territory. There’ll be a pall over the game, but not for the diehard fans.”
