After reading how the Alligator staff responded to the Chris Rainey story, I was thoroughly disappointed. Saying Rainey “just sent a sexy text message that said ‘Time to die bitch’ among other sweet nothings” is trivializing a serious issue.
In addition, one of your sports editors claimed because the girlfriend didn’t really want to press charges “this isn’t that big of a deal.” This is a false statement. Current statistics report one in five college females will experience some form of dating violence. Focusing on ”Will Rainey ever get to play again for the Gators?” isn’t the real issue. The real issue is that women ages 16 to 24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence of any age group.
I would like to see the university and community use this incident as a wake-up call
that no matter who it is, this behavior is never OK.
If you have experienced dating violence, rape or other intimate partner violence, you are not alone. You can make an appointment with a UF Victim Advocate at 352-392-1111 or with the UF Counseling Center at 352-392-1575.
I can only hope in the future the Alligator and other news sources will concentrate more on the real issue at hand rather than one athlete’s downfall.
Editor's note: The letter refers to this editorial
http://www.alligator.org/opinion/editorials/article_fa10fe2b-2086-5f1e-bdc6-38fca628a768.html
