Chicago Tribune

Commentary: Northwestern sports enable a toxic culture of sexual violence

Students, faculty and others march toward the Northwestern University president's home on May 7, 2021, to protest the hiring of Mike Polisky as the school's new athletic director in 2021.

When I read about the allegations of rampant sexual violence in the Northwestern University football program, I was horrified. But sadly, I wasn’t surprised. As a cheerleader, I, too, was a victim of sexual abuse and harassment at Northwestern University, and school officials did nothing to stop it.

From 2018 to 2019, I was groped by drunken fans and alumni in public at football games. At university donor events, older men touched me inappropriately, picked

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