When Will We Stop Pretending That College Athletes Can't Be Rapists?
LatestMizzou basketball player Michael Dixon Jr. was accused of rape last August, but his charges were dropped due to “insufficient evidence,” according to police, and because boys will be boys and she was clearly just a jealous slut who wanted his high-ranking D, according to popular belief everywhere. But this wasn’t the first time Dixon has been accused of rape. If superstar athletes don’t need to rape to get laid, why are so many of them accused of sexual assault?
On August 21st, a University of Missouri sophomore told police that she was raped on August 20th by Dixon, a senior point guard who was voted sixth man of the year in the Big 12 last season and was expected to make an even bigger name for himself in the upcoming year.
According to the Columbia Daily Tribune:
She said she invited Dixon to her apartment to get to know him better. She said he suggested they turn out the lights because his “eyes hurt” and that, after initially resisting, she agreed to turn off the lights and they went to her bed. She said that while she tried to talk to Dixon, he leaned in to kiss her and she kissed him back. She said Dixon got on top of her and “she told Dixon she did not want to do this but that she just wanted to kiss him.”
According to the report, she said Dixon told her to “chill out” and began tugging at her pajama pants. She said she told Dixon multiple times to stop, to which he responded, “just chill out.” She said she tried unsuccessfully to push Dixon off of her but couldn’t. She said she told Dixon, “No you don’t even have protection, this is disgusting,” and that after saying that, Dixon removed a condom from his pocket and put it on.
She said that soon afterward Dixon penetrated her and she was in pain and unable to move. She said Dixon asked her to turn around so he could penetrate her from behind, which she did. When asked by the investigating officer if she ever tried to stop Dixon, she said “she had just let it happen and she did not know why.” She said she was not afraid of being struck by Dixon.
According to the report, the woman said Dixon stopped after about 20 minutes and she reached for her pajama pants. She said that when Dixon asked why she was trying to put on her pants, she replied, “because this was never supposed to happen in the first place.” She said she went to the bathroom, and when she returned Dixon asked her to perform oral sex on him. She said she told him no, and then Dixon asked her to masturbate him, which she did. She stated “she didn’t know why she did.”
In a second police interview, the sophomore said she and Dixon had a past: they met in March, at a frat party, and had “tried to date,” but “Dixon would try to visit her late at night to have sex but that she would say no.” She also told the cops that she had texted him after the incident, saying they should hang out together, and that she was sorry for yelling at him. She also told him she didn’t want him just using her for sex. Dixon sent her an eloquent text back: “Okay.”
When asked why she didn’t report the offense right away (Huh? She reported it the next day…), the woman said she didn’t want to go through the rape kit and police reports and that she “also had concerns about seeing Mr. Dixon on campus.” She also said people worshiped Dixon due to his athletic prowess, meaning they wouldn’t take her seriously, and that she doubted the school would take her seriously, either. She said her sorority sisters eventually convinced her she should report the rape.
Of course, this is all “he said, she said,” right? She could be making all of this up. Here are some of the 100% not-made-up texts the two exchanged on September 4th:
Woman: “Just delete my number. Dont want anything to do with you.”
Dixon: “I’m sorry its not you I told you that I don’t have any problems with u I have just had to rethink my priorities and do what’s best for me.”
Woman: “Michael, what kind of person has sex with someone then doesn’t want to contact them afterwards. I barely text you. I didn’t even want to have sex with you in the beginning; i pretty much made that clear with you since last semester, but no Michael always gets What he wanta.
It looks like she was right; Dixon did get what he wanted. Sex that was totally on his terms, and no long-term consequences for his actions.
She, on the other hand, got this:
Mizzou students and alumni who think Dixon is innocent were egging each other on via social media last night, claiming that her behavior was confusing, that she’s just mad she didn’t get what she wanted, and that her testimony is worthless because she was clearly down for some action in the first place.