Cutting ties with Spear

Three weeks ago, a story appeared in the pages of the Idaho Statesman that shocked many people. But, in reality, it should have surprised very few.

The piece in question detailed the University of Idaho Athletic Department’s response — or lack thereof — to a sexual assault complaint made against former football player Jahrie Level in April 2013.

According to the Statesman, Level’s inappropriate actions were reported to the Moscow Police Department and to several members of UI’s athletic staff by former diver Mairin Jameson.

Olivia Heersink | Argonaut

Jameson said Level had assaulted her at CJ’s Nightclub in downtown Moscow, stating “Jahrie came up behind me and put his fingers up my skirt and rubbed them from the front of my underwear all the way to my butt,” the Statesman reports.

After the incident, Jameson said she met with UI Athletic Director Rob Spear, Vandal football coach Paul Petrino and other university staff members.

She described the attack and previous interactions with Level to the group, but was told by Spear there was nothing the university could do for her because it had happened off-campus and she had no proof of the event or past harassment, the Statesman reports.

Prior to the assault, Jameson said Level had made several sexually suggestive comments to her, according to the Statesman. She also witnessed him making violent threats against another student athlete, former distance runner Maggie Miller.

The Statesman reports Jameson said she received no sympathy or an apology from either Petrino or Spear during the meeting. Counseling options were mentioned, but for Level, not her.

Despite multiple people from athletic department being made aware of Level’s behavior, no one reported anything to the dean of students, including Spear — a direct violation of Title IX.

Spear, who is considered a mandatory reporter, said he assumed police would notify the dean of students, but since Jameson hadn’t decided to press charges yet, the Moscow Police Department didn’t make contact, leaving no one to actually investigate the allegations, according to the Statesman.

Spear should have taken it upon himself to contact the UI Dean of Students Office, but he was negligent and ineffective in providing due process to Jameson.

Jameson said Spear did end up apologizing to her — five years later — in an email a month before the story broke, the Statesman reports.

Spear blatantly admitted his wrongdoing to the Statesman, but yet, he remains employed at UI. A petition has begun circulating around social media this week calling for his removal, garnering over 300 signatures and counting.

According to Title IX guidelines, Spear was supposed to take immediate action to prevent further harassment, except he allowed Level to continue roaming around campus, while Jameson feared for her safety.

Spear said he was operating under an outdated university policy that didn’t include off-campus incidents of assault or violence, the Statesman reports. However, UI revised that procedure in March 2012.

It is disgraceful that someone in such a high university position would claim they were unaware of important policy changes made a year before, and even if that was the truth, Spear still should have prioritized student safety above all else, especially when some of the events did occur on campus.

In the five years that have passed since Jameson’s assault, who knows how many other students have been led astray because of Spear’s inability to educate himself on university procedures.

Keeping him employed does nothing but tarnish the university’s name, especially when other institutions across the country are making strides to better support survivors of sexual misconduct. In comparison, UI seems stagnant.

Slapping him on the wrist won’t show the university’s commitment to change, but firing him will. It’s time to rip off the Band-Aid and cut ties with Rob Spear.

Olivia Heersink can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @heersinkolivia