it sure is a shame that football players are discriminated against so horribly at colleges like swarthmore. after all, we know that college sports, football in particular, are actually harmless. in fact, they're character-building! they make all the real leaders! because y'know what? it takes a coach to really show a kid how to behave like a man.

from the nyt (NB: hnida was a placekicker; barnett was her coach; hoffman is the university pres):

"Hnida told Sports Illustrated that she was assaulted in the summer of 2000 at the home of a teammate while attending Colorado. Asked why she didn't tell police, she said she was afraid of the player and didn't want a ``media mess.''

Barnett later that day snapped at a reporter who asked him about her abilities. ``It was obvious Katie was not very good. She was awful,'' he said. ``Katie was not only a girl, she was terrible. OK? There's no other way to say it.''

During a brief news conference in Boulder late Wednesday, Barnett apologized ``for answering that question in a manner where I must have come across as insensitive.''

He said his remarks were taken out of context or misinterpreted.

Hoffman, who was not present for Barnett's press conference, said the coach ``was not apologetic'' when she discussed his remarks with him earlier. ``It was my feeling ... that he did not understand the seriousness of the comments he had made the day before,'' Hoffman said."