The Return of Hnida

Katie Hnida is back in the news. She has written a book entitled, "Still Kicking." If you don't remember Katie Hnida, she is the young lady who became the first female kicker to kick and score in Division 1 college football, namely for the University of Colorado. To put it mildly, her tenure under University of Colorado head coach, Gary Barnett, was difficult. Hnida was allegedly harassed and raped by her teammates. Barnett displayed little sympathy and infamously said, "It's obvious Katie was not very good. She was awful. Katie was not only a girl, she was terrible, OK? There's no other way to say it."

I do not know Katie Hnida and I have not read the book (yet). However, I wanted to mention the book here. Maybe say something snarky about how a lot of guys will be disappointed she's not making a triumphant return to do the Maxim layout they have been praying for. Maybe praise her for being a pioneer for women's sports, which in fact she is.

I did not really want to get into the harassment she allegedly suffered at Colorado. Page 2's Jemele Hill couldn't wait to dwell on that topic. Frankly, although well written, I think Hill's article is quite the killjoy. There are definite positive aspects of Hnida and what she represents. I don't know why Hill chose to focus on things that may or may not have happened that are mostly going to alienate the audience she writes for. I don't doubt that Hnida was harassed. I don't even doubt that Hnida was raped. However, I don't expect a football team to be a harassment free zone. And I can't extend full credibility to a woman who claims that she was raped, but didn't bother to report the incident through the proper channels. It's possible to be empathetic, but also cognizant of when people don't do things the right way.

So thanks, Jemele. I guess my "she's hot" and "she's inspired 3,000 high school girls to kick and that's great" post would not be that meaningful to you, but that's really all I wanted to say on the subject