Justice

These Men Are Redesigning Football Helmets So Colleges Stop Ignoring Their Sexual Assault Problem

August 6th 2016

As any avid college football fans will tell you, helmet decals are supposed to be a symbol of accomplishment.

But two coworkers--one designer and one writer--are now referencing the tradition to tell an uncomfortable truth about college football.

sexual assault helmetGreg Dyer and Rance Randle

The image features a re-creation of a Baylor University helmet, covered with stickers symbolizing a woman's body.

It's a reference to the Baylor sexual assault scandal, in which Baylor University was accused of mishandling sexual assault allegations against some of its football players.

In August 2015 the school hired law firm Pepper Hamilton to conduct a formal investigation. In their report, investigators called out school administrators and officials within the Baylor's football program and athletic department for failing to effectively respond to sexual assault complaints.

A separate report by ESPN's "Outside the Lines" also found that the university "did not investigate a sexual assault report made against two football players for more than two years," and that "Baylor coaches and officials were aware of sexual assault allegations against players but did not pursue disciplinary action."

Amid these reports, the university demoted its president Kenneth Starr and fired its head football coach Art Briles earlier this year.

And just last week, the Associated Press reported that women who tried to report sexual assault incidents were told they could face punishment for violating the college's code of conduct regarding sexual activity and alcohol consumption.

As sports fans, Gregory Dyer and Rance Randle wanted to call more attention to this on-going problem on college campuses.

"We wanted to raise awareness about a bigger issue," Dyer told ATTN:. "We kind of wanted to show that even though we love sports we can still be critical what’s wrong with them, and we can still try to make them better and make people aware of them."

sexual assault helmetGreg Dyer and Rance Randle

"It seemed like the most iconic way to represent visually. When you see it you automatically understand that it’s a woman," Randle told ATTN:. "We thought that iconic imagery you would see on a bathroom door would read much quicker and to our happiness it has read pretty well."

sexual assault helmetGreg Dyer and Rance Randle

According to a 2015 survey by the Association of American Universities, 23 percent of women said they has experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact while in college, CNN reported.

Correction: A previous version of this article reported that both Dyer and Randle were designers. The post has been updated to reflect the correct professions of Dyer and Randle. Dyer is a writer and Randle is a designer.

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  • Correction:August 08, 2016The original post reported that both Dyer and Randle were designers. This post has been updated to reflect the individual professions of Dyer and Randle. Dyer is a writer and Randle is a designer.
This story was first published August 6th 2016.