Article from High School...

I promised some old school stuff....here is a good one....don't judge....

Katie Hnida made history at University of New Mexico by being the first woman to play and score in a Division I-A football game. However, before her historic feat at UNM, Hnida faced another challenge, which she was unprepared to handle.

In 1999, Katie Hnida, not yet a New Mexico Lobo, was instead, a Colorado Buffalo doing what she had always dreamed of doing, playing football. Hnida was recruited by then Head Coach Rick Neuheisel, who soon left Colorado for Washington. Gary Barnett took over and immediately life became miserable for Hnida and her dream became a nightmare.

According to Barnett, "None of the players wanted her on the team. Basically we were doing her a favor." Greeted with that attitude Hnida was harassed by the players from the first practice. She claims that during practice five teammates surrounded her and verbally abused her, making sexually graphic comments.

That was not the end for Hnida. She endured unimaginable taunts during practice. The worst came at the home of a fellow “teammate” where Hnida claims she was raped. Hnida left Colorado and quit kicking for two years. She was depressed and although she told her family about the harassment, she never told her family, or anyone else, about being raped.

In 2002, Hnida braved her fears and walked on to the UNM football team where she was welcomed with open arms. ”I have not had a single problem with any of my teammates at UNM. I have not received any special treatment, nor did I request any. That's a credit to the type of program that Coach (Rocky) Long is running at New Mexico,” said Hnida in a press release telling her side of the Colorado story. .

It seems like a long time since that Colorado experience and Hnida is just recently able to tell the world of the Colorado nightmare. Apparently, Hnida was not the only woman to have a bad experience with the Colorado football program. Since Barnett took over in 1999, seven other women have come forward with allegations against the university claiming that they were sexually assaulted by Colorado football players. "Because all the news sent me back into that nightmare," she says. "It made me literally sick. I realized that until I tell my story, I can never heal."

Hnida picked an opportune time to tell her story. She was being interviewed by Sports Illustrated writer and Colorado alum Rick Reilly and told her story at Colorado. Word quickly spread and Colorado was put on the defensive with the school initially backing Barnett. Then Barnett broke under the pressure and shot back at Hnida; “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." Barnett was placed on paid leave and an interim head coach was put in his place.

There have also been reports that Colorado has called an escort service and strippers on multiple occasions to “entertain” during recruiting parties. These parties have also contributed to some of the sexual assaults allegations the university has faced and does face.

The status of CU has left colleges around the country scrambling to change their recruiting tactics so this will not happen to them. Miami has faced a similar problem where two of their recruits were arrested after leaving a recruiting party. While some universities are scrambling to catch up to the modern world of sexual harassment and underage drinking, some universities appear to have already addressed the issue.

Maybe the answer lies in the players themselves and their abilities to control their actions. Many critics have ridiculed Brigham Young University’s strict Honor Code, but now some are starting to think that the base idea of a signed Honor Code agreement would be appropriate. Sports writer Dennis Dodd says, “BYU's Honor Code would be a good template if the NCAA and its members were serious about cleaning up college sports.”

The real question comes down to this should women play football, and should recruits and athletes be allowed to romp on campus without consequence. Still the fight rages on and the alumni of Colorado can only do as Sports Illustrated writer Rick Reilly, hope for the best and “Hide [their] class ring[s].”