By Gregg E. Clifton, Susan D. Friedfel, John G. Long and Bethany Swaton Wagner, of Jackson Lewis
Coaches, athletics administrators, and student-athletes must be educated in sexual violence prevention under a policy adopted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Board of Governors on August 8, 2017.
The new policy provides that annually, every member institution’s president or chancellor, athletic director, and Title IX coordinator will be required to attest that the school’s:
Athletic department is “knowledgeable about, integrated in, and compliant with institutional policies and processes regarding sexual violence prevention and proper adjudication and resolution of acts of sexual violence”;
Policies and procedures are distributed to all student-athletes; and\
Policies and procedures are readily available in the athletics department.
The new policy, however, does not impose any requirements with respect to bans or restrictions on the participation in athletics of individuals accused of, or found responsible for, violations of policies against sexual violence. Institutions continue to have discretion with respect to those determinations.
NCAA member institutions should review their training and awareness programs to ensure that all members of the athletics department, including staff and student-athletes, are educated about sexual violence prevention, bystander intervention, the institution’s procedures for filing and adjudicating complaints of sexual violence, and the resources available to support and assist those who have been affected by sexual violence.
Athletic departments should consider including the institution’s policies and procedures relating to sexual violence in their student-athlete handbooks.
