A Columbus jury is currently deliberating a rape verdict against two former Ohio State football players, Amir Riep and Jahsen Wint.
The alleged victim and the players testified in the trial, with Riep and Wint revealing a rare honest look at the behind-the-scenes machinations of a major football program.
From Jordan Laird of dispatch.com:
Two former Ohio State University football players, one on trial on rape charges and the other a witness, testified during a trial in Franklin County Common Pleas Court Wednesday that players were told by team officials to record or get evidence of consent with their sexual partners to protect themselves.
Amir I. Riep and Jahsen L. Wint, both 24 and former defensive players for the Buckeyes are each charged with two counts of rape and one count of kidnapping, all first-degree felonies. They’re accused of raping a then-19-year-old female freshman on Feb. 4, 2020 at a Northwest Side apartment Riep and Wint were staying at.
Yes, these two men are on trial for serious charges; it’s entirely possible that they’re lying about the facts of the case to present themselves in the best possible light.
But I don’t believe that’s what happened here. I believe that they actually got that advice, if not from their position coaches, then maybe the kinds of assistants to an assistant that handle these sorts of things at major college football program.
The problem about filming a women granting sexual consent, like Tupac Shakur infamously used to do, is that consent can be revoked an any time. Just because a woman consents to rough anal sex or whatever does not mean she then has to follow through on the act.
But, if you’re going to film your sexual partners granting consent, it’s probably best to do that before the encounter and not afterward while they’re crying.
A key piece of evidence in the case is a cellphone video Riep took of the alleged victim which was played in court. The short video is visually dark but captures the sound of the woman saying she’s crying and then agreeing after Riep asks if the sex was consensual.
Asking a woman if the sex was consensual is not that famous move that dudes love to do after consensual sex. That Riep thought something like that would vindicate him goes back to the coaching he received that women granting consent on video would somehow absolve him of any gross sexual misconduct.
It was bad, incomplete advice. And thanks to Riep and Wint’s own actions, they’ll most likely be going to prison for the next couple years.
But hey, this is Columbus, Ohio. All they need is one Buckeye message board poster from the troglodyte wing of the fanbase and that’s a hung jury—even before considering the recent performance in by-cases by the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office.
Riep and Wint are innocent until proven guilty but the facts of the case don’t seem to be in their favor.
The jury resumes deliberations Thursday morning.