Football Legend’s Fall from Glory

Lawrence Taylor, a Hall of Fame Giants linebacker, was sentenced this week to six years of probation for sexual misconduct and soliciting a 16-year-old whom he believed was a prostitute. As a result of his guilty plea, he must register as a sex offender but avoided any jail time.

Although the judge in the case refused to allow the young victim to testify against Taylor, she told reporters that she felt he should have gone to jail. She refuted claims that she was a prostitute and shared that she was repeatedly punched in the face by her pimp and forced to escort Taylor into his room. The victim said she thought Taylor could see how young she was and that he was aware of the injury marks on her face.

After entering and accepting his plea, Lawrence Taylor appeared on Fox News to share his side of the story. When asked about the girl’s age, he said:

“I didn’t go pick her up on no dag-on playground. She wasn’t hiding behind no school bus or getting off some school bus. This is a working girl that came to my room and I don’t know what her age was… You can only ask. I don’t card them. I don’t ask for a birth certificate.”

This is not the first time Lawrence has solicited such services, either. He goes on to state that paying for intercourse is preferable for several reasons:

“I don’t have to worry about your feelings. It’s all clean. I’m not saying it’s right but it’s the oldest profession in the world… I have used the services before, you know. And I guess it is one of those crimes and you never think you’re gonna get busted with, because everybody does it until you get busted for it. And then it’s just more embarrassing than anything else.”

When the young woman claims she is not a prostitute, she is absolutely right. She did not voluntarily have sex with Lawrence, as evidenced by the cuts and bruises on her face. Rather, she is a sex-trafficking victim who was forced to engage in sexual acts for money. Her pimp, a man named Rasheed Davis, pumped her full of drugs and alcohol, beat her into coercion, and pushed her into Davis’ room against her will. Did he really not know that she was there against her will? Or did he know and just didn’t care?

In his post-sentencing interviews, Taylor has shown zero remorse whatsoever. Rather than apologizing for his actions, he justified them by saying men pay for sex all the time and that he couldn’t be held responsible since the prostitution trade existed long before he participated in it. His attitude was disrespectful and smug, almost as if he believed he got away with it.

Maybe Taylor is right… Perhaps he did get away with it. Sure he was caught but the consequences are laughable. His punishment in no way fits the crime he committed- six years probation and a $1,400 fine is far from the sentence he truly deserves.

Allowing this man to receive such a lenient sentence is sending the wrong message. It’s telling women and children that the crimes committed against them aren’t worth convicting. It teaches men not to worry about getting caught by the law because the consequences are minimal. The court system is not taking sex-trafficking seriously enough and until they do, women will continue to be sexually abused and exploited. What he did is NOT okay. His attitude is disgraceful and to say I’m disappointed in the judicial system that sentenced him is quite frankly, an understatement.

Is Prostitution a Choice?

February 10, 2010

I am currently reading the book “Half the Sky” by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. In the first few chapters, the authors cover forced prostitution and sex trafficking particularly of very young women.  They frequently note that adult women choose the lifestyle and therefore are not in greatest need of assistance (paraphrased).  First let me state that I really like the book.  It has exceptional stories of women rising from the ashes and using their horrific experience to contribute to the greater good.  On the whole, the book’s stories remind me that we are survivors.  I also agree that childhood sex trafficking is abhorrent.

So you might ask “what is my problem?”  Well, I want to explore the proposition that women choose prostitution.  For some women, prostitution is a choice.  But based on what?  I believe the word choice is a misnomer.  I think it is the result of the mainstream economic system’s deliberate (and successful) maneuvers to keep women from engaging in and benefiting from the established labor force in a meaningful way.

I parallel this to the mainstream economic effort to keep African Americans from participation.  It would seem that we have an entire underground economic system in our country for them that exists primarily as a substitute to achieve economic sufficiency and attain wealth.  It exists because African Americans have been systematically denied access to mainstream industry.

The problem with both alternatives lies in their danger.  Selling drugs, other contraband and prostitution are a means to an end.  These industries mimic “above ground” business in many ways however, except that violence is part and parcel of these industries and embedded in the rules of the game.  Both underground economic systems wear on the psyche and body. Prostitution is dangerous at best.   Incidence of substance abuse and sexually transmitted infection are much higher in the population of prostitutes.  Physical abuse is the norm.  Likewise, our prisons are full of participants of this underground economic system.  In the end, death and imprisonment are the risks of this game.

If the need to maintain this alternative economic system suddenly disappeared and the doors to Wall Street and Main Street opened equitably to accommodate all, would those engaged in dangerous and risky activities choose the alternative systems? So…back to my original question, when we say prostitution is a choice, I ask you, is it really?