Male student-athletes commit one in five college sexual assaults.

Do I have your attention yet?

This statistic comes from the Benedict-Crosset Study, a review of 107 cases of sexual assault reported at 30 Division I schools between 1991 and 1993. The study found that although male student-athletes make up only 3.3 percent of the collegiate population, they represented 19 percent of sexual assault perpetrators and 35 percent of domestic violence perpetrators. The researchers' conclusion -- "male college student-athletes, compared to the rest of the male population, are responsible for a significantly higher percentage of sexual assaults reported to judicial affairs on the campuses of Division I institutions."

Although this study is 10 years old, any argument that it is no longer representative of the current situation is illusory. In addition to the numerous incidents of violence reported in the past year, more recent studies have corroborated the Benedict-Crosset findings. For instance, one researcher concluded that these recent studies "indicate a disproportionate number of campus gang rapes involve fraternities or athlete groups." (See Kelly Simmons' article, "Sex Crimes on Campus Often Silent," in the February 17, 2002, edition of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.)

Many within the athletics community are quick to blame the media for hyping the occurrences of athlete violence against women. They assert that men in general commit violent acts against women at the same rate, but that the media focuses on athletes more because of their popularity. Even Todd Crosset, one of the authors of the Benedict-Crosset Study, remarked that some of the media exaggerates the issue of athletes' violence against women. Yet, Crosset asserted, "These exaggerations do not discount that there is solid evidence of a problem in sport."

The question of whether the media is to share some of the blame in hyping this problem is merely fodder for sports spin doctors. If anything is clear from the statistics, it is that athletes do commit violent acts against

women far too often. Instead of denying the problem and pointing fingers, it is time we began taking steps to solve the problem.

It is understandable that the first step universities have taken in the effort to combat student-athlete violence against women is to enact or more rigidly enforce sexual harassment and assault policies. Under pressure from groups outside the athletics department, as well as concern for possible legal liability for student-athlete violence, many universities have attempted to confront the issue and hold student-athletes accountable for their behavior. These universities are to be commended for taking this initial step.

However, merely stating a policy in a code of conduct for student-athletes does not guarantee an educational environment free from physical and sexual violence. It is highly doubtful that each student-athlete will take the time to actually read the entire code of conduct. This is an observation that I found to be true of myself as a student-athlete and to be true of my teammates as well. With the demands placed on student-athletes, reading a sexual harassment and assault policy within a code of conduct falls rather low on the list of priorities. Even if the policy is highlighted or mentioned, the effect it will have in deterring violent conduct is arguable, unless the policy is adhered to and stressed by the coaches and athletics staff. It must be remembered that violence against women, especially domestic violence, is a socially learned behavior that has been conditioned within many student-athletes for years as socially acceptable behavior. We cannot expect student-athletes to suppress violent behavior against women simply because they are told it is wrong and will not be tolerated.

Further, these policies are reactions by universities to acts of violence against women that already have occurred. Instead of focusing solely on reactive policies, the athletics community should also be discussing what steps need to be taken to ensure that most, if not all, student-athletes never commit violent acts against women.

A study of programs and manuals aimed at either the athletics or general population, suggests that there are three basic components that athletics departments can implement to prevent violence against women:

Create an awareness campaign that does not avoid the issue, but rather fosters communication and dialogue for discussing violence against women;

Educate student-athletes, coaches and athletics administrators of the issue of violence against women; and

Promote healthy relationships through student-athletes, coaches and athletics administrators modeling the proper respect for women.

Before there can be any active solution to ending violence against women by male student-athletes, we must first make the issue a topic of discussion. Athletics administrators, coaches and staff are responsible for the continued growth and maturity of student-athletes as men, not just athletes, and must be open to discuss and confront violence against women. If the athletics community will not talk about the issue, the acquiescence to this behavior will continue.

Talking about the problem, however, is not enough to change behavior. Maybe the most important step an athletics department can take to prevent violence by student-athletes against women is to provide examples of athletes, coaches and administrators who are involved in healthy, non-abusive relationships. This point cannot be stressed enough: modeling is essential to preventing domestic violence by student-athletes.

Remember, violence by athletes is a socially learned behavior. The only way to combat that acceptance of violence against women is to provide student-athletes with examples of the proper respect for women that can hopefully begin to reverse their previous history. Coaches are the most influential people in a student-athlete's life. Coaches define the appropriate standards of behavior that are required and set the value systems for their student-athletes. Therefore, appropriately modeled behavior by coaches is crucial to any program.

The athletics community has provided enough domestic violence headlines for the sports pages, and it is time the trend is reversed. Although sexual harassment and assault policies are important first steps, attention should also be focused on ending the violence before it starts. It is our responsibility to the student-athletes, to society and to the women who have been disrespected and ignored by our community for far too long.

R. Jake Locklear is a former student-athlete at Stephen F. Austin State University and a former member of the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Locklear currently is attending law school at the University of Texas at Austin.