Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump defended lewd comments against women he made in a 2005 recording by dismissing the remarks as “locker room talk”.
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The recording captures Trump making vulgar statements about the way he hits on women.
“And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything,” Trump said.
“Grab them by the p—y.”
He later defended his comments as “locker room banter”, between himself and Access Hollywood host, Billy Bush.
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But pro athletes and sports organizations around the world condemned the presidential nominee for his “locker room talk” defence, including Football Saskatchewan.
“Locker room talk is players bragging, machismo, whatever else. What Trump was doing is completely different than that. It’s criminal what he’s talking about,” Football Saskatchewan executive director Jeff Yausie said.
However, the organization is taking steps to make the locker room a better place. The “Be More Than a Bystander” program was rolled out by Football Saskatchewan for the first time this year.
The program aims “to show other males that disrespectful and abusive treatment of girls and women is not cool, is not “manly”, and is completely socially unacceptable,” according to Football Saskatchewan’s website.
A selection of players considered leaders on Saskatchewan football teams have received training in gender-based violence and are expected to bring their knowledge back to their locker rooms.
“We spoke to a couple thousand players who are in our programs,” Yausie said.
“Minor football players look up to highschool players. Highschool football players look up to our elite players… So we have an opportunity to use these young men, to train these young men to give them the voice to empower these young people and really impact change.”
Training athletes in violence and abuse against women started in British Columbia in 2011, and was adopted by Saskatchewan when Inspector Evan Bray with the Regina Police Service took the lead in bringing the program to the province.
“If you can change an attitude, you can change behaviour. There’s no doubt about that,” Bray said.
He said he hopes the program will spread beyond just football so all young men know when banter turns to abuse.
“It’s easy to be in that situation and say, ‘I didn’t say it, I didn’t laugh at it’. But ultimately by not saying anything, you’re condoning the behaviour.”
With files from the Associated Press