DeAndre Levy is a linebacker for the Detroit Lions who has been a stellar player since entering the league in 2009. But it was after the 2015 NFL season, in April, when his name became widely known, after writing an essay for The Players’ Tribune called “Man Up.” The piece was written on the heels of an announcement that Levy would be raising money to test 11,000 rape kits that were found in a warehouse, abandoned by Wayne County prosecutors.
I spoke to him about football and sexual assault. This is edited transcript. To listen to the full audio from my podcast Edge of Sports where I interview Levy, please click the link at the bottom of the piece.
Dave Zirin: What was your reaction when you heard that Donald Trump explained joking about sexual assault as being just “locker-room talk”?
DeAndre Levy: I don’t buy that. I feel like when you dismiss it as “locker-room talk,” the next step is dismissing the actual act. I think it’s something that needs to be addressed, something that we don’t really think about because it’s all normalized. It’s an idea that a lot of athletes have: entitlement—as Trump said—that you can do whatever you want when you’re famous.
A lot of athletes stepped forward to say that Trump’s boasts about sexual assault is not language they have ever heard in a locker room, but I know you think that it is more complicated than that.
Absolutely. I think, no one says “grab them by the pussy” or “you can do whatever you want, when you’re famous,” but that doesn’t take away from the way women are spoken of and referenced, not even just in the locker room, but also in predominantly male circles.
You had this great line in your “Man Up” piece, where you wrote.
It’s a great example of not being a bystander to rape culture. How would you handle it if, hypothetically, you had a teammate who spoke in the locker room like Donald Trump?
First, you have to let them know what they’re doing is [describing] sexual assault and show them why what they’re doing is not acceptable or an act to be glorified or something to brag about. I think that’s first.
Secondly, you have to find a way to find out if this person is really doing this or not because if they are, then it’s not necessarily a one-time scenario. So, you have to see if there’s something really going on and try to take it to someone who can look into it and find answers.
When I was at school there were a lot of things going on that I never thought to question or see as a problem because it was so normalized. There were two specific instances where I would hear guys talking about things that happened, laughing and joking, even sharing photos.
Back then, at 18, I was unable to identify it as sexual assault. That really kind of sticks with me from a guilt standpoint. My lack of understanding and lack of education as a young person, a young male, shouldn’t be revealed in college. We need to prepare our boys better so they can go into these situations so we can stop things from happening. I think a very, very important part of why I’m writing and speaking out is to educate. Let’s bring awareness to this. Let’s teach our young boys better, instead of just teaching our women what not to do, which is asinine. We have to teach our boys. We have to let them know that they’re a part of culture, but they don’t have to be a part of that culture.