Holly Santero, Senior Editor
@SanteroCourant
What types of qualities do we hope to see in our future president? Most would say they’re looking for an intelligent, respectful leader who advocates for the unity of our country. However, what we’re seeing with the childish antics and constant smear campaigning in the current election has painted out the nominees to embody anything but the ideal presidential character.
Although I won’t be able to vote in the upcoming election, I’ve followed the campaign closely and have noted the amount of negative press surrounding Republican nominee Donald Trump. Recently releasing quote after quote from Trump, the media has revealed his monumental lack of respect and pompous attitude regarding women. Along with comments calling women “pigs”, “dogs”, and “disgusting animals”, Trump has truly outdone himself in his conversation with Billy Bush about a married women. In a boastful manner, Trump tells Billy Bush how he “moved on her like a b****. But couldn’t get there. And she was married.” Convincing Bush of his gallant success with women, Trump adds, “when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.” In case you have no idea what “anything” entails, Trump politely describes just what “they” let him do, saying how he can “grab ’em by the p****.” His entitlement and boastful attitude towards disrespecting women in undeniable with the release of this recording, and one would most likely expect a profuse, overwhelming apology from a possible future president.
However, proving himself deeply loyal to his comments and unchanged in his sexist ways, Trump released an apology video just over one minute that explains his comments as merely “locker-room talk”. In saying this, Trump uses other men as his crutch for his disrespectful attitude.
If his comments are entirely true, that means that all men, when behind the closed doors of a locker room, ditch the whole respect for women thing and immediately convert into some type of barbaric misogynists. Other men, shockingly enough, were confused and offended by Trump’s apology, saying that locker rooms are not just outlets of sexist behavior.
Out of all the male athletes upset over Trump’s comments, one of the most recognized, decorated athletes of all time, took particular offense and decided to speak out about his opinion on what “locker room talk” means to him.
LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, also husband and father of three, revealed the lack of truth behind Trump’s comments, saying, “What is ‘locker room talk’ to me? It’s not what that guy said. We don’t disrespect women in no shape or fashion in our locker room. That never comes up. Obviously, I got a mother-in-law, a wife, a mom and a daughter and those conversations just don’t go on in our locker room.” Instead of calling what Trump said locker room talk, James concludes his comments by labeling the comments as “trash talk” instead.
James, an actual athlete with a lifetime of locker room experience, discredits Trump’s comments entirely, demonstrating how it’s entirely unfair and extremely false to attribute Trump’s own sexist opinions on the behavior of all men. Blaming his vulgar remarks on a culture that has been proven to be false by athletes like LeBron James shows how Trump, the Republican nominee we have selected to possibly lead and represent our country, can’t even treat half of our population with the slightest bit of decency that we as women deserve.
