University of Washington volleyball player Cassandra Strickland was offered a ride home by senior associate athletic director Roy Shick. It should have remained a kind, rather forgotten type of friendly gesture. Instead, Shick sexually assaulted and then raped her in the truck. What happened to Amanda Strickland should happen to no one.
The Report – and then What?
Strickland was hesitant to report the incident and she kept it to herself for several months. She met Shick at a fundraising effort which was Shick’s specialty. He was paid a lot of money, more than $250,000 per year.
At the fundraising event, Strickland was consuming alcohol and she said that when Shick offered her a ride she accepted because she did not want to get behind the wheel and drive home. In fact, the wife of another university employee saw her get into the truck.
Strickland never got home. Instead, Shick drove her to the baseball fields. He parked the truck and that is where the sexual assault took place. Strickland reported she “was in shock.” Though she didn’t verbally scream, she kept shaking her head “no.” After the rape, Shick drove her to her car and made Strickland kiss him before he drove off, as though the “goodnight kiss” would somehow exonerate his actions.
Shick was still too drunk to drive home so she slept it off in the locker room. When she finally reported the incident, the school did investigate. In September 2017, Strickland approached the UW sports psychologist, who arranged for Strickland to confidentially speak with UW’s Complaint Investigation and Resolution Office (UCIRO).
However, that is where this case of rape took on an even stranger twist. The university found her claim had merit. They worked up a settlement where they paid about $20,000 to cover Strickland’s mental health therapy. The university hardly reported the claim to anyone, not even the police! This was in March 2018.
Then, almost under cover of night, Shick left the university. He first worked in the private sector then amazingly (because no police report had been filed) he was hired by
Grand Canyon University.
He might have gotten away with everything had not an investigative reporter for the Seattle Times, who filed a public-records request, contacted Grand Canyon University and told them of the incident. He was promptly fired.
What Happened – Should Happen to No One
Reports of sexual violence apparently are not shown on background checks. Nor was UW obligated to share anything with Grand Canyon University. True, Strickland did not want it reported to the police, which the university requested she not do. The only real consequence was that (ironically) Shick was not eligible for re-hiring by the university.
Universities, for obvious reasons, like to keep these kinds of incidents quiet, preferring to handle things in-house. The university claims that “Throughout the entirety of this situation, our top priority was the well-being of the student, protecting them and adhering to their wishes.”
But was it?
Strickland is a tremendous athlete but was naïve when it came to her rights. She needed to request a lawyer, she needed to have the terms of the agreement reviewed. In a further outrage, the university was given the rights to access of her psychotherapy records.
Part of the problem is that Strickland had developed a friendship with the athletic director over the years. She thought they were friends and that the AD was looking out for her best interests. Perhaps this is a reason why Strickland did not want to implicate the program.
In the end, though the investigation confirmed that Strickland was “extremely credible,” and though 29 witnesses agreed with her allegations, almost nothing was done to Shick.
Said the AD:
“We followed our detailed protocols during the entirety of the incident. Our actions both during and following the investigation make our commitment to zero-tolerance for sexual assault clear.”
They followed protocols, to be sure, but did they follow good ethics? Cassandra Strickland got as far as she did because she finally confided her unbearable pain to a personal friend. Despite what the university says, they did what was necessary to cover themselves – only that. The sum of $20,000 for a school the size of UW is about what they have in their game day hot dog budget.
The scars are left to Strickland who will be mocked, doubted and soon forgotten. She will carry these scars for a lifetime. Shick and UW will carry on.
