In this case of sexual assault, it is far too easy to categorize Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez as “just another athlete.” If we judge people by such standards, then do we dismiss Jeffrey Epstein as “just another hedge fund manager” or Kevin Spacey as “just another Hollywood actor?”
There are, within these cases, a troubling predictability to how we categorize people in all ways except the obvious: a complete breakdown in ethics fostered by friends, families or institutions that look the other way. Worse are the institutions that never look at all, that never bother to hold people to ethical standards.
Felipe Vazquez
Felipe Vazquez is a gifted athlete and as a result, a multi-millionaire, who admitted to having sex with a 13-year-old girl. The assault is alleged to have taken place in August 2017.
In testimony he admitted driving an hour to see the 13-year-old and then started having sex in the driveway of her home. Apparently, the sexual encounter was cut short because a police officer spotted the activity. However, the complaints against Vazquez stated that as recently as July 2019, he sent her a text stating he wanted to finish what he had stared. He allegedly stopped finishing the sex act because he had a game to pitch that evening.
The police have just charged him with “…statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors, as well as a misdemeanor count of indecent assault of a person less than 16 years old.”
In addition to the charges in Pennsylvania, he is also facing charges stemming from sending pornographic materials to the same underaged girl in Florida.
The police officer in Pennsylvania who discovered the two said, “It’s a shame. It’s sad,” he told reporters. It’s disgusting every time I have to come up here in my 21-year career and talk about something of this nature.”
According to the reports, the girl’s mother “…allegedly found the illicit photos and texts and notified police in Florida. When they interviewed the girl, she told them about the incident in Scottsdale — launching the investigation by Pennsylvania authorities.”
More than Voyeurism
There are those “fascinated” by this scandal who might shrug it off as acts of the entitled; of “powerful” men taking sexual advantage of young men and women. However, it is much more than that.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that in the decade from 2006 to 2015 there was no significant change in sexual violence, of about two cases of rape per 1,000 women. However, those are reported statistics.
It has been found that about sixty-five percent of the time, college-aged women might report cases of rape and sexual assault to a friend, but less than ten percent of the time would a young woman or man ever report it to the police.
The numbers reported are far less than actually occur. Predatory men (and women) know this.
Felipe Vazquez saw in the 13-year-old a girl who was highly vulnerable and extremely naïve. He knew he could easily take advantage of her and the opportunity was there. His need was obviously sexual but more than that, he had immense power over her. He was not only an idealized romantic figure in her eyes but a successful, major league baseball player with access to wealth, fame and influence. He knew this.
How does a man now approaching 30-years-old rationalize having sex with a young girl? Either by envisioning her as a “throwaway” body or by his having a complete lack of ethical training. He is a Venezuelan national; perhaps he even felt as though the laws of the U.S. did not apply to him.
He is an All-Star baseball player – surrounded by teammates, coaches, managers and sports agents. His annual salary is $2.5 million. He is not without advisors, friends or confidants. It is impossible to envision that no one in his life told him of the total lack of ethics of what he was doing.
Therein lies a much bigger problem. Men such as Vazquez, Epstein, Spacey and others surround themselves with like-minded individuals. Unethical individuals seek each other whether in workplaces or baseball stadiums. Ethical training helps deter these behaviors.
