Interesting turn of events.
3 Likes
Given that there was sufficient evidence for a safe sport lifetime ban, it would not surprise me to see them be very successful in a civil proceeding. I think the McDonalds are arrogant enough not to even try to settle, and that these victims absolutely want their day in court.
16 Likes
I agree with you, ladyj79. I am horrified by the extent of the allegations. The victims were hesitant to participate in the arbitration by SafeSport but they have had time to reconsider and have now brought civil suit. I hope they prevail. The actions of McDonald were monstrous and if his wife knew, that is equally monstrous. I canât get my head around ANY people thinking that kind of behavior is EVER OK. SMH
11 Likes
Debbie started âworking withâ Bob when she was ding! ding! ding! 14. And he was a married man. She knows very well who he is.
24 Likes
Reading between the lines of the article, this does seem to be the strategy theyâre hoping to take, that she should have known what he was doing with the girls based on her own experiences as a teenager. How anyone could do such a thing to these girls is just beyond words.
5 Likes
She is likely as much an abuse victim as those suing. But hasnât accepted that fact. Sad.
24 Likes
If Debbie was 14 when she started working for him, she was likely a victim, too. Iâm struggling to see how a groomed victim in a royally messed up situation is supposed to have the wherewithal to stop her own abuser from abusing others when she was barely an adult herself, and when any other adults were turning a blind eye. Based on the dates in the lawsuit, it looks like she was about 20 at the time. The whole thing is just awful.
29 Likes
Indeed. I have said as much on the boards. But like Suzy Hutchinson, it is unsurprising that Debbie has behaved thusly for decades.
6 Likes
Iâm about the same age as Debbie and those two victims. At about the same time, I was dating a guy who was 21 (my parents certainly did not know), and in fact continued for many years to date men who were 5-7 years older. And among my friends, I was hardly the only one dating guys long out of high school. Sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll.
I can guarantee I wasnât ever raped during these years, though according to the law, I couldnât give consent due to my age. Therefore, any of my BFs in those years could have been convicted of ârapeâ. That would have been a travesty.
I say this because I can totally see how all of this could have played out, without Debbieâs knowledge at the time.
5 Likes
But were your older âboyfriendsâ from those years also your coaches or employers?
Itâs not just an age differential in these cases⊠thereâs also a power difference to consider, and a history of predatory/manipulative coaches going after their own students.
34 Likes
To add to the above, while you, Tarlo, didnât think it was rape or abusive, the law is the law and your boyfriends could not feign being unaware of the ramifications if dating someone of that age/that much younger.
18 Likes
Also⊠the ages of McDonald and âJane Doe 1â in this case were 27 and 13, respectively, when the first act took place. âJane Doe 2â was also apparently 13 when the alleged rape took place, but McDonald was 28 or 29 then.
Hereâs a link to the OC Register article from Scott Reid, published back in February of 2021, which went into detail of the allegations. Theyâre pretty serious, by any measure.
13 Likes
Be sure to read the comments at the linked article in the OP.
1 Like
Itâs starting to seem like big name male hunter/jumper trainers that didnât have sex with their adolescent students back in the 60s-80s were the exception rather than the rule. And unfortunately it is still going on today. So gross.
18 Likes
No @anon6923113 , they were neither. And @Angela_Freda, I already remarked on the law, and in the '70âs I can assure you none of us cared about the law regarding this.
Also @anon6923113, thanks for clarifying Bobâs age - I had it at 21 or 22. A 14 or 15 year age difference is inexcusable. Still, I can see how it might be possible Debbie was unaware of anything or anyone outside of her vision and relationship with Bob.
2 Likes
Whether they or anyone cared or not, the perpetrators were aware that this was illegal.
17 Likes
well perhaps you didnât but there were some of us in these times and very aware of the law and scope. Being a very young working woman then was sometimes a minefield
22 Likes
This is true. Every guy back then knew the term âjail baitâ.
31 Likes
@Tarlo_Farm the fact you had to hide your relationship from your parents suggests that even in the 1970s it wasnât generally OK for a 15 year old girl to date a 21 year old man. I am probably a couple of years younger than you. I had a 15 year old friend dating a 19 year old doofus for a while, he was the kind of dude that was living an extended adolescence and probably wasnât attractive to women his own age. I donât think there was any harm done and I know she couldnât let her parents find out. She maybe lied about his age and said he was 17?
Huge difference from being involved with your teacher, or assaulted by the creepy barn owner who threatened girlsâ horses and later went to jail, both of which happened too.
I think in the 1970s, the âsexual liberationâ meant some men were carving out the right to be sexual towards anyone that caught their eye, but parents and responsible adults were against casual sex for their daughters and fully aware that older men were âonly after one thing.â
On the other hand, the submissive roles of women from the 1950s and early 1960s hadnât evaporated yet. Men in offices were handsy and groping and offensive and sexual liberation before womenâs liberation removed the remaining levels of constraint and protection.
Not in any world or time was the kind of rape described in this Court document considered OK, though. Not by the victim not by parents not by the law, and not by other men.
43 Likes
Ohhhhhh interesting comment for sure, thanks
3 Likes
