Last Friday, former University of Minnesota athletic director Norwood Teague resigned over multiple sexual harassment complaints.
Reports stated Teague harassed two female university employees by inappropriately touching them at an event sanctioned by the University of Minnesota, as well as by sending improper and graphic text messages to one of the women.
The sports writer who broke the news of the scandal is the StarTribune's Amelia Rayno.
Today, Amelia Rayno published another piece about former athletic director Teague sexually harassing a different woman: herself.
She wrote,
When former University of Minnesota athletic director Norwood Teague abruptly resigned on Friday and details of the sexual harassment complaints that led to his departure began to leak, some loudly wondered if there were other shiver-inducing tales out there. Not me. I knew there was another tale. It was mine.
Rayno goes into detail about how she was approached by Teague at a going-away party back in December 2013.
Rayno was covering the event as the StarTribune's basketball writer when Teague texted her and asked if she wanted to get a drink.
Being a reporter who writes about University of Minnesota athletics, it made perfect sense for Rayno to want to keep a professional relationship with the school's athletic director. But, Teague wanted a different kind of relationship.
Rayno wrote,
Suddenly, in a public and crowded bar, Teague tried to throw his arm around me. He poked my side. He pinched my hip. He grabbed at me. Stunned and mortified, I swatted his advances and firmly told him to stop. He didn't.
This wasn't the first time Rayno was harassed by Teague. She claimed the former athletic director once called her "cute" and asked if she was "wearing pajamas" -- to name a few.
In April 2014, Rayno talked with her editors and, eventually, the human resources department, but ultimately, she chose not to make a formal complaint.
She feared she would lose her University of Minnesota beat and, possibly, her entire career in sports writing.
It's more than understandable why a female sports reporter would fear the backlash that could possibly accompany a formal complaint, but Rayno admitted she regrets not doing more at the time.
She said,
At the time, I was still fairly green on my first real beat and, frankly, unprepared for something like this. I wasn't bold enough in my reaction. Had all of this developed now, I might have handled it differently. That's why, in light of the brave women who did step up, I decided to put my name behind my story in hopes that it will never happen again.
Respect to Amelia for coming forward and sharing her story during such a tumultuous time.
Citations: Star Tribune's Amelia Rayno adds her own story to Teague scandal (StarTribune)
