Mixed Reactions to PHS 'Fantasy Sex League'

A letter from Piedmont High School Principal Rich Kitchens notifying parents of PHS students about the existence of a "fantasy slut league" among male varsity athletes at the school produced mixed reactions from local parents and students Saturday.

Among readers who commented on Piedmont Patch's original article, several parents — especially those who have daughters attending PHS — said Kitchens' approach to dealing with the issue did not go far enough.

In contrast, some readers who identified themselves as current or former PHS students said Kitchens' report was inaccurate. While they didn't deny the existence of the "league," those readers said athletes did not coerce female students and only tallied sexual activity that would have occurred in any case.

Nationally, nearly half of all high school students report having engaged in sexual intercourse, and about 7 percent of females ages 18-24 report that their first sexual intercourse was nonvoluntary. About 10 percent of high school students report having experienced dating violence. See more details in the "Teenage Sexual Activity" section below.

In his letter, Kitchens wrote that "because we do not have specifics about participants or victims, our focus is on education and understanding moving forward, not discipline for past activities."

"I am appalled by the administrations decision to hold an "assembly" to educate and "move forward," said Lee Ann Clements, who identified herself as the parent of a sophomore girl at PHS. She suggested that boys involved in the league should be banned from PHS sports teams for a year.

"Seems to me the 'punishment' for this activity simply reinforces the idea that this behavior is insignificant," said Andrea Alpine, who also said her daughter attends PHS. "It seems inconceivable that the young men responsible can not be identified."

"Why isn't PHS conducting a real investigation to find out what is actually happening and who is behind this behavior rather than simply focusing on 'education and understanding moving forward, not discipline for past activities'?" asked Carole Parker, a parent of two PUSD students. "It is incredibly SAD that PHS students are most concerned about how this might affect their college applications and NOT that they regret harming another child." [Editor's note: Piedmont Patch originally identified Parker incorrectly as a parent of two PHS students. She has two children in lower grades and a child who attended PHS for one year before transferring to a different school.]

While no students or recent graduates commenting on the article identified themselves by name, some appeared to be PHS students. In general, they said female students were not pressured or bullied into sexual activity. Some suggested that female PHS students have operated a similar "league" rating male students.

One interesting comment had to be deleted because of inappropriate language (the classic f-word). However, it said, in part, "Hi, Im 'x,' and I am one of the founding fathers of FSL ... I helped set this league up because me and my bro's threw down so hard all the time, and pulled tons of chicks (your daughters) that we thought we would spin a little twist on fantasy football and get points for various sexual encounters. Did we have parties? yes. Did we have specific FSL parties in which we would only invite girls on teams and get them really drunk and slip them some ketomine and hook up with them? Of ... course not.

"Nobody was ... rapped or harrassed or pressured into racking up points. The girls didn't even know about this, and even when a few found out, they took it as a challenge to try and get MVS."

Another commenter identifying himself or herself as a former PHS student with "intimate knowledge" of the activities wrote, "There was never any sexual harassment. These sexual acts that occurred would have occurred either way. There was never, in my experience, older men preying on younger girls.

"Girls, young and old, attended 'DPs' or dance parties and drank alcohol (during pregames which happens at your houses parents) with out any input or encouragement from guys. The only thing the 'league' did was tally any time a girl hooked up with a guy at one of these parties. The guys who 'drafted' rarely or in most cases never talked or had any sexual encounters with girls they drafted let alone 'sexually harass' them."

Teenage Sexual Activity

SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States) has compiled information from various sources on its Questions and Answers: Adolescent Sexuality webpage.

It says, "According to the 2007 YRBS [federal Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System survey], 46.8 percent of high school students (45.7 percent of high school females and 47.9 percent of high school males) reported having engaged in sexual intercourse.

"The NSFG [federal National Survey of Family Growth] had similar results, finding that 45.5 percent of young women and 45.7 percent of young men ages 15–19 have engaged in sexual intercourse. The data show that as young people get older they are more likely to have engaged in intercourse.  According to the YRBS, 63.1 percent of high school seniors reported having had engaged in sexual intercourse, and the NSFG found that 68.8 percent of young women and 64.3 percent of young men ages 18–19 had engaged in sexual intercourse."

In a 2011 report, the Kaiser Family Foundation said, "Nearly half (46%) of all high school students report ever having had sexual intercourse in 2009, a decline from 54% in 1991. Males are no more likely than females to report having had sex (46%)."

The KFF report also said:

• Twenty-six percent of female teens and 29% of male teens have had more than one sexual partner. The percentage of high school students who report having had four or more sexual partners declined from 18% in 1995 to 15% in 2009.
• Almost one-quarter (22%) of sexually active high school students reported using alcohol or drugs during their most recent sexual encounter, with males having a higher percentage (26%) compared to females (17%), and White males (28%) higher than Black males (21%).
• One in ten high school students reported having experienced dating violence. Seven percent of students have been physically forced to have sexual intercourse, with females (11%) more likely than males (5%) to report this experience.
• In 2006–2008 it was found that 7% of females ages 18–24 reported that their first sexual intercourse was nonvoluntary. This was more likely to be the case for female teens whose partner was three or more years older (13% nonvoluntary, 19% “really didn’t want it to happen at that time”).

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