In the ongoing saga surrounding Pierre Pierce’s sexual assault case, new revelations have now shown the University of Iowa made a number of errors in handling the case. While these latest disclosures are unfortunate, the real disappointment lies in the fact that Pierce’s status as one of the Hawkeyes’ top players may have caused or contributed to the mistakes.

According to The Des Moines Register, the errors included the opinion that “Pierce’s status as an athlete appear to have dominated the concerns of some of those involved” and the university officials involved should have been broadened to represent more than just athletics.

It is obviously reprehensible that Iowa made these mistakes, but it is not hard to see how an athletic department could receive leverage in a case like this.

At both Iowa and Iowa State, men’s basketball is a big source of revenue, in terms of ticket sales, merchandise sales and both national and regional exposure for the university. But, as most people realize, this revenue stream is also closely tied to the success of the team.

Pierce would have arguably been Iowa’s top returning player, so perhaps concessions were made to ensure that his absence would be limited to only one year. The wound was already there, visible to all, so Iowa simply decided to find the way to stop the bleeding and cover the gash. I can only wonder how the events would have unfolded had this assault been committed by one of Iowa State’s prominent athletes.

However, the greatest error discovered is listed last in the Register article (its placement, in a sense, both disturbingly and ironically appropriate in relation to the rest of the case) saying, “Protection and support given to the victim by university officials may have been insufficient.”

Oh yeah, the victim.

It is so easy to forget someone was sexually assaulted. The attention is focused on the big-name athlete and his sexual assault charge, not on his victim (and to describe this woman in any other way is incorrect). She has been overlooked and forgotten time and again, both by the media and, apparently, by the administration of the school where she, just like Pierce, is pursuing higher education.

Granted, this is partly due to her state of anonymity in this whole situation. It can be difficult to fairly represent someone, and indeed even remember him or her, when there’s not a name or face to identify with. However, her wanting to remain unidentified and the media’s respecting that wish notwithstanding, it seems this woman has been wronged yet again.

Throughout the United States, countless numbers of sexual assaults go unreported. On this very campus, the percentages say that some people have been assaulted and remained silent about this crime.

Some don’t realize they have been assaulted. Others are afraid of the consequences of reporting, of the social stigma that many people associate with those who have been assaulted. Sexually assaulted women are sometimes thought of as being promiscuous or of somehow bringing it on themselves. Sexually assaulted men are essentially just laughed at, as they are obviously something less than real men for such a thing to occur. And so these violations go unspoken, the complaints go unheard and the violators go unpunished.

The woman in the Pierce case weighed all these risks, plus others associated with accusing a local celebrity of such an act and causing this man to be unable to play basketball for the Hawks, and still decided to report what happened.

She should be admired for her strength and courage. I can only assume that many people in a similar situation would not have the fortitude to speak up in such a case. She should serve as a reason for other victims, women and men alike, to report the crimes committed against them. Instead, it seems the university did not view this as one student sexually assaulting another, but as a sexual assault by an athlete.

I can only hope that this latest revelation does not deter victims at Iowa State, the University of Iowa or anywhere else from reporting sexual assaults. The last thing needed is one more reason to not report sexual assaults.

Reporting does take courage and strength, but it can be done with support and help. It does not have to be you against the world. And in light of this terrible situation in Iowa City, I honestly believe university officials’ aid will not be “insufficient.”

Dustin Kass is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Dubuque.