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President-elect Donald Trump referred to disparaging and sexually aggressive comments he made about women in 2005 as locker-room talk when confronted with video evidence of his remarks while on the campaign trail. His exact words during the second presidential debate being: This was locker-room talk. Im not proud of it. Yes, Im very embarrassed by it, and I hate it, but its locker-room talk.With so few Americans being privy to open and honest male-athlete banter in the locker room, many questioned if there was truth to his statement.However, as fate would have it, over the past month, we have gotten a glimpse into what a limited group of college athletes have actually said behind seemingly closed doors. Sadly, it wasnt far from Trumps description.In early October, a 2012 version of the Harvard mens soccer teams scouting report was released via the schools newspaper,?the Harvard Crimson. The report, as dubbed by its authors, was an annual ranking of the recruits for the universitys womens soccer team, which was based on their perceived likelihood to engage in sexual activity, physical features and overall sexual appeal (in addition to their positions on the soccer field).Not long after the release of the scouting report, we learned the schools mens cross-country team had devised a similar, albeit less explicit, spreadsheet for evaluating athletes on the womens cross-country team.Then in early November, group text messages from Columbias mens wrestling team surfaced. These messages disparaged women for apparently wanting equal treatment, reduced women to mere sexual beings and used homophobic and racist slurs.After school administrators investigated the content of the lists and messages (documents), Harvard canceled the remainder of its soccer teams season and Columbia suspended its wrestling team. But is that enough? And is it just? Many legal professionals have begun questioning the fairness and legality of the suspensions.These legitimate questions (see below) need answers.Im here to provide some.Legally, what disciplinary actions can universities take against student-athletes?Student-athletes have rights, but as representatives of their private universities, those rights are limited by school codes. The First Amendment to our Constitution says, Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech. The key word is Congress, meaning the government. The government generally cannot limit speech, but private schools certainly can. Therefore, if student-athletes at Harvard and Columbia say or write things that are at odds with the schools moral and ethical codes, they can be punished for it. Both institutions have expressed concerns that the behavior is the complete antithesis of what they stand for and the communities they strive to foster.Privacy rights really arent at issue here. Neither institution was responsible for unearthing the documents. Either someone directly involved with their making or some third party provided the documents to school newspapers and officials. Additionally, neither university has revealed the identities of the people involved. Documents provided for public consumption were heavily redacted, protecting the identities of the authors and the subjects.The identities we do know are those of the six brave, eloquent women from Harvards soccer team who issued a statement, Stronger Together. They laid out their feelings about the report and society as a whole in an effort to combat sexism and misogyny and to give themselves a voice in a conversation that had largely focused on the perpetrators, not the victims.Speaking of the ladies referenced or indicated -- do they have any rights?It appears that Harvard has contacted the women in the report, suggesting the school is taking their feelings or reactions into account. Because the ladies statement makes it clear that they suffered emotionally from the content of the report, they may be able to take legal recourse. As such, they might have standing (the ability to bring a lawsuit) against the authors under a theory of intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED). In Massachusetts, where Harvard is located, IIED occurs when someone, by extreme and outrageous conduct and without privilege causes severe emotional distress to another.According to the law, the ladies would have to show:1. The players intended to inflict emotional distress or knew (or should have known) that emotional distress would likely result from their conduct;2. The players conduct was extreme and outrageous, beyond all possible bounds of decency and unacceptable in a civilized community;3. The players actions caused the women distress; and4. The womens emotional distress was so severe that no reasonable woman should be expected to endure it.What about Harvard and Columbia; what is their direct responsibility?Title IX, a portion of the Education Amendments of 1972, states: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be subjected to discrimination under any education program. This requires that schools actively prevent sexual discrimination and hostile environments based on sex. The release of documents that objectified and disparaged women activated the universities Title IX duties to investigate the conduct, ensure it ceased, tend to the needs of anyone harmed and protect others from future harm. Failure to uphold those responsibilities could lead to costly lawsuits and penalties.But beyond the legal ramifications and limitations surrounding the documents, there are larger societal issues. The documents prove our culture still operates with sexist, misogynistic undertones. In the most elite of educational institutions, some men still look at women as mere sexual objects. These women are both athletes and scholars who have likely busted their butts for hours and years of their lives to get accepted at these prestigious universities, only to be reduced to sexual conquests, nicknames and numbers.The Bottom LineAs a woman and lawyer who works in a male-dominated industry, I write these words with the sincerest understanding of how great the battle is that we face to be respected. We fight it consistently and tirelessly, but we arent in this alone. There are countless men who genuinely respect and champion our causes. Think about all the NBA, NFL and MLB players who spoke up and said this is NOT my locker-room talk.When the conversations that objectify women happen in locker rooms, offices and text messages, both men and women should open their mouths and speak up for womens dignity and valid place on this earth. Fathers should teach their sons to truly respect women, and that masculinity is found in uplifting and supporting women, not degrading them.Cecelia Townes is a proud graduate of UCLA School of Law and the Real HU in Washington. She used to ball so hard on the tennis court. Now she serves it up on her blog, GladiatHers.com, and with student-athletes with Beyond the Game LLC.?Follow Cecelia on Twitter & Instagram @SportyEsquire Matt Breida Youth Jersey . -- Yogi Ferrell orchestrates pretty much everything in Indianas offence. George Kittle 49ers Jersey .S District Court against Major League Baseball, the Office of the Commissioner and his own union, the MLBPA. http://www.thesf49ersshoponline.com/Youth-jalen-hurd-49ers-jersey/ . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel. 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Thats the challenge in trying to be successful year one.Last year, Beard led Arkansas-Little Rock to its best season in school history, guiding the Trojans to an 85-83 double overtime thriller over No. 12-ranked and fifth-seeded Purdue in the NCAA Tournament.In April, he was hired to coach in Lubbock, where hed been an assistant for 10 years under Bob Knight and Pat Knight. He had accepted the job at UNLV in late March and jilted the school after learning that Texas Tech was looking for a replacement for Tubby Smith, who left to coach Memphis.Beard said Smith elevated the program in his three years with the Red Raiders, calling the Hall of Fame coachs time in Lubbock legendary.The Red Raiders havent had a winning Big 12 record since 2006-07, when Beard was an assistant under Bob Knight. Texas Tech finished seventh in the Big 12 last season (19-13, 9-9). They lost in the first round of the NCAA to Butler.Beards aim is to lift the program in the Big 12 standings and beyond.Wed like to join the top half of the league, he said. Then we would like to join the top tier of the league. We want to be in the conversation for championships. To do that is a process, but you have to start by being willing to talk about and I wont shy away from that.Here are some things to know about the Red Raiders, who open their season at home NNov.dddddddddddd 11 against Houston Baptist:MESHING PLAYERS AND MATURITYGetting the six new players -- three graduate transfers and three junior college players -- on the same page has gone well, Beard said. Even though were an inexperienced team playing together, were an experienced team with different parts, he said. And so hopefully our identity is going to be our experience, our maturity and these six seniors.TALLER TEAMThe Red Raiders have five players 6-8 and taller. Two of them, 6-9 center Norense Odiase and 6-8 forward Zach Smith, are returning starters. At 6-8, forward Aaron Ross came off the bench, and Matthew Temple, a 6-10 senior forward, didnt play a lot. The newcomer is 6-8 Anthony Livingston, who is graduate student who played last year at Arkansas State.REBOUNDING REBOUNDThe Red Raiders finished ninth in the conference last season at just 34 rebounds per game and hope to improve on that. The taller players will help but there has to be a willingness to get to the boards. I think our rebounds will be better than last year, said Smith who averaged 7.3 rebounds per game last season to finish sixth in the Big 12. It wont be as problematic.MOTION OFFENSEBeard spent almost a decade learning the motion offense from Bob Knight. Hell use that and plenty of pick and roll that he learned coaching in the ABA and the Swiss national team during a summer off while he was coach at Angelo State in 2014. Its just a unique style of play, so we feel like we have the best of both worlds, Beard said.Odiase loves the combo offense: We know that it causes a lot of problems for the defenses. ' ' '