OPINION: Iditarod Trail Committee needs to do better

This year’s Iditarod started with all of the standard fanfare and without Brent Sass. Every year for the past 14 years, we’ve organized an event called Trailgate to celebrate the start of the Iditarod and cheer on the mushers and dogs as they start their trip to Nome. Maybe you’ve been to one and gotten a high-five from a passing musher, or been “inoculated” against “diphtheria” by “Dr. Balto”? The party is a passion project for us, and it’s always one of our favorite days of the year. We ask for donations to help cover our expenses (permits, insurance, toilets, food and beverages, and equipment). This year, the revelers were generous, and we have some money left over.

The Trailgate planning committee has decided to donate some of the extra funds to the Interior Alaska Center for Non-Violent Living, the organization that provided services to one of the women who has accused Brent Sass of sexual assault. Why? Simply put: We believe women.

We are supportive of the ITC’s decision to disqualify Brent Sass from this year’s race based on the credible allegations of sexual assault against him. But what does not sit right with us is the process and timing of how the ITC reached its decision.

Based on the thorough reporting by the ADN and Alaska Public Media, we understand that the ITC was notified of the allegations against Sass in early November, after which it apparently conducted a three-week investigation but took no action. It was not until nine days before the ceremonial start — after reporters began asking the ITC about the allegations in mid-February — that the ITC disqualified Sass.

The message that the ITC sent by not acting on the allegations when they first learned about them and investigated — but only after it was apparent that they would become public — appears clear: The ITC will protect mushers and itself at the expense of women. This is not OK.

The ITC’s decision is not about criminal guilt or innocence. As a private entity, the ITC is free to set its standards and policies regarding appropriate conduct for participation in the Iditarod. And in fact, it has, with the ITC’s “Personal Conduct Policy” (Rule 53). We do not believe it should be controversial to conclude that someone should be unable to participate in an event like the Iditarod if they are facing credible allegations of sexual assault.

Alaska has the highest rates of sexual assault in the nation. Sexual assault is especially prevalent in remote Alaska, including the communities that the Iditarod passes through. Many people who experience sexual assault do not come forward for the very reason one of the accusers expressed in an email describing her experience: People do not believe victims, especially when the accused is a prominent figure.

The ITC’s belated response is an unfortunate example of this pervasive disbelief, which contributes to an environment and culture that makes it more difficult to tackle the root causes and actually reduce sexual and domestic violence. In the future, we hope that the ITC takes such allegations seriously, and acts swiftly and transparently from the start. In the future, we hope the ITC believes women.

Tara Wheatland, Brook Brisson Emily Fehrenbacher, Joshua Best, Jenny-Marie Stryker, Stephanie Quinn-Davidson, Austin Quinn-Davidson, Brendan Babb, Daniel Cory, Ira Slomski-Pritz, Shaina Kilcoyne, Ryan Schryver, Jenny Weis and Laura Bartholomae are Anchorage residents and members of the Trailgate Organizing Committee.

The views expressed here are the writer’s and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.