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American Morning
Accusations From Katie Hnida
Aired February 18, 2004 - 08:11 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: More on the accusations now from Katie Hnida, a former student and place kicker for the University of Colorado. She says she was verbally abused, molested and raped during her stint on the team. She made the allegations in an interview with "Sports Illustrated" senior writer Rick Reilly. His story appears in the upcoming issue of "S.I.."
And Rick Reilly joining us this morning from Hartford, Connecticut.
Nice to see you, Mr. Reilly.
Thanks for being with us.
RICK REILLY, SENIOR WRITER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Thank you.
O'BRIEN: You profiled Katie Hnida, actually, back in 1998.
Is this the first time that you're hearing these specific allegations?
REILLY: Yes. I mean I wrote about her when she probably was the first person in history to kick a field goal and be homecoming queen in the same night. And it was just a great story about a bubbly, fantastic high school senior with the whole world in front of her.
And in the last two years, she's come to me a couple of times and said I've got something to tell you, and she seemed different. And then on Tuesday of last week she called and said I have something I have to tell you. And I flew to Albuquerque and, you know, she told a story that would make your hair stand up on the back of your neck.
O'BRIEN: Before we get to the specifics of the story -- and we'll get to that in just a moment -- you say she seemed different.
Different how?
REILLY: You know, she's just damaged. She's just, she said she's been depressed for two years. She's not as bubbly. She's much more cautious than she used to be. And, you know, I think when you've been molested, harassed, groped and eventually raped, this -- by teammates -- this kind of thing happens to you, I guess.
O'BRIEN: What did she specifically say happened?
REILLY: She said on the first day of practice, you know, she -- now, remember, she's the only girl playing Division One football at the time -- that she was cornered by five huge football players who threatened her sexually and propositioned her in a vulgar manner. And that was only the first day. And then she said in team huddles she was groped between the legs and under the shoulder pads on her breasts. She said players exposed themselves to her. She said she was called every vulgar name in the book on the practice field. She said guys would throw footballs at her head as she was trying to kick. And she just lived a sort of sexual physical hell that shattered her.
O'BRIEN: She also claims that she was raped by a teammate at his house.
REILLY: And she said that, and then after the season, she was raped by a teammate. And then I don't know if that sentence has ever been said, "I was raped by a teammate." It's an amazing thing to say.
O'BRIEN: Why is she going public now? Because she has said that she doesn't intend to file any charges.
REILLY: No, she's not suing. She doesn't want to file charges. She said, you know, a lot of therapy and work with psychiatrists got her feeling better. She signed at New Mexico. She scored a point, two points there, becoming the first woman ever to score in a Division One game. And then she thought she was doing all right, but then she started hearing these -- I don't know if you know it, but three women are accusing Colorado players of raping them at a recruiting party.
And all this news started coming down from Boulder and she said it sent her spiraling back into a kind of hell that, where she couldn't sleep, she couldn't eat, she couldn't go to class. She would break out crying. And I think she figured out, you know, she said that I'll never get over this. I will never heal until I can tell my story.
So now that's what she's doing.
O'BRIEN: I'm pretty certain you've heard what Coach Gary Barnett has had to say. Clearly, he was not a fan at all of Katie Hnida. That's pretty much an understatement, I would think.
Here's what he said about her time on the team.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY BARNETT, HEAD FOOTBALL COACH, UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO: Well, it was obvious that Katie was not very good. She was awful, OK? And so guy, you know what guys do? They respect your ability. I mean you can be 90 years old, but if you can go out and play, they respect you.
Well, Katie was, Katie was a girl. And not only was she a girl, she was terrible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: He's also said come forward with the name of the person who did this.
What's your reaction, one, to his comments; and, also, you know, what he's had to say following that?
REILLY: Well, I mean she was, I would say she was in the top 20 percent of kickers in high school her senior year. She made every point after, 28 out of 28. She kicked all three -- she made, she tried three field goals and made them all. So I mean that's a pretty good high school kicker. I would not say she was terrible. But when the first day of practice you're accosted, when you're abused, when you're molested, I would say, you know, kicking is mostly mental and I think she lost her mental confidence.
So I think that's an unusual thing to say.
The other thing is, yes, I wish she would come forward with names. I would love for her to come forward with name. I want -- I asked her every way to come forward with names. But she can't do it. She's terrified. I mean this was a group of 10 to 12 guys who were, she feels, were out to get her and I think she thinks they would still come get her.
So you know what? At this point, I'm not very sure Katie Hnida really cares all that much about the reputation of some Colorado football players. She's had to live with something that has changed her life and if she doesn't come forward with it, I can understand it.
O'BRIEN: Rick Reilly is a senior writer for "Sports Illustrated," joining us this morning.
Thanks, Rick.
REILLY: Thanks, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Nice to see you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 18, 2004 - 08:11 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: More on the accusations now from Katie Hnida, a former student and place kicker for the University of Colorado. She says she was verbally abused, molested and raped during her stint on the team. She made the allegations in an interview with "Sports Illustrated" senior writer Rick Reilly. His story appears in the upcoming issue of "S.I.."
And Rick Reilly joining us this morning from Hartford, Connecticut.
Nice to see you, Mr. Reilly.
Thanks for being with us.
RICK REILLY, SENIOR WRITER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Thank you.
O'BRIEN: You profiled Katie Hnida, actually, back in 1998.
Is this the first time that you're hearing these specific allegations?
REILLY: Yes. I mean I wrote about her when she probably was the first person in history to kick a field goal and be homecoming queen in the same night. And it was just a great story about a bubbly, fantastic high school senior with the whole world in front of her.
And in the last two years, she's come to me a couple of times and said I've got something to tell you, and she seemed different. And then on Tuesday of last week she called and said I have something I have to tell you. And I flew to Albuquerque and, you know, she told a story that would make your hair stand up on the back of your neck.
O'BRIEN: Before we get to the specifics of the story -- and we'll get to that in just a moment -- you say she seemed different.
Different how?
REILLY: You know, she's just damaged. She's just, she said she's been depressed for two years. She's not as bubbly. She's much more cautious than she used to be. And, you know, I think when you've been molested, harassed, groped and eventually raped, this -- by teammates -- this kind of thing happens to you, I guess.
O'BRIEN: What did she specifically say happened?
REILLY: She said on the first day of practice, you know, she -- now, remember, she's the only girl playing Division One football at the time -- that she was cornered by five huge football players who threatened her sexually and propositioned her in a vulgar manner. And that was only the first day. And then she said in team huddles she was groped between the legs and under the shoulder pads on her breasts. She said players exposed themselves to her. She said she was called every vulgar name in the book on the practice field. She said guys would throw footballs at her head as she was trying to kick. And she just lived a sort of sexual physical hell that shattered her.
O'BRIEN: She also claims that she was raped by a teammate at his house.
REILLY: And she said that, and then after the season, she was raped by a teammate. And then I don't know if that sentence has ever been said, "I was raped by a teammate." It's an amazing thing to say.
O'BRIEN: Why is she going public now? Because she has said that she doesn't intend to file any charges.
REILLY: No, she's not suing. She doesn't want to file charges. She said, you know, a lot of therapy and work with psychiatrists got her feeling better. She signed at New Mexico. She scored a point, two points there, becoming the first woman ever to score in a Division One game. And then she thought she was doing all right, but then she started hearing these -- I don't know if you know it, but three women are accusing Colorado players of raping them at a recruiting party.
And all this news started coming down from Boulder and she said it sent her spiraling back into a kind of hell that, where she couldn't sleep, she couldn't eat, she couldn't go to class. She would break out crying. And I think she figured out, you know, she said that I'll never get over this. I will never heal until I can tell my story.
So now that's what she's doing.
O'BRIEN: I'm pretty certain you've heard what Coach Gary Barnett has had to say. Clearly, he was not a fan at all of Katie Hnida. That's pretty much an understatement, I would think.
Here's what he said about her time on the team.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY BARNETT, HEAD FOOTBALL COACH, UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO: Well, it was obvious that Katie was not very good. She was awful, OK? And so guy, you know what guys do? They respect your ability. I mean you can be 90 years old, but if you can go out and play, they respect you.
Well, Katie was, Katie was a girl. And not only was she a girl, she was terrible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: He's also said come forward with the name of the person who did this.
What's your reaction, one, to his comments; and, also, you know, what he's had to say following that?
REILLY: Well, I mean she was, I would say she was in the top 20 percent of kickers in high school her senior year. She made every point after, 28 out of 28. She kicked all three -- she made, she tried three field goals and made them all. So I mean that's a pretty good high school kicker. I would not say she was terrible. But when the first day of practice you're accosted, when you're abused, when you're molested, I would say, you know, kicking is mostly mental and I think she lost her mental confidence.
So I think that's an unusual thing to say.
The other thing is, yes, I wish she would come forward with names. I would love for her to come forward with name. I want -- I asked her every way to come forward with names. But she can't do it. She's terrified. I mean this was a group of 10 to 12 guys who were, she feels, were out to get her and I think she thinks they would still come get her.
So you know what? At this point, I'm not very sure Katie Hnida really cares all that much about the reputation of some Colorado football players. She's had to live with something that has changed her life and if she doesn't come forward with it, I can understand it.
O'BRIEN: Rick Reilly is a senior writer for "Sports Illustrated," joining us this morning.
Thanks, Rick.
REILLY: Thanks, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Nice to see you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
