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A Story Not Yet Widely Known
A number of years ago, a now-deceased neighbor with whom I had become friends told me a story about the time that famous TV star Bill Cosby attempted to have sex with her then underage daughter “Sally.” It seems that Cosby was involved in an event at a big suburban high school outside of a major city, and as part of the lead-up to the event, he spent time with a number of students. According to my neighbor, her daughter, who was (and still is) quite beautiful, was barely able to escape Cosby’s clutches. In the mom’s account, Sally was actually rescued through the intervention of a couple of (large) male students, who saw what was going on and let Cosby know he was out of line.
Why Such Behavior is Foolish (and Evil)
I forgot about this story until recently, when it popped back into my mind. What caused this to happen was not, as one might expect, the slew of stories currently in the news about 20 or more allegations from women who have charged Cosby with sexual improprieties, typically after he allegedly gave them a doctored drink. No, what caused me to remember my neighbor’s story was recently hearing a story told by a man who, when he was a member of his high school football team, had intervened to rescue a female classmate (who I am certain was Sally, as she attended the same school) from a very overt sexual come-on from Bill Cosby, who was then a featured performer at an event at the school.
I am in no way bringing this matter up to accuse Cosby of having committed a crime with Sally, as one apparently (no thanks, apparently, to him) never took place. But I am bringing it up to accuse him of being an extremely sleazy individual. What kind of man (then) in his 50’s, a very public husband and father (part of his TV persona as well), and one of the most famous people in America, would think it appropriate to try and have sex with a high school girl, furthermore one who was a student at a place that had hired him at great cost, to do a show? A very foolish man, with an out-of-control libido, a complete lack of honor, and a huge sense of entitlement. Furthermore, he appears to be a man who is without shame. Given that a large number of students (and possibly teachers) in that school district probably heard what had allegedly happened, either from Sally or her friends and parents, I imagine that Cosby’s reputation in that town likely took a serious hit. I assume this did not much matter to Mr. Cosby, but I think public figures have an obligation, if not to inspire young people, then at least not to disillusion them. I imagine the students who learned about the hypocrisy of Bill Cosby would have had a lot to feel disillusioned about.
In my writings about foolishness, I define it as an unawareness or ignoring of risk. In the case of behavior such as was told me about his interaction with Sally, as well as in the stories being told by numerous women (almost all, to my knowledge, of consenting age), the risks faced by Cosby are all social: (a) risk of facing criminal charges; (b) risk of financial loss (from cessation of entertainment jobs and product endorsements, plus threat of civil lawsuits), and (c) risk of reputational loss (such as being dropped from boards, and being publicly humiliated). Some of these have in fact come to pass, although in most cases years or even decades after the alleged events took place. In many ways, Cosby is lucky that the alleged offenses occurred when they did, as: (a) it was a time when women were less willing to speak out about having being abused by powerful men; and (b) it was in the days before cell phone cameras and Facebook postings. Today if one student saw another being harassed by a famous TV star, it would be immediately photographed and within a day millions of people would have downloaded the image. However large the risks taken by Cosby or his ilk decades ago, today their careers and reputations would likely be toast almost instantaneously.
A Dubious Legal Strategy
The strategy being followed by Cosby’s legal and other advisers, and more recently by his wife, is to attack the character and veracity of his alleged victims, accusing them of being liars who are all motivated by money or some kind of herd mentality. This strategy, although totally lacking in honor (if the accusers are in fact telling the truth) is likely to work (as in fact it has worked) when the accusers are few and far between, but is doomed to fail when it used against two dozen or more accusers. There may yet be others like Sally out there, who have stories about Cosby that they have not yet felt able to come forward and tell.
Copyright Stephen Greenspan
