Steubenville Rape Case: Calls For Big Red Football Coach Reno Saccoccia to Resign

In the wake of the Steubenville, Ohio, rape case, in which two high school football players allegedly assaulted a passed out 16-year-old girl while their friends took pictures and tweeted jokes, locals are calling for their football coach to resign.

There are rumors floating around that coach Reno Saccoccia could resign as early as Monday, after more than 30 years, but so far they haven't been confirmed.

Public anger turned toward the coach when it became clear that, while he suspended the two players accused of actually raping the girl, members of the self-proclaimed "rape crew" were allowed to keep playing football. These other boys live-tweeted the assault as it happened, and continued to joke about it publicly afterward.

As the team's coach, it was Saccoccia's responsibility to curb the development of rape culture and sense of invincibility that we see so often in idolized young athletes. It was his job to build them up and give them confidence, but also his job to make sure that didn't turn into hubris and violence off of the field.

If he's not capable of doing that, or if doesn't think that tweeting photos of a teenage girl being sexually assaulted is a major offense, and then he should indeed step down.

If I were the coach of this team, I would resign even if I hadn't done anything wrong. Not out of guilt, but out of disgust. I don't know how anyone, even these boys' own mothers, will be able to go about daily life with them, acting as if they're worth concern or nurturing.