Huffington Post deletes article telling College Women to ‘Cover it up’ at Football Games

by Sydney Smith September 14, 2016 05:00 AM EST

Tags: Football, Huffington Post, SEC, U.S., Unpublishing

(Credit: Huffington Post)

The Huffington Post unpublished an article that suggested young women spectators “cover it up” at college football games.

The article was headlined, “Young ladies of the SEC, cover it up!” according to Mediaite. The writer, Rebecca Walden, said as a student at the University of Alabama she and her friends always wore their “best look,” and judged fans on the way they dressed after watching her alma mater play the University of Southern California last week.

Walden’s blog identifiers herself as “a freelance writer based in Texas by way of Birmingham” whose day job is “a marketing and public relations pro working in higher ed.” Rebecca C. Walden works as director of marketing for Texas A & M Univ. School of Law and graduated from Univ. of Alabama in 2000, according to her LinkedIn.

“What we didn’t want, and what we never did, was to show up for a college football game looking like we belonged in a Victoria’s Secret fashion show,” she wrote, according to Mediaite. “More than once at that last ballgame, I wished I could have wrapped my elephant scarf around one of you, teetering around on stilettos with your bra straps exposed and operating under the misguided notion that you looked irresistible. I wondered if your mother knew what you were wearing.”

The article has been replaced with a note reading “This post from The Huffington Post Contributor Platform is no longer available on our site.”

iMediaEthics contacted the Huffington Post to learn the reason for removal and further comment. The Huffington Post sent iMediaEthics a statement from Bryan Maygers, Executive Contributors Editor, reading, “This piece was a self-published contributor post. We reserve the right to remove posts which are inflammatory or inconsistent with our values, which we found this post to be.” iMediaEthics has contacted Walden for comment.

Walden’s now-removed post went on,

“Families attend these games. Little eyes are watching you. On behalf of them, and the rest of us who feel embarrassed for you as you walk by, stop baring almost all in the name of game day fashion.”

According to Al.com, Walden also recommended college women “don your most debonair collegiate colors ensemble,” “be young and fun and carefree,” “but please, leave the club clothes at home.”

Walden also said any school spirit students showed with logos and so on were “all rendered classless by those ill covered curves you’ve made sure are on full display.”

RiseNews republished the whole article here.

Another Huffington Post contributor, Alejandra Tenorio, a student at the University of Alabama, responded to Walden’s article in her own Huffington Post piece titled, “Dear Rebecca Walden and every woman still ‘slut-shaming.'”