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In Re: the matter of Deshaun Watson

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The news abounds with the case of Deshaun Watson., the now quarterback for the Cleveland Browns who is acused of sexual assault by over 66 women. AP news says: “Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson was suspended for six games Monday after being accused by two dozen women in Texas of sexual misconduct during massage treatments, in what a disciplinary officer said was behavior “more egregious than any before reviewed by the NFL.” It is a long sordid drama that if you are not up on the details you can start reading the AP News Story that has the court case documents.

It in only coincidence that the American Massage Therapy Association Convention (AMTA) is coming up on Aug 25- 27 and is being held in Cleveland OH, home of the Cleveland Browns. Now many say so what…but I see it as one of the biggest opportunities that AMTA has ever had to start doing what they claim to be doing for the profession – Advocating. This is not the first time crimes have been committed against massage therapists. In fact, it has been going on for a very very very long time.

Massage Licensing was supposed to help fix the problem by requiring massage therapists to go to massage school and to get fingerprinted and background checked in order to work in the massage profession. Well of course it did not do much to help stop brothels disguised as massage businesses from ruining our good name. It did not stop creaps like Watson from thinking that is what massage therapists do. While we don’t actually know if some or all of the acusers were licensed massage therapists, it does not really matter. What matters is he pushed himself on women and even his lawyer said asking for a happy ending is not a crime….now what’s that? Of course it is. It is sex work aka prostitution. It is still illegal in every state in the US.

Meanwhile, the massage professional associations sit on their heels doing nothing to respond or use this opportunity to make the massage profession more well known for what it is – A therapeutic intervention for pain and stress.

Massage therapists are not sex workers. Massage therapists do not give happy endings. Sex workers do that.

Brothels disguised as massage businesses have continued to degrade the massage professions image with little being done to educate the public on the difference.

Massage is Therapy. Massage is NOT Sexwork!

The response from the profession should look like this ( from a massage therapist in OH)

The Action Plan

  • AMTA – get yourself on the news already… the major TV news stations and Twitter/Facebook are all over this. Call all of the news stations and make a Bold statement. You can leave any thing directly related to the case out if it if you don’t want to risk getting sued or whatever it is that is holding you back from doing just that. Shall I spell out what to say?

    Here is what they did say on their website:

AMTA’s Response to the NFL’s Decision on Deshaun Watson 

August 2, 2022 – Massage therapists should never have to tolerate conduct outside the bounds of therapeutic massage therapy within a massage session. AMTA strongly believes that any client who steps over the line to inappropriate touch should face the legal consequences. And it’s disappointing to see such a relatively light punishment from the NFL levied toward Deshaun Watson in their findings of his violation of the league’s personal-conduct policy. If the NFL is concerned about professionalism and upholding high standards in the league, creating a safe workplace for all members of athletes’ care teams should be a priority. We hope the league is taking measures to ensure that the massage therapists on the Browns’ personnel and throughout the NFL, as well as those supporting individual athletes, are able to work in a safe and professional environment.

The alleged behavior, and the language used by the legal team and others involved in this case put professional, licensed massage therapists at risk by condoning inappropriate conduct in a massage environment. “Massage therapists work every day to help clients ease pain, discomfort, stress and manage medical conditions, making a meaningful difference for their clients, especially for the millions of Americans struggling with chronic pain.  Massage is and always should be about health and well-being in a safe environment whether for an athlete or any other client,” shared Michaele Colizza, AMTA National President.

What they could say:

Massage therapy is not sex work. By asking massage therapists to perform sex work, you are endagering all massage therapists and all women.

The NFL even says: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he feels the league needed to keep pushing for a year-long suspension for Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson because of his “egregious” and “predatory behavior” toward women.

  • Have AMTA and ABMP contact all of their members and ask them to attend the convention and start a protest rally outside the Cleveland Brown’s game on Sat Aug. 27. Print signs that say : Massage is Therapy, Happy endings are sex work…or whatever. This is not just AMTA’s issue but it is fortunate that the convention is being held there. ABMP has as much responsibility and I expect more from them too on this issue.
  • AMTA can contact all of their chapter leaders and create a huge massage awareness project — everything doing/saying the same thing…not like their massage awareness days/weeks where everyone is all over the place doing different things. They need to make a strong stance on this issue and should have been doing that for many years. You can contact the individual local units…oh darn…they did away with those about 7 years ago. Each of your chapters needs strong leadership along with a lobbyist and a few lawyers to help with the specifics of each state. Why are they all volunteers?
  • We need Legislation:
    Stronger laws that make using the words massage in a business name a felony that is given jail time or at least a high monetary penalty. (Both ABMP and AMTA have said that is what they do think is best.)
    Stop the states from adding any more establishment licensing and put an end to the establishment licensing that is already in place.
    Have your chapters contact every local legislator, sherriff department, police department and talk to them about the problems we are having. Create a clear way to report offenders and have the authorities take the complaints seriously.
  • ABMP – you need to create a PAC and fund it with big bucks and get this in front of Congress Representatives.
  • Read all of the articles I collected when I previously wrote about the issues of Massage, Prostitution and Human Trafficking and especially read and implement the suggested Untangling Massage, Human Trafficking, and Prostitution by Deborah Kimmet, M.S., LMT, CETMB, BCTMB www.LMTBodyPolitic.com an trafficking in illicit massage businesses.

The Time is Now

Why has this taken so long for our associations to catch on? That is a whole other story indeed.

Massage Therapy Careers as a Calling

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Many people come to a career in massage when they find it as a calling.

Finding your calling is about finding what calls to you deep in your heart- what ignites you and supports you.

A call drives you to pursue something- whether it be your passion, your drive to find meaning in your life or to be able to contribute to others. Feeling a compulsion to follow something often brings up all of your fears.

Callings are really about questions…should I stay in this current job or career or change it somehow? If you didn’t get the job you wanted does it mean it wasn’t meant for you? If you don’t pass your state massage exam the first time, does that mean it isn’t for you? Following a call takes courage and persistence – Courage to face whatever is on the path and the persistence to follow through and find a way no matter what the obstacles are and obstacles there will be on the path to a career in massage:

Can you find the right massage school?

Will you be able to find a job as a massage therapist?

Will you be able to start and run a business?

Where will you find clients?

Will you have enough money to live on while pursuing the call

The Call to Help.

One of the main reasons people find themselves pursuing a career in massage is following their Call to Help. Some may be called to the massage profession thinking they want to work in a field that is more meaningful – helping others. While helping others may feel like a noble cause, there is also another side of helping. When we help thinking we are doing something good the reality may be that the person being helped already has what they need to solve their problem inside of them. We take it away when we try to give them our advice or take their pain away. We also often help others because it is what we need the most for ourselves. That is why a career in massage can help you with becoming the best person you can be. We think that by giving to others what we need, they will do the same for us. What massage does no matter what the technique or method is allows people to feel themselves. What often is an effort to get others to feel is really about learning to feel ourselves.

Exploring the needs underneath the call to become a massage therapist can really move you ahead in building a practice even though you may not have even gone to massage school yet. You may also discover other ways of getting your needs met without having to become a massage therapist.

One of the things to ask yourself is “What is the purpose for doing or becoming a massage therapist”? Is it the money? The freedom? While those may be your first answers – take a deeper look. For what purpose do you want to have a successful massage practice or job? Some of your answers might look like this: *To prove I am worth it. *To feel love. *To be needed. Most people live their entire lives being driven by an unconscious, unacknowledged need for something. Freedom and power come from knowing what it is that you do want and learning to keep asking for it until you receive it or come to know that you are worth it, you are loved, you are needed no matter what anyone else thinks or does. Becoming aware of these needs is an ongoing process – one I wish I had started in massage school but the need to build a practice and make money is real also and it pulls one another way – to the way of constantly doing.

A call to anything is really a call to ourselves – a call to really look deep within and discover all of ourselves. Gregg Levoy in his book Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life says:

“in order to be authentic we’re going to have to give up something dear: a job, a house, a relationship, a belief, a lifestyle to which we are accustomed, the prestige of being a big a big fish in any size pond, security, money, precious time, anger at somebody or just the plain pleasures of cynicism”.

Following a call is really about following what makes us feel alive. Even if the call didn’t work out it doesn’t mean it wasn’t the right thing to do. The trouble with trying to figure out which call to follow is that you often don’t know which one is best until you start taking steps and doing something to follow the call. One of the first steps is to just start investigating and researching the massage profession: – How much money can you make? – What kinds of massage are there? – What kinds of places can you work at? – What is involved in setting up your own business? – How does it feel when you think about massage, talk about massage, get massage, give massage and run a business too. Taking the steps to find out the answers to the questions that are pushing you toward a massage therapy career and then taking the time to discover more about yourself and what you want (if you don’t already know) will help you make an informed decision about following your call.

The last question to ask yourself is will doing massage help me to feel more alive? Keep asking and see what unfolds.

For more on finding your calling:

Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you. Before you tell your life what truths and values you have decided to live up to, let your life tell you what truths you embody, what values you represent.

Vocation does not mean a goal I pursue. It means a calling that I hear.

Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation .