Jump to content

The Duke University lacrosse scandal, what do you all think???


Recommended Posts

I hate the way local stories like this are turned into national news stories for months, years...but this one is a bit different than most. When I first heard the story of this stripper being raped at a Lacrosse team party, I thought well, a bunch of drunk rich kids who play a rich kid's sport....bet they are guilty of raping that stripper.

Then there were charges of racism. Jesse Jackson was getting involved. Next thing you knew, the coach was fired,(Did he set up the party, get them beers, and then call the strippers?) and the team was disbanded. All the members save the one black one had DNA tests.(has anyone heard, did they do this to try and prove their innocence, or were their arms twisted?) No matches.

The stripper has quite a past. A single mother, also she was in the Navy at one time. in 2002, She got drunk, stole a taxi, and crashed it into a police car . From photos taken at the party, she allegedly was already drunk and bruised when she first showed up.

One of the 2 charged in the crime, Collin Finnerty was involved in beating up a guy who Colin and his friends called gay. So clearly, neither has lily white past, if you pardon the expression. The other guy, Reade Seligmann, seems to have a few facts in his favor. Supposedly, he made 6 cell phone calls to a friend around the time of the alleged rape, and called for a taxi(the cabby remembers him) and went to an ATM then to his dorm in the same timeframe that the rape was supposed to have happened. These two guys are from the wealthiest families of all the players it appears.

I guess what really bothers me about the case is that the whole team was convicted of this crime.(And didn't I do that myself, prejudging them as privileged athletes who think they can get away with anything?) The players are guilty until proven innocent, and all the players have lost the chance to play their sport, and I bet they will all have to leave the school for their own safety. What if it turns out she made the story up? Will she go to jail? Will Jesse Jackson rescind his offer to pay for the rest of her college education? Will we ever know the truth? I heard that it might take a year for this to go to trial. :(

A link that further muddies the water....

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=1869685

Edited by BERIGAN
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 68
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

A few clarifications, Conrad:

The coach tendered his resignation. There was no connection between the party and him personally. With his record of successful teams, he'll have no problem getting another coaching job.

The team didn't disband, it forfeited the remainder of the season, which was only a few matches anyway.

I think there is tremendous pressure on the DA to prosecute this case. Otherwise, it seems like the one guy you mentioned with the cel phone, independent corraboration of the cabbie, dorm card swipe records, etc., would have no trouble avoiding charges. But he's one of the two that the woman identified "100%" from photos, so ...

And the reported DNA results makes for an interesting situation: there must have been biological material recovered from the woman - otherwise, there is no need for DNA testing.

If there really is no match between any player and the material recovered, tell me that isn't reasonable doubt?

I don't want to prejudge but this is looking perhaps like a situation where racial terms may have been used and the woman reacted by crying "rape" to get back at them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First of all, a pox on the houses of all the unconscionable knuckleheads who are buying Duke lax gear like it was going out of style. What a collection of losers.

Second, I refer to stories like this as Graceland, as in Nancy Grace. For sure the biggest downside of news on a 24/7 basis is that stories like this get so overcooked. Why can't people just wait until the judicial system does what it (supposably) does best and worry about the resolution instead of the process. I don't think anyone has learned anything new of substance since the release of the DNA test results. Now it's just an endless rehash of previously disclosed information, a.k.a. talking head Nirvanna.

With regard to the prosecution, how much politics may be playing into the DA's decisions makes for an interesting sidebar. He's in an election year and could, conceivably, be making a little hay while the sun shines.

Up over and out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the police in Aruba have really mishandled the investigation.

And how does the cat stuck behind the wall tie into all this?

I hear the cat already has a movie deal. :rfr:rlol

Are we talking about Tom Cruise? A rape conviction might help his rep with some folks. <_<

We would all be better off if Tom Cruise was stuck in the wall of a deli on Hudson St., but the press coverage would be quite painful. :rlol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The stripper has quite a past...in 2002, She got drunk, stole a taxi, and crashed it into a police car .

I'm sorry that race is part of the picture. Let's suppose she was white. I don't think a stripper with that history should be able to ruin the reputations of college students.

And that might be too bad. We just don't know.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The stripper has quite a past...in 2002, She got drunk, stole a taxi, and crashed it into a police car .

I'm sorry that race is part of the picture. Let's suppose she was white. I don't think a stripper with that history should be able to ruin the reputations of college students.

Hey, if they are guilty of rape, they're guilty. Or are you saying it's okay to rape some women?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The stripper has quite a past...in 2002, She got drunk, stole a taxi, and crashed it into a police car .

I'm sorry that race is part of the picture. Let's suppose she was white. I don't think a stripper with that history should be able to ruin the reputations of college students.

Hey, if they are guilty of rape, they're guilty. Or are you saying it's okay to rape some women?

A stripper who's been raped, white or black, definitely should be able to ruin the reputations of college students who are guilty of her rape.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Local talk questions not whether or not they raped a beat-up drunk of a stripper. Even if they didn't rape the beat-up drunk stripper, shouldn't they still catch some heat for hiring a stripper, binge drinking, etc.? Honestly, it sounds like any-University USA to me, except that someone yelled racial slurs out to a girl walking down the street, then we have the much-publicized email with extremely racial statements.

I have nothing against Lacrosse. I played midfield and attack in high school for a sort of Bad News Bears kind of team. I think it is a great sport. I also have nothing against Duke University, though the mention of it makes a lot of people in Tarheel country steam. I do have a problem with certain individuals becoming "above the law", specifically college and professional athletes. It is getting out of hand. This case does deserve the attention it is receiving, but I would like to see the focus adjusted. I see it in high schools every day. Some of these kids have become untouchable. They can do whatever they please. This might be a tipping point. Apparently, the Minnesota Vikings just didn't take it far enough.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Duke Lacrosse Controversy Home / Local & State / Crime & Safety / Duke Lacrosse Controversy

Published: Jun 08, 2006 12:10 PM

By Joseph Neff, Staff Writer

The second dancer in the Duke lacrosse case told police early on that allegations of rape were a "crock" and that she was with the accuser the entire evening except for a period of less than five minutes.

The second dancer, Kim Roberts, made that statement when she was first contacted by Durham police one week after the party where the first escort service dancer said she was gang raped by three men.

Roberts' statements and notes of the detectives in the case were made public today in a court filing by lawyers for one of the defendants, Reade Seligmann, 20, of Essex Falls, N.J.

Seligmann's lawyers said police omitted important facts contradicting the accuser's story when they obtained an order to photograph and take DNA samples from the players, including Roberts' statements to police.

Investigator Benjamin Himan first contacted Roberts on March 20, one week after the lacrosse party that ended in the early hours of March 14.

"She heard that (the accuser) was sexually assaulted, which she stated is a 'crock' and she stated that she was with her the whole time until she left," according to Himan's notes. "The only time she was alone was when she would not leave and that time period was less than five minutes."

Seligmann's lawyers said there were major discrepancies in the reports of the doctors and nurses who examined the accuser at Duke Medical Center.

Prosecutors and police have said that the accuser was hit, kicked and strangled while she was sexually assaulted anally, vaginally and orally.

The accuser told the nurse "that she was not choked; that no condoms, fingers or foreign objects were used during the sexual assault," the lawyers wrote in a sworn statement. The nurse noted that the accuser's arms, legs, head, neck, nose, throat, mouth, chest, breasts and abdomen were all normal, the court filing said. The lawyers filed the accuser's medical records under seal with the court.

Two other players have been charged with first degree rape, sexual offense and kidnapping in the case: David Evans, 23, of Bethesda, Md., and Collin Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, N.Y.

http://www.newsobserver.com/1185/story/448437.html

Edited by BERIGAN
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...