Terrific letter! I also graduated in 1985 like the writer. It may get published but do not be surprised at the number of Brodhead apologists who save their irritation for the lacrosse team and blame them completely for putting Duke in a bad position. Brodhead's infamous "whatever they did was bad enough" comment sadly captures the attitudes of the administration and some students and alums.
I grow more convinced as evidence emerges that the school made a cynical decision early on (as in the first week or two) to cut these guys loose if the press did not get better quickly, curry favor with Nifong, local officials and organizations and radical faculty so that they would be in position to say that they tried to get these guys but good if the charges had any merit. THere are alos indications that Brodhead and company wer emore duplicitous than the innocent bystanders they have presented themsolves to be. What they did not count on was the charges being a hoax, and they have no idea what to do to CYA.
What this means in English is that will do everything to see this through to trial and pray that Nifong has something that justifies the decisions in the first couple of weeks. They do not need a conviction, just enough to show probable cause. They made their bed by badmoutning hte players, making misleading and false statements, and letting falsehoods go unchallenged. Changing tact now would be an admission that they may have been wrong. If, as we anticipate, the trial will confirm the obvious, the finger pointing and potential lawsuits will begin in earnest. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of people.
"I grow more convinced as evidence emerges that the school made a cynical decision early on (as in the first week or two) to cut these guys loose if the press did not get better quickly,"
As Robert Steel of the Board of Trustees said in a New Yorker interview, “We had to stop those pictures [of the players practicing]. It doesn’t mean that it’s fair, but we had to stop it. It doesn’t necessarily mean I think it was right—it just had to be done.”
As a Duke alumnus (or alumna, if you are female) how do you feel about Duke using alumni donations or possibly some of its endowment to build a performing arts center for Durham? Might this move have an impact on fund raising?