End the Lacrosse Cover-Up

Bleacher Report ^ | May 11, 2010 | R. B. Parrish

[CondorFlight]

Before the attempted frame-up of innocent lacrosse players in Durham, lacrosse had a good reputation. It may have been seen as an elite sport (or, more truly, a regionally delineated sport); but it was also seen as honest, fun, exciting, and one of the few “sports” remaining which still concerned itself with “sportsmanship”.

Then came the lies and the false accusations, and a university which was more concerned with the immediate PR fallout than with standing behind its falsely-accused students. And since it fit the convenient narrative which was being constructed, lacrosse was also lambasted.

In Durham, three lacrosse players (curiously, from the wealthiest families on the team) were accused of gang raping a stripper (who had a history of making false charges about gang-rape and other assaults). The entire lacrosse team was cleared of the charges by DNA testing two weeks before anyone was arrested.

But that was not the desired outcome.

The case divided immediately into “us” vs. “them”: rich vs. poor; male vs. female; black vs. white; student vs. townie; athlete vs. scholar. So many activists sought to use the charges to campaign for their own niche agendas that the case became one of those which was “too important for innocence to be allowed as a defense."

[Locomotive Breath]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/magazine/06/22/duke0626/

Junior goalie Dan Loftus and his brother, Chris, a sophomore attackman, grew up in Syosset, Long Island, sons of Barbara and Brian, a retired New York City fireman who worked 36 straight hours at the World Trade Center immediately after the attacks on Sept. 11. "I thought that was the worst day of my life," Brian says. "You want to know something? This is the worst thing."

Like most of the parents, the Loftuses had grilled their sons. "How many times did I say to him on the phone? 'Danny, did anything happen?'" Brian Loftus says to Barbara one weekend in May. "I asked him 10 times. He goes, 'No, no, no, no.'"

"This is not a time to lie and cover up for your friends!" Barbara remembers chiming in. "Did anything happen?"

Over Easter weekend, convinced of their sons' innocence but terrified it wouldn't matter, "we sat here like zombies," Brian says. "I didn't want to talk to anybody."

[FreedomPoster]

From the article:

“Coach K, perhaps the only figure of sufficient stature capable of single-handedly reversing the tide, was nowhere to be seen. Sports writers must have interpreted his silence as indicating that he thought the players were guilty. (Surely he would have found some way to indicate his disagreement, if he had one?). His own team hired strippers shortly before the lacrosse team—yet his season was not canceled and he was not fired.

Had he not a public word for coach Pressler?”

I’ve been saying for a long time that I lost all respect for Coach K as a result of this episode, and I had considerable respect for the man. As we know here, anyone halfway paying attention knew the real deal within 30-45 days. I would expect that he knew sooner, or could and should have.

Rather than do the right thing, he assisted in Duke’s throwing these kids under the bus by his silence. It was and is unacceptable.

[Deb]

Thanks. I knew it was something like that. Bless them.

[TommyDale]

"But the story that shouldn't have been dropped and should have been reported in more detail was the reprehensible behavior of the Duke professors and the president of the University."

The story that shouldn't have been dropped was also the coverup and scandal by Durham city officials, the Durham Chief of Police, the Durham County Sheriff's office, the Durham County District Attorney's ENTIRE STAFF, all the local newspapers and TV stations that allowed the coverups, the NC State Attorney General, and even the North Carolina Governor himself. This was a scandal of major proportions that got swept under the rugs of a rotten, filthy system of justice. This state is one of the most corrupt I have seen. There was even a situation where the Raleigh Police helped a Durham police officer out of a jam after a 4 am accident.

[truthguy]

Stuart Taylor and KC Johnson did write a very thorough and fair book about this sordid affair. If anyone wanted to make a movie, they likely could do so based entirely on the book’s details rather than harassing the principals any further.

Somehow I don't think the Hollywood types are interested in this story? I wonder why (sarcasm)? It would make a great movie or even a made for TV movie. It has all the elements to be an interesting and fascinating movie. And all they need to do is tell the truth. If wouldn't be that hard to write a decent screenplay. I'll bet some conservative groups would put up the cash. But will it ever happen. I don't think so because nobody in Hollywood has that type of courage.