Duke To Reinstate Seligmann, Finnerty (DukeLax)

WTVD ^ | January 3, 2007 | Staff

[abb]

(01/03/07 -- DURHAM) - Duke lacrosse defendants Colin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann are both expected to be reinstated today as Duke students in good standing, two sources close to the case told ABC News. Also on abc11tv.com: Send us news tips | Desktop Alert | ABC11 AccuWeather | Pinpoint Traffic Defendant David Evans was allowed to graduate last spring, but underclassmen Seligmann and Finnerty were suspended from the University pending a resolution of the assault charges.

December 22, 2006, prosecutors dropped rape charges against the three Duke lacrosse players accused of attacking a stripper at a team party, but the three still face kidnapping and sexual offense charges.

According to court papers filed by District Attorney Mike Nifong, the accuser says she now does not know if she was penetrated during the alleged attack.

The accuser, a 28-year-old student at North Carolina Central University, has said three men raped her in a bathroom at a March 13 Duke lacrosse team party where she was hired to perform as a stripper.

The indicted players - Dave Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann - all say they are innocent, and their attorneys have consistently said no sex occurred at the party.

Evans graduated from Duke in May, the day before he was indicted. Sophomores Finnerty and Seligmann were suspended following their April 2006 indictments.

The Duke lacrosse team was also suspended from play, but was reinstated in June on a provisionary basis.

A press conference from defense attorneys is expected this afternoon.

Stay with abc11tv.com and ABC11 Eyewitness News for the latest on this developing story.

[Guenevere]

bttt

[Locomotive Breath]

All it takes is for one person to recognize him. Word travels fast. As someone else pointed out he'll never be anonymous again. On Duke's campus it'll be easier to deal with his notoriety.

[newgeezer]

the office "church lady" (a guy) tried to make the same argument that if you hire strippers you should expect to be accused of rape.

You do realize by now that's not even close to being my argument, right?

[Repub4bush]

If they get branded as brutes or whoremongers for a few years, THAT is the risk they took in hiring a stripper. Those are the fleas they risked getting when they lied down with that dog.

Could you point me to the information showing where Reade and Collin hired the strippers?

You don't seem to understand, this was a spring break party, and to keep saying THESE BOYS HIRED THE STRIPPER, is factually incorrect!

[Locomotive Breath]

Of course not. On the other hand, it's an example of someone like you getting their just deserts. Yours is coming soon.

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

For some reason this reminds me of the thread I just read about Mugabe inviting the white farmers back.

White farmers grow food for the benefit of the country,
are thrown out,
then asked back into the country.

White boys attend stripper party for the benefit of themselves,
are accused of rape,
then reinstated back into the university.

Yeh, I can see a lot of connection there.

[Ken H]

For the THIRD time: are you going to tell us how you "played with fire" and what lumps you took? You raised the subject, now are you going to answer the question?

[newgeezer]

You don't seem to understand, this was a spring break party, and to keep saying THESE BOYS HIRED THE STRIPPER, is factually incorrect!

Fine but, whether or not they actually hired the stripper has no relevance to my point. My understanding was that these young men went to a party knowing there would be a stripper present.

Was that not the case?

[Locomotive Breath]

And whether you complain about it or not, I just wish I could be around to pass judgment on you and ridicule your suffering.

[Locomotive Breath]

Yeah - answer the question. Demonstrate to us who you behaved in a similar situation.

[Locomotive Breath]

"how you behaved"

[teawithmisswilliams]

"In this case, that consequence is a damaged reputation. And we can all be thankful that whatever reputation we earn at 21 doesn't last forever."

But these boys deserve public humiliation and the legacy of bogus rape etc., charges, that will follow their reputations for the rest of their lives, right? C'mon.

[don'tbedenied]

Noun: whoremonger 'hor`múngu(r)
Usage: vulgar

A prostitute's customer
- john, trick

A pimp who procures whores

Now how does watching a stripper make you a whoremonger? Do you imagine that these young men's reputation will be effected because they watched strippers and drank beer? Hell a lot of investment banking employers look for guys like this.

Finally, the word Whoremonger has a certain Elmer Gantry ring to it, if you know what I mean.

[gopheraj]

mark

[ziggy_dlo]

According to court papers filed by District Attorney Mike Nifong, the accuser says she now does not know if she was penetrated during the alleged attack.

Of course. What else is new.

This just gets better and better everyday. What a loose woman.

[Mad-Margaret]

I beg to differ, newgeezer. This damage to their reputations will follow the Duke 3 for the rest of their lives. And this damage has nothing to do with their hiring a couple of strippers to perform at a private party.

Anyone with a shred of common sense knows that they did not rape the false accuser. But the truth does not eliminate the controversy of this case.

Take a good look at HR Departments in corporate America. These gatekeepers don't want controversial employees. They want good, bland corporate sheep.

How many opportunities have been lost and will continue to be lost to these three young men? And do you not think that the other players on the team won't be tainted to a lesser degree? After thousands of hours of work taking their team to a shot at a national title, how many of those players will consider deleting their participation on the 2006 Duke lacrosse team from their resumes?

None of us is against accepting the consequences for one's actions. But the acceptable consequences must be proportional. Here they aren't. And after all that's happened to these three defendants, the players, and the fired coach, you're spitting in the wind by trying to assign any blame to these young men.

Now shut up and go take your lumps elsewhere.

[newgeezer]

And whether you complain about it or not, I just wish I could be around to pass judgment on you and ridicule your suffering.

LOL. You're quite the humanitarian, yourself.

I'm haven't passed judgment on them any more than I would expect others (yourself included) to pass judgment on me if I got caught doing something stupid. It's a risk we all take when we make a dumb choice.

As for ridiculing their suffering, I don't think I've done that. "Boo-hoo" and the like was ridiculing the tears that others are shedding on their behalf to the extent that it applies to their damaged reputations (since I need to be clear).

At any rate, thanks so much for your patience and understanding, and your willingness to see where your perception has been flawed. My point—if you could only allow yourself to get a grasp of it—is entirely valid. But, you (and others) have hunkered down in your hole so firmly that you can't afford to come out and see it.

[newgeezer]

Now shut up and go take your lumps elsewhere.

With all due respect, I'll shut up when I'm ready to shut up.

(And people call me 'sanctimonious'? LOL.)

[Locomotive Breath]

"If I sneak a peek at some porn, I'll do so knowing that it carries a risk. If I get caught, I'm not going to whine about any unjust damage to my reputation because any such damage is not unjust. I brought it on myself."

So the porn you're looking at turns out to have an underage girl in it and you didn't know it because you bought it at a "reputable" porn shop. You're now identified as a pedophile. You're turned out of your job, your church, and your family. Your name is entered in the sex offenders registry.

Finally, in the end, it's found you made a good faith purchase intending to purchase one thing and got something else and it's someone else's fault you did. From now on you're known as the pedophile who got away with it. No complaints? Right?

If you say "no complaints" please mail me your postal address and let's try it out.

[Ken H]

I'd like to take credit, but I stole the lines from Casablanca. Thanks for the good thoughts!