Duke University Suspends Entire Lacrosse Team Due To Rape Allegation

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http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/more/03/28/duke.lacrosse.suspended.ap/index.html?cnn=yes

The team members are refusing to talk to investigators and might be charged with aiding and abetting. If these allegations are true it truly is frightening and sickening that students at any university could do that and then try to cover up for each other, let alone at Duke. Add to that the racial issues that appear to be involved which makes it even more tragic and horrific.


"A woman told police she and another dancer were hired to perform March 13 at a private party in an off-campus home. The dancer, a student at North Carolina Central University, told police she was pulled into a bathroom, beaten, choked and raped by three men.

No one has been charged.

Armed with a judge's order, police took DNA samples with a cheek swab from 46 of the lacrosse team's 47 players last week. The 47th player, the only black member of the team, did not have to provide DNA because the dancer said her attackers were white.

"I needed to have the information about who will be charged," said District Attorney Mike Nifong said. "I feel pretty confident that a rape occurred."

The case has roiled the campus, raised racial tensions and heightened antagonism between the affluent students at Duke, which costs about $43,000 a year, and the city of Durham, which has a large population of poor people and is about evenly divided between white and black.

The alleged victim is black, which has proved a source of tension on campus.

"The circumstances of the rape indicated a deep racial motivation for some of the things that were done," Nifong said. "It makes a crime that is by its nature one of the most offensive and invasive even more so."
 
verte76 said:
It's not fair to suspend the whole team just because one of them committed rape. Why can't they get the guy who raped, suspend him, and let the others get on with it?

She's accusing 3 of them and the entire team is refusing to talk about it. They're protecting each other. I think that's why they've all been suspended.

Makes sense to me.
 
This is the statement from the captains of the team that is on the Duke web site. I don't get how they can say that the DNA results will disprove sexual assault/rape-unless they are claiming they will show no evidence whatsoever of any sexual activity.

Durham, N.C. -- “The captains of the team met this morning with President Brodhead, and expressed sincere regret over the lapse in judgment in having the party on March 13 which has caused so much anguish for the Duke community and shame to our families and ourselves

“We also stated unequivocally that any allegation that a sexual assault or rape occurred is totally and transparently false.

“The team has cooperated with the police in their investigation. We have provided authorities with DNA samples. The understanding is that the results of the DNA testing will be available sometime next week. The DNA results will demonstrate that these allegations are absolutely false.

“Because of the intense emotions surrounding these allegations, we feel it is in the best interest of the University, the community and our families that the team should not play competitively until the DNA results verify our unequivocal denial of these allegations.”

I guess they had some sort of meeting today in which the students could express their opinions about how the whole situation has been handled

this is on the FAQ about the alleged rape situation on their web site


Duke Community Standard

Duke University is a community of scholars and learners, committed to the principles of honesty, trustworthiness, fairness, and respect for others. Students share with faculty and staff the responsibility for promoting a climate of integrity. As citizens of this community, students are expected to adhere to these fundamental values at all times, in both their academic and non-academic endeavors.


The Pledge

Students affirm their commitment to uphold the values of the Duke University community by signing a pledge that states:

1. I will not lie, cheat, or steal in my academic endeavors, nor will I accept the actions of those who do.
2. I will conduct myself responsibly and honorably in all my activities as a Duke student.
 
were there non-lacrosse players at the party? If so, the DNA testing could prove that it wasn't any one of the team members.
 
redkat said:


She's accusing 3 of them and the entire team is refusing to talk about it. They're protecting each other. I think that's why they've all been suspended.

Makes sense to me.


Well, I must at least respect the team's loyalty towards each other. I couldn't rat out a friend even he did the worst thing in the world. Let them figure it out without my help.

I think it's a good political act to suspend the whole team for not talking but really I can't blame them for not talking.
 
BrownEyedBoy said:



Well, I must at least respect the team's loyalty towards each other. I couldn't rat out a friend even he did the worst thing in the world. Let them figure it out without my help.

I think it's a good political act to suspend the whole team for not talking but really I can't blame them for not talking.

Wow. Respecting loyalty. That's....Dude, I hope you dont ever know a rape victim. Did you know you most likely do, though? It's going to be a female friend, sister, your mother, aunt, your neighbour. Someone close to you statisitcally is bound to have experienced some level of sexually inappropriate actions. You keep silent though, buddy.

:down:
 
BrownEyedBoy said:



Well, I must at least respect the team's loyalty towards each other. I couldn't rat out a friend even he did the worst thing in the world. Let them figure it out without my help.

I think it's a good political act to suspend the whole team for not talking but really I can't blame them for not talking.

I hate (yes, hate) that aspect of the whole "team" thing. That doesn't help anyone but the nastiest, most vicious twits. :mad:

Screw that.
 
BrownEyedBoy said:



Well, I must at least respect the team's loyalty towards each other. I couldn't rat out a friend even he did the worst thing in the world. Let them figure it out without my help.

I think it's a good political act to suspend the whole team for not talking but really I can't blame them for not talking.


I sincerely hope that something like this never happens to a woman you care about. How would you feel if 10 people knew what happened but left it to the authorities to "figure it out themselves?"
 
BrownEyedBoy said:



Well, I must at least respect the team's loyalty towards each other. I couldn't rat out a friend even he did the worst thing in the world. Let them figure it out without my help.

I think it's a good political act to suspend the whole team for not talking but really I can't blame them for not talking.

So if your friend strangled a baby to death

You and your teammates should just keep quiet?
 
BrownEyedBoy said:



Well, I must at least respect the team's loyalty towards each other. I couldn't rat out a friend even he did the worst thing in the world. Let them figure it out without my help.

I think it's a good political act to suspend the whole team for not talking but really I can't blame them for not talking.

I know a bunch of others have already responded to this, but seriously, what were you thinking when you posted this?!?! What if the rape/assault victim was your girlfriend, or your little sister? You'd honestly still be cool with your friend that did it and "let them figure it out" without saying a thing? If your best friends beat, strangled, and gang rapped your little sister, you'd just sit back and let them figure it out?

I guess if that's really how you feel, so be it, you're entitled to your own opinion. But thank God in this country our court system can distinguish between "respect and loyalty" (had to quote that because rape is anything but either of those, IMO) and aiding and abetting a criminal offense.

If DNA testing can prove that the lacrosse athletes were not the rapists, fine, but I don't have any problems with the entire team being suspended at this point considering that they willingly put themselves in a situation that condones this type of behavior. I have less than zero sympathy. I can't believe people still get away with this.

The saddest thing is, this probably happens to 10,000 other girls every weekend and NO ONE is ever called out or punished because people have attitudes like the one quoted above and think it's OK for their friends to behave like that. How can you call someone who assaults and takes advantage of someone else a friend? Respect and loyalty....yeah, right. :banghead:
 
:| Yes cover your friends' backsides no matter what they do. My loyalty is to a much higher ideal than that.

I saw on the news last night that an African American woman was walking by their frat house with her friend and she called 911 crying, she said they were outside and called them the n word. Nice way for the little Duke lacrosse frat boys to behave. A neighbor also heard it.
 
this is/was the proper way for the university to handle this situation until it can be cleared up. if it turns out that this crime did, in fact, take place, and that members of the team did the crime, and that other members of the team hid the truth, then the entire season should be canceled and every one involved should be thrown out of the university.

:shrug: that said i hope we all don't jump to conclusions and convict every member of this team and simply let the investigation run it's course. we really don't know much about this case other than what's been reported in the news. what if it turns out that the members of the lax team are innocent? that other students who were also at the party were to blame? what then? this is not a frat house we're talking about here. this is an off campus house rented by the captians of the lacrosse team. odds are that non lacrosse team members were at the house as well.

i just don't like 45 teenagers over the coals before we know the entire story, and i wish that people could just wait for the DNA results to come back before they start going crazy over this. if the DNA tests come back positive? by all means... tear them apart, cancel the season, expell all the team members, fire the coach, do whatever you'd like. but can we just wait the week so that we're sure it was a lax team member before we crucifix them all?
 
The problems with this incident go way beyond the team not talking.

Like Headache said...the lacrosse players are not living in a frat house...they are living in a rental unit in a residential neighborhood. The fact that university students have rented this house for as long as they have has frustrated the Durham neighbors. So much that the University has purchased the house from the lanlord and planned to rent it to a prof or university staffer...but they wanted to honor the lacrosse captains' lease. SO, we have a neighborhood/student aspect here too.

THEN we get into the "athletes get special treatment" issues.

This is a situation with enough fuel...it was just looking for something to ignite it. H-bomb.
 
MrsSpringsteen said:


I saw on the news last night that an African American woman was walking by their frat house with her friend and she called 911 crying, she said they were outside and called them the n word. Nice way for the little Duke lacrosse frat boys to behave. A neighbor also heard it.

What is the source on this one? Can you post a link? Does it mention "Frat" anywhere with the lacrosse team?
 
I believe it was on CNN, I don't have time to look for a link right now. If it wasn't a frat house and was just a regular house I made a simple mistake, I am human.

The alleged victim is saying they made racial comments to her as well
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12065803/print/1/displaymode/1098/

and a neighbor allegedly heard this one

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/tim_layden/03/29/duke.lacrosse/index.html

"The woman who made the accusation is black, and a student at North Carolina Central University, a historically black institution in Durham. According to the Raleigh News & Observer, a neighbor heard one person at the party shouting at the alleged victim as she left the house after the alleged assault: "Thank your grandpa for my cotton shirt.''
 
MrsSpringsteen said:

and a neighbor allegedly heard this one

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/tim_layden/03/29/duke.lacrosse/index.html

"The woman who made the accusation is black, and a student at North Carolina Central University, a historically black institution in Durham. According to the Raleigh News & Observer, a neighbor heard one person at the party shouting at the alleged victim as she left the house after the alleged assault: "Thank your grandpa for my cotton shirt.''

:yikes:

Now, is this just an angry neighbor, or truly what they said? Either way...YIKES!

Thanks for the links!
 
LivLuvAndBootlegMusic said:


I know a bunch of others have already responded to this, but seriously, what were you thinking when you posted this?!?! What if the rape/assault victim was your girlfriend, or your little sister? You'd honestly still be cool with your friend that did it and "let them figure it out" without saying a thing? If your best friends beat, strangled, and gang rapped your little sister, you'd just sit back and let them figure it out?

I guess if that's really how you feel, so be it, you're entitled to your own opinion. But thank God in this country our court system can distinguish between "respect and loyalty" (had to quote that because rape is anything but either of those, IMO) and aiding and abetting a criminal offense.

If DNA testing can prove that the lacrosse athletes were not the rapists, fine, but I don't have any problems with the entire team being suspended at this point considering that they willingly put themselves in a situation that condones this type of behavior. I have less than zero sympathy. I can't believe people still get away with this.

The saddest thing is, this probably happens to 10,000 other girls every weekend and NO ONE is ever called out or punished because people have attitudes like the one quoted above and think it's OK for their friends to behave like that. How can you call someone who assaults and takes advantage of someone else a friend? Respect and loyalty....yeah, right. :banghead:

I probably miswrote what I was trying to post. But basically what I was trying to say is that my input would only be used if it was truly the last resort.

I would hate to be the one responsible for putting my friend behind bars even if it´s the right thing to do. Basically, I was trying to understand why the teammates are keeping quiet.

I guess peer pressure might also have a lot to do with it. If one of the players said something they would be seen differently by their remaining teamates, I´m sure.

I´m sure it might seem like the right thing to say that I would rat out a friend like that, but truly speaking, I would hate to be in a position where I was (somewhat) responsible for putting a friend behind bars.
 
BrownEyedBoy said:


I probably miswrote what I was trying to post. But basically what I was trying to say is that my input would only be used if it was truly the last resort.

I would hate to be the one responsible for putting my friend behind bars even if it´s the right thing to do. Basically, I was trying to understand why the teammates are keeping quiet.

I guess peer pressure might also have a lot to do with it. If one of the players said something they would be seen differently by their remaining teamates, I´m sure.

I´m sure it might seem like the right thing to say that I would rat out a friend like that, but truly speaking, I would hate to be in a position where I was (somewhat) responsible for putting a friend behind bars.

Instead of worrying about being the one who would be putting your friend who committed a violent crime behind bars, you might wonder why you would want to be friends with someone like that to begin with and why it would be so important what other people thought about you. "Pitting friends against each other"? You should distance yourself as quickly as possible from a friend who you know for a fact is also a rapist (in this hypothetical situation) instead of valuing the friendship. Honestly, your loyalty here is sadly misplaced.
 
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