Bad News for Duke

[gobblerlax05]

they hade some exclusive coverage of it

[Sonny]

Attorney: Accuser ID'd Lacrosse Players By Scratches On Their Bodies

An exotic dancer who says three Duke lacrosse players raped her may have identified two of them based on photographs that show scratches on their bodies, a defense attorney said Wednesday.

The attorney said that when 46 members of the lacrosse team submitted court-ordered DNA samples last month, they were also photographed without their shirts.

The attorney said that is possibly how Reade Seligmann, 20, and Collin Finnerty, 19, were identified by the alleged victim, who told police she was gang-raped, sodomized and beaten for 30 minutes at a lacrosse-team party on March 14.

Seligmann and Finnerty were arrested Tuesday and were charged with first-degree forcible rape, first-degree sexual offense and first-degree kidnapping. Each posted $400,000 bond and was released hours after their arrests Tuesday.

From WRAL.com:
http://www.wral.com/news/8820200/detail.html

[StrykerFSU]

Wow, I never got scratched during lacrosse. Seems like a rock solid ID to me.

And speaking of IDs...last night on Fox News, Brit "Mr. Rock&Roll" Hume brought up the journalistic code where the names of alleged victims of sexual assault are not publicized. I had always thought this was a legal question but it appears that reporters are under no obligation to suppress the identities of alleged victims. It is my opinion that in a case such as this one, where there is serious doubt about what may have happened, reporters should should make the woman's name public. In this case, we have two young men who may be innocent whose names are now public record in association with this woman's claims. Why should she not be under the same media scrutiny given all the questions concerning her claims?

[Sonny]

In this case, we have two young men who may be innocent whose names are now public record in association with this woman's claims. Why should she not be under the same media scrutiny given all the questions concerning her claims?

Excellent point and good question.

[gobblerlax05]

best privite school to gotto! and the media are allways on them form hoops too this!

[cjwilhelmi]

Just saw on PTI - 'Cuse will not accept any Duke Lacrosse transfer

[NELAX21]

Monday, April 17, 2006
1:36 p.m. Utah State QB arrested after rape allegations

Utah State quarterback Jerod Walker has been arrested and accused of raping a female student, police said Saturday.

Walker posted bail and was released from jail the same day. He is expected to be charged with a felony and arraigned next week.

He started two games as a freshman last season and was expected to compete for the starting job in 2006.

quote from Rivals.com http://collegefootball.rivals.com/conte ... CID=517749

interesting that you don't hear anything else about this...[/quote]

[gibertjs]

well apparently DNA evidence, video tapes, phone records and witness testimony are not enough to prove that the two arrested kids are innocent. Yet the word of an unidentified woman is enough to shut down a whole sports team and disrupt the lives of hundreds of people. The prosecutor in this should be disbarred and forced to play goalie without pads. As for the fact that thes kids had scratches on them, that's like saying her accusers had eyes. Cause it's not like players don't have a dozen scratches or bruises all over them or anything. [/quote]

[Gregg Pathiakis]

And speaking of IDs...last night on Fox News, Brit "Mr. Rock&Roll" Hume brought up the journalistic code where the names of alleged victims of sexual assault are not publicized. I had always thought this was a legal question but it appears that reporters are under no obligation to suppress the identities of alleged victims. It is my opinion that in a case such as this one, where there is serious doubt about what may have happened, reporters should should make the woman's name public. In this case, we have two young men who may be innocent whose names are now public record in association with this woman's claims. Why should she not be under the same media scrutiny given all the questions concerning her claims?

I am torn on this subject. While I strongly believe in the innocence of the players, what if they are guilty? Should we just publicize the name of the "victim" when her story is shaky? If it turns out she was raped, then she is a victim of whatever the journalistic code is meant to protect her from. I think it's either all or nothing. Either you always publicize the name or you never do. I think the media can still scrutinize her claims without divulging her name since THEY know her name.

[semilaxed]

Bret Hume also mentioned that he had an account that accused him of something and later turned out that she needed to be commited. I was simply amazed that someone on MSNBC defended the players for once. I skiped the Factor to watch the rest of his show.

"Your ideas inspire and intrigue me, I wish to subscribe to your news letter"- Homer J Simpson

[Sonny]

Demand for Duke lacrosse gear soars
By Darren Rovell
ESPN.com

In the wake of publicity generated by the sexual assault scandal surrounding the Duke men's lacrosse team, sales of merchandise bearing the "Duke lacrosse" name and logo have skyrocketed.

"Historically, lacrosse has been one of our three or four best-selling sports," said Tom Craig, general manager of retail stores at the Durham, N.C., school. "But over the last month, sales have increased to three or four times our normal rate."

Despite the cancellation of the team's season April 5 -- or perhaps because of it -- the campus stores have experienced a run on merchandise related to Duke lacrosse, and therefore have continued to carry it. Developments in the case include the Tuesday arrest of two of the players.

"We just had to keep up with the demand," Craig said. "There are a couple outstanding orders that we are waiting on; but as of now, we are in great shape in terms of inventory online and at the stores."

Among the available items are hats, T-shirts and replica jerseys, which arrived only recently but were ordered in January, according to Craig.

Craig said the items are generic in that they aren't identified as men's or women's lacrosse, so there was never a discussion with university officials about the possibility of stopping sales after news of the scandal broke. Duke's women's lacrosse team is ranked No. 1 in the country.

"I don't think we're taking advantage of the situation," Craig said.

LINK:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=2413794

[Sonny]

On Campus: Duke Students are Sick of the Story
The ugly issues and media attention raised by the rape case have students unusually eager to take their final exams

By SARAH KWAK/DURHAM
Posted Wednesday, Apr. 19, 2006

Kwak, a junior at Duke, is managing editor of the campus newspaper, The Chronicle.

Newspapers tend to litter the tabletops at eateries on campus a bit more these days, as people keep up with the details of the now notorious rape case that emerge daily. Over the last month, the campus has played host to local and national news stations that parked satellite trucks next to dorms for days, and television crews set up on the main quad every morning.

And yet students around here are anything but reveling in the media's glare. They want to stay as far away from the cameras and reporters as possible. For many students, it borders on invasive. The reality is that campus reaction cannot be summed up in two sound bites of a simplistic divide — one pro and one con.

Spring Break at most college campuses signifies the beginning of the end — and that has never felt more appropriate than it does now at Duke, where two sophomores have been charged with rape, and the future of the men's lacrosse program is questionable at best. The university faced harsh criticism for not responding quickly enough to the allegations, and then for responding too quickly after lacrosse coach Mike Pressler's resignation and the cancellation of the team's season.

Suffice it to say that nothing in the last four weeks has seemed normal here in Durham. "I'm already at the point where it's just numbing. Nothing's surprising anymore," says senior Dan Shvartsman. "The first week, there were so many questions and everything was so interesting. But for me, it's already past its peak; it's almost tiring. I just want to know what happened. I want to know the truth."

LINK:
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article ... 29,00.html

[Sonny]

This article includes links to some of the photos in question.

Attorneys: Photos Will Exonerate Players

POSTED: 3:32 pm EDT April 19, 2006
UPDATED: 8:07 pm EDT April 19, 2006

DURHAM, N.C. -- NBC has obtained exclusive photos that defense lawyers for the Duke University lacrosse players feel will exonerate their clients of rape charges.

Collin Finnerty, 19, and Reade Seligmann, 20, were charged Tuesday with first-degree rape, first-degree sex offense and first-degree kidnapping after a woman said she was raped and beaten at a March 13 lacrosse team party, where she was performing as an exotic dancer.

Dan Abrams, a Duke graduate and former lawyer who now hosts "The Abrams Report" on MSNBC, said he has copies of a series of photos lacrosse team players said they took at the party.

Finnerty appears in none of the photos, Abrams said, which bolsters defense attorneys' claims that the teen wasn't at the party when the alleged rape occurred.

Although Seligmann was in some photos, defense attorneys said the have records from a cab company, ATM receipts and other information with which they can prove he left the party before the alleged rape took place.

LINK:
http://www.nbc17.com/news/8830631/detail.html

[cjwilhelmi]

Attorney: No Plea Deal for Duke Player

DURHAM, N.C. - An attorney for one of two Duke University lacrosse players charged with raping a stripper at a team party on Wednesday strongly rejected any sort of deal with prosecutors, proclaiming again his client's innocence.

"I don't think there is any chance in hell that there will be a guilty plea," attorney Bill Cotter said. "I can't tell you about (everybody), but my client's case is either going to be dismissed by the D.A. or go to trial."

Cotter represents Collin Finnerty, who along with fellow sophomore Reade Seligmann was indicted Monday on charges of first-degree rape, sexual offense and kidnapping. Each posted $400,000 bond after their pre-dawn arrests early Tuesday, and both were released within hours.

[Brent Burns]

On Campus: Duke Students are Sick of the Story
The ugly issues and media attention raised by the rape case have students unusually eager to take their final exams

By SARAH KWAK/DURHAM
Posted Wednesday, Apr. 19, 2006

Kwak, a junior at Duke, is managing editor of the campus newspaper, The Chronicle.

Newspapers tend to litter the tabletops at eateries on campus a bit more these days, as people keep up with the details of the now notorious rape case that emerge daily. Over the last month, the campus has played host to local and national news stations that parked satellite trucks next to dorms for days, and television crews set up on the main quad every morning.

And yet students around here are anything but reveling in the media's glare. They want to stay as far away from the cameras and reporters as possible. For many students, it borders on invasive. The reality is that campus reaction cannot be summed up in two sound bites of a simplistic divide — one pro and one con.

Spring Break at most college campuses signifies the beginning of the end — and that has never felt more appropriate than it does now at Duke, where two sophomores have been charged with rape, and the future of the men's lacrosse program is questionable at best. The university faced harsh criticism for not responding quickly enough to the allegations, and then for responding too quickly after lacrosse coach Mike Pressler's resignation and the cancellation of the team's season.

Suffice it to say that nothing in the last four weeks has seemed normal here in Durham. "I'm already at the point where it's just numbing. Nothing's surprising anymore," says senior Dan Shvartsman. "The first week, there were so many questions and everything was so interesting. But for me, it's already past its peak; it's almost tiring. I just want to know what happened. I want to know the truth."

LINK:
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article ... 29,00.html

If I were a Duke student, I would feel the same and want to get away from Durham. Eventhough both situations were of different circumstances, I am sure Baylor students can understand how their counterparts, the Duke students feel when Baylor was under so much media scrutiny over Brian Dennhey's death several years ago. I was already sick of all that talk at that time and was hoping that the case would be resolved.