Duke lacrosse

alaskaguy · 05-23-2007, 11:58 PM

Duke is asking the NCAA to grant an extra year of eligibility for the team members whose season was canceled after just playing eight games in 2006.

alaskaguy · 05-26-2007, 11:41 PM

The players that would be impacted are team members that were never even charged but had their season canceled by Duke.

Interestingly enough, Duke is once again the top rated lacrosse team this year. They will be playing in the championship game on Monday (Memorial Day).

BvK1126 · 05-27-2007, 02:11 AM

I don't have a lot to add here. I'm just posting b/c I think it's an interesting thread topic, and it deserves comment from someone in addition to alaskaguy, who started the thread in the first place.

There is a serious sociology study waiting to happen with the Duke lacrosse team and everything that happened with them last year -- and the bitter class distinctions in Durham that the case brought to light. There's also undoubtedly an interesting book that could be written about this year's team and how they overcame all the controversy and adversity to reach the NCAA championship game. I'm no big fan of Duke University, but I kind of hope they win the game tomorrow. They deserve something to celebrate after what they've been through.

CloneFan65 · 05-27-2007, 02:21 AM

Allthough we have since discovered the three players were unjustly accused, it's my understanding that the Duke team wasn't disolved only because of this incident, but that this was the final straw. It sounds like there were some serious discipline problems on the Duke Lacrosse team that year, and I think the NCAA needs to be careful of the precedent they'll set by giving those athletes another season of eligibilty.

Cyclonepride · 05-27-2007, 08:07 AM

While ending the season was quite extreme given the outcome of the trial, some in the media are trying to jump on board with the players as some kind of feel good story. If I remember right, even without the rape allegations, they weren't exactly being responsible student athletes.

ajk4st8 · 05-27-2007, 08:48 AM

The Duke Cornell lacrosse game yesterday was rediculous awesome. Down by 1 Cornell scores with 17 seconds left, just to have Duke pop one in with 3 seconds to go.

Had to feel good for the Dukies.

brianhos · 05-27-2007, 09:49 AM

But were they convicted of any crimes? No, they were not. Even with other things going on, unless they went to court and were convicted, they are innocent. I say give them another year if nothing else, because of this farce of a public flogging they got.

chadm · 05-27-2007, 09:53 AM

I agree with brianhos on this one. Hope it doesn't start a trend.

alaskaguy · 05-27-2007, 10:24 AM

Duke suspended the teams season until the legal situation-then involving 46 players-became clearer. The season was not canceled as punishment for the serious criminal charges against the three players. Under a simple fairness test Duke has decided that the players should be granted another year of eligibility.

As to whether the team had problems before this incident came about, there has been a smear campaign by the local media to make such a distortion. The facts are that the President of Duke appointed Duke Law Professor, James E. Coleman, Jr., to head a committee to examine the lacrosse team's culture. Dr. Coleman, an African-American, found that the team exhibited "exemplary academic and athletic performance" and is "[n]either racist or sexist. On the contrary, the coach of the Duke Women's Lacrosse team expressed camaraderie between the men's and women's team; members of the men's team, for example, consistently come to the women's games. The current as well as former African American members of the team have been extremely positive about the support the team provided them." Also in the report, while it was stated that the rates of alcohol abuse for the lacrosse team were higher than most other Duke athletic teams, "their conduct has not been different in character than the conduct of the typical Duke student who abuses alcohol."