Quote from: USTBench on September 19, 2017, 03:27:52 PMQuote from: TheVoiceofReason on September 19, 2017, 02:45:18 PMQuote from: miac952 on September 19, 2017, 12:38:36 PMQuote from: TheVoiceofReason on September 19, 2017, 11:48:25 AM
As always, let's not find people guilty because of what we read in the Paper about an incident that took place 16 months ago. The clue here may very well be that there has been no action taken for 16 months - as in, no one is believing the accused because he may be less than trustworthy. If a school like Wheaton doesn't take significant action, that makes me believe that there is more to the story.
The school found some wrongdoing. Sources within the school are being quoted stating the punishment for the athletes was 50 hours of community service and an essay.
Replace Wheaton with Baylor or Penn State in your last sentence. One school has a very strict religious and morality clause for its students, the other was known for doing things the right way in its football program. Respected institutions time and again fail in this regard. Others are learning and managing it better. Take Michigan State or the U of M last year. Both suspended players during the investigation. In MN case some were found to have little to no involvement and were reinstated, while others were dismissed from the program and school. Michigan State fired a coach and dismissed four suspended football players the second charges were filed.
I don't think I have read anyone presuming guilt at this point, BUT, there is a HUGE discrepancy between the school's findings and punishment and the charges presented by the DA.
First off, I promise I'm not trying to be argumentative and completely respect your opinion - I hope I'm not coming off rude. However, I'm confident we will be hearing soon that Wheaton's situation has been largely fabricated. I have heard this from someone closer to the program than I. Just hold tight, and please know if I'm dead wrong I will apologize as publicly as I'm stating this.
On a completely different note, Wheaten beat Carthage 37-14 after Carthage beat Bethel 31-0. I believe Wheaten made it to the NCAA Semis last year and is obviously tough this year - if they get the hammer dropped on them, it will be unfortunate timing as this may be their best team ever.
Except the DA certainly feels it has enough probable cause to indict. So, what role are you talking about? The role where they were complicit in keeping these guys on the team after word came out that they allegedly had kidnapped, beat, sodomized and dumped multiple kids in the cold miles from campus? They are afforded the right to due process in the court system, not the athletic department.
"The conduct we discovered as a result of our investigation into this incident was entirely unacceptable and inconsistent with the values we share as human beings and as members of an academic community that espouses to live according to our Community Covenant," campus spokeswoman LaTonya Taylor said in a statement. "We are profoundly saddened that any member of our community could be mistreated in any way."
There you have it "VoiceofReason." They conducted their own investigation and found the incident "entirely unacceptable." The absurdity from the Wheaton standpoint, is that the punishment they deemed warranted was an essay and some community service, for kids who allegedly beat, kidnapped, hurled racial slurs at, and attempted to sodomize a 19 year old who just wanted to be part of a football team. Just a taaaaad underwhelming in terms of a response from Wheaton.
The only right answer here is to remove them from the team and school until the requisite facts can be gathered. If they're names are cleared bring them back. If not, wish them luck...in prison.
97% of the time someone is charged with a crime they plead guilty. I am well aware frequently this is because they get offered a lesser sentence and the risk of trial is too great, but I'm having a real hard time imagining why a kid would make this up. Especially given the number of witnesses he is able to offer up. If the DA wasn't supremely confident in its position, it wouldn't be bringing charges, even 18 months after the incident supposedly happened.
Wheaton screwed this up royally.
Once again, if this is even halfway true - its dead wrong and please don't read me as making excuses for that type of behavior. The days of hazing should be completely over!
I remember assuming that the Duke Lacrosse Boys were guilty as could be, and I didn't know them from anyone. It has caused me to slow down on these types of cases. I highly doubt these guys would have gotten off this lightly if much of this truly happened. If I end up on the wrong side, I will feel awful - but I'm hearing its quite possibly not nearly as sinister as its being made out to be.
USTBench, it is not my goal to get you upset - just sharing what I've been told.