June 6, 2006

They’re Baaaaack

Richard Brodhead, president of Duke University, must be feeling lucky.

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“Student-athletes are required to notify the head coach and athletic director of any violation of the code of conduct within 24 hours,” the standards read, “even when the violation occurs during a vacation period and/or outside of Durham, N.C. Failure to notify will result in immediate suspension.”

Brodhead said that he was most heartened by the next part of the standards. “While these guidelines stand as a deterrent,” the letter continues, “we recognize that the most productive changes we can make to our social culture are to root out the very actions that would precipitate a penalty.”

“I didn’t tell them what I wanted the standards to be,” Brodhead said. “We’re looking for a system where people take responsibility for their own behavior.”

Brodhead said that when the Durham district attorney indicted a third member of the lacrosse team last month in the March 13 incident, the D.A. also said that there were no more indictments to come. That essentially “exonerated the other 44 players,” Brodhead said.

Brodhead cast the decision to reinstate the team as part of Duke’s educational mission.

If “we did not allow these players the chance to take responsibility for creating a new history for their sport at Duke,” he said, “we would be denying another very fundamental value: the belief in the possibility of learning from experience, the belief in education itself.”

Even Ryan McFadden, Duke lacross player and author of a lewd e-mail following the party where the alleged rape occurred, may get a second chance. McFadden’s e-mail, announcing another party with exotic dancers, announced that he planned “on killing the bitches as soon as the walk in and proceeding to cut their skin off while cumming in my duke issue spandex.”

Brodhead said that the e-mail was taken out of context, and that McFadden, who is on interim suspension, will be eligible for a hearing to decide his fate, just like any student would be.

Duke athletics as a whole will be in for a few changes as a result of this spring’s lacrosse controversy.

Brodhead said that he hoped that a system for better communication between Duke and community police and the athletics department would be in place by the end of next fall, so that Duke police, and subsequently the athletics department, will be aware of behavior problems even when they occur off campus.

Also, Brodhead will now take responsibility for overseeing university athletics. “I will take responsibility for overseeing the wholeness of athletics,” Brodhead said, “to make sure it interfaces in the right fashion” with other parts of the university.

“I am taking something of a risk,” he added.

— David Epstein

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Comments

Did Mr. Brodhead actually ever think that 46 out of 47 lacrosse players committed rape?? Is that why he suspended the entire lacrosse program?? I don’t think so. Having failed to adequately monitor alcohol use and behavior of the lacrosse team and—according to Duke’s own internal report—the student community as a whole, the weak-knee’d Brodhead then caved in to the lynch mob of politically correct interest groups exploiting this unfortunate incident for their own purposes. He failed to observe concepts of fairness fundamental to our legal system, throwing the entire lacrosse team and their coach under the bus and accelerating the reprehensible rush to judgment in the court of public opinion that has been the hallmark of this case. He could have put the team on probation, instituted internal disciplinary proceedings for those responsible for the party, and awaited the results of the legal process. The lack of common sense, fairness and balance in the Duke administration’s actions should make parents wonder why anyone in his or her right mind would send a child to Duke.

Mommy, at 8:16 am EDT on June 6, 2006

context is everything

You’ve gotta love Brodhead’s claim that McFadden’s notorious email was “taken out of context.” Sure, he talked about killing the bitches and cutting their skin off while cumming in his duke issue spandex — but he meant that in a GOOD way.

Alan Jacobs, at 9:05 am EDT on June 6, 2006

Especially if that child is female. Or Black.

Daddy, at 9:05 am EDT on June 6, 2006

Fortunately, Duke is a great school. Those who are smart enough [and lucky enough] to be accepted get four fascinating and challenging years to be scholarly amongst young people of like mind. I am a grad and have a son there now. It is fantastic.

Re the Lacrosse issue, President Brodhead can’t win here. Some believe he acted too harshly in sanctioning the Coach and team. Some believe he hasn’t been harsh enough. He has addressed the issues openly, repeatedly and with intellect and compassion. The reinstatement of the team with guidelines is a sound choice.

The true heartache has been watching the team and their friends on campus suffer over brutal allegations which don’t seem to be true. The victim may have been raped that day, but, as the DNA evidence shows, it was not by a Duke lacrosse player.

My son [and friends both male and female] is appalled at implications that women are not treated with respect at Duke. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Karen Throckmorton, Prof T, at 3:45 pm EDT on June 12, 2006

Dear Ms. Throckmorton,There are many other wonderful colleges and universities in the U.S. where young people can “get four fascinating and challenging years to be scholarly amongst young people of like mind.” The Duke administration’s handling of the lacrosse team matter reveals a failure of leadership, balance and fairness that will inevitably influence families to avoid Duke in favor of other choices.

To suggest that President Brodhead “can’t win here” is to sidestep the issue. The test is not whether he can “win” but rather whether he can act in accordance with basic American legal principles—and in the best interests of Duke students— and not rush to judgment when pressed by special interest groups and the corrosive influence of the voracious media. Inevitably, any decision he made would have drawn criticism from some quarter. He seemed more interested in controlling the spin than in doing the right thing.

I do not think that the question presented by this event is whether women (or for that matter African-Americans) are treated with respect at Duke. If anything, the question is whether white males are treated with fairness.

I can sympathize with how painful this incident has been to you as a Duke alum. Unfortunately, it will take time—and, I suspect, a new Duke president—before the serious negative effects of this matter can be overcome.

Mommy, at 10:25 am EDT on June 13, 2006

McFadden’s e-mail

My better half has spoken to the Brodhead issue. Having read Mr. Jacob’s comment re the McFadden e-mail, I think IT deserves a response as well. It WAS taken out of context and, to the extent it has any relevance to the rape charge, which is dubious, it suggests — in my mind, anyway —- that there was no rape: The language is an allusion to American Psycho, a mainstream movie (believe it or not) that the kids had recently seen. It looks to me like the lax players and strippers had a dispute over money, followed by the notorious racial invectives (which I am NOT defending). Shortly thereafter, McFadden is in his dorm room thinking about the dispute, and — in a stupid attempt at 19-year-old humor — sends an e-mail to his buddies quoting from the movie. He never expects that the entire U.S. population will learn of its contents because he has no inkling that there will be any investigation or criminal charges because he saw nothing occur that would warrant same. To me, much more consistent that he would send that e-mail if he did NOT believe that a crime had occurred. (But admittedly not highly probative either way. )In any event, I think that if, having recently watched Silence of the Lambs, he had sent an e-mail about “eating the stripper with fava beans and a nice Chianti” there would have been a more general understanding that the kid was being sophomoric (I believe he is, in fact, a sophomore) and immature, etc. but NOT that he was actually contemplating actual violence —- let alone horrific violence — to a woman. Do I condone the stripper party? No. Do I condone arrogant jocks? No. Do I condone arrogant racist jocks? No. Do I wish this had never happened at Duke? Yes. Would I be proud if my son had sent this e-mail? No. Do I think McFadden should be a pariah for the rest of his life, or that he should be regarded as a deviant or a danger to society, or that his e-mail reflects a greater likelihood that a sexual assault occurred? No.

So no, he didn’t mean he would “skin the woman alive” “in a GOOD way” but this particular aspect of the lax incident has, in my opinion, been WAY overblown and context DOES matter.

Chuck Throckmorton

Chuck Throckmorton, at 5:05 pm EDT on June 13, 2006

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They’re Baaaaack

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Comments

context is everything

McFadden’s e-mail

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