30 for 30: Duke Lacrosse

[alcoholica]

Finished watching this tonight and wanted to post something while it was still fresh in my mind. I remember when this all was going on, and I remember just how certain that everyone thought that they had done it. I remember thinking at the time that it certainly sounded like they had a ton of evidence. Of course they didn't do it. The film does a very good job at breaking the story down piece by piece and taking the viewer on a journey reliving the story as it unfolded.

What I found interesting is how relevant the story is today. Look at the media during the case. The internet was a new and flourishing medium for news, and look at it today. Journalists assuming guilt without investigating. It was and continues to be a mess. It was a story about classism, racism, and sexism. And people ran with it, with their own agendas, and they were all wrong.

When you watch it (if you watch it), you will see things that remind you of #blacklivesmatter and feminism (which is not egalitarianism). You will hear the word privileged a lot. In a way, it was at the beginning of crying wolf for monetary gain. It had corrupt prosecutors and cops, who just knew that the kids were guilty. You will see mobs of people who did not believe in due process.

It's a sports story that transcended sport, and it's a story that is as relevant today as it was then.

 

[rogdochar]

That prosecutor pushed the false narrative hoping it would move him back to the
favorite in his political race. Then it's not so startling that the accuser murdered
her boyfriend 2 years later and now serves about 16-18 years in prison. This is
the accuser Jesse Jackson pitched in his support for and the media/internet praised
all while she was a busy escort girl, who that very night, made phone connections
for more escort jobs right after she supposedly was raped. The police detective-pal
and the prosecuting DA kept those phone records shielded.

That DA got sentenced to 1 day in jail for his crimes ! He did those young men and
their parents irreparable harm I expect.

 

[itsgr82bag8r]

**** Dook.

 

[Double Gator Dad]

Finished watching this tonight and wanted to post something while it was still fresh in my mind. I remember when this all was going on, and I remember just how certain that everyone thought that they had done it. I remember thinking at the time that it certainly sounded like they had a ton of evidence. Of course they didn't do it. The film does a very good job at breaking the story down piece by piece and taking the viewer on a journey reliving the story as it unfolded.

What I found interesting is how relevant the story is today. Look at the media during the case. The internet was a new and flourishing medium for news, and look at it today. Journalists assuming guilt without investigating. It was and continues to be a mess. It was a story about classism, racism, and sexism. And people ran with it, with their own agendas, and they were all wrong.

When you watch it (if you watch it), you will see things that remind you of #blacklivesmatter and feminism (which is not egalitarianism). You will hear the word privileged a lot. In a way, it was at the beginning of crying wolf for monetary gain. It had corrupt prosecutors and cops, who just knew that the kids were guilty. You will see mobs of people who did not believe in due process.

It's a sports story that transcended sport, and it's a story that is as relevant today as it was then.

I agree completely.
Unfortunately, we learned nothing from the incident in part because nobody in the media or with the Duke administration was ever punished for their behavior.
- Brodhead is president of Duke to this day
- Jesse Jackson moved on to the next racism publicity opportunity
- As you said, the media perfected their social terrorism processes

Beyond the one local journalist featured in the film, no members of the media or the racism industry ever came forward to acknowledge their role. Reminds me of Obama and the Michael Brown case. To this day, he has never admitted that the story he and others told was false.

 

[Homer J]

Race and politics. Pretty simple.

 

[alcoholica]

I agree completely.
Unfortunately, we learned nothing from the incident in part because nobody in the media or with the Duke administration was ever punished for their behavior.
- Brodhead is president of Duke to this day
- Jesse Jackson moved on to the next racism publicity opportunity
- As you said, the media perfected their social terrorism processes

Beyond the one local journalist featured in the film, no members of the media or the racism industry ever came forward to acknowledge their role. Reminds me of Obama and the Michael Brown case. To this day, he has never admitted that the story he and others told was false.

Yeah, I was shocked that she did that. I still don't think she had any real remorse though, because she kept trying to justify it because of her past assault. I mean I get it, but she was also one of the worst offenders at the time.

And yes, Duke totally screwed over the players and hung them out to dry.

 

[alcoholica]

That prosecutor pushed the false narrative hoping it would move him back to the
favorite in his political race. Then it's not so startling that the accuser murdered
her boyfriend 2 years later and now serves about 16-18 years in prison. This is
the accuser Jesse Jackson pitched in his support for and the media/internet praised
all while she was a busy escort girl, who that very night, made phone connections
for more escort jobs right after she supposedly was raped. The police detective-pal
and the prosecuting DA kept those phone records shielded.

That DA got sentenced to 1 day in jail for his crimes ! He did those young men and
their parents irreparable harm I expect.

The one detective committed suicide. Who knows how many people he screwed over.

 

[Scott512]

I agree completely.
Unfortunately, we learned nothing from the incident in part because nobody in the media or with the Duke administration was ever punished for their behavior.
- Brodhead is president of Duke to this day
- Jesse Jackson moved on to the next racism publicity opportunity
- As you said, the media perfected their social terrorism processes

Beyond the one local journalist featured in the film, no members of the media or the racism industry ever came forward to acknowledge their role. Reminds me of Obama and the Michael Brown case. To this day, he has never admitted that the story he and others told was false.

Damn true. Sad but true. And the racism industry is only getting bigger because of the media. Yet no one wants to cover the cop killings and why. Hmmm. Stuff like this always makes me happy to get back to sports especially Gator sports.

 

[Okeechobee Joe]

"This institution will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it."

So Thomas Jefferson wrote about the University of Virginia. There is a failure of leadership in this country in politics, on our college campuses, in our professions --- across the board. Our leaders worship at the altar of political correctness and don't care what the truth is.

 

[Scott512]

"This institution will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it."

So Thomas Jefferson wrote about the University of Virginia. There is a failure of leadership in this country in politics, on our college campuses, in our professions --- across the board. Our leaders worship at the altar of political correctness and don't care what the truth is.

TJ was right and so ahead of his time.

 

[Gator Fever]

Actually the city didn't give the players anything I think and just agreed to some changes. Maybe due to being hard to have a lawsuit hold up against them. Not sure what Duke settled for but it sounds like it was quite a lot for a couple of them.

I remember the talking head lawyers saying Nifong must be holding back good evidence he had and it turns out he never had any evidence to back her claims up.

 

[NoGaGator]

Damn true. Sad but true. And the racism industry is only getting bigger because of the media. Yet no one wants to cover the cop killings and why. Hmmm. Stuff like this always makes me happy to get back to sports especially Gator sports.

It's so very sad that the"racism industry" has grown exponentially since Obama has been in office. He's as bad as was George Wallace and he's never called out.

 

[alcoholica]

Just watched this again. What a despicable and disgusting display.

 

[rogdochar]

There's never a thing so rare
As an activist visionary
Who sees only what is there.

 

[TLB]

The PF sent me to foxnews for a bit, and I saw this:


Judge deposes woman in retracted Rolling Stone gang-rape story

The woman who said she was gang-raped at a University of Virginia fraternity house and was the centerpiece of a now-retracted Rolling Stone article must answer attorneys' questions in a defamation lawsuit, a federal judge ruled.

The student identified as "Jackie" in the article has fiercely resisted attempts to answer questions about her claims. U.S. District Judge Glen E. Conrad said Monday she is scheduled for a deposition Thursday at an undisclosed location.

She is being questioned as part of university administrator's $7.5 million defamation lawsuit against Rolling Stone and the article's author. Nicole Eramo, an associate dean of students who had counseled Jackie, says the article cast Eramo as "chief villain." The piece by Sabrina Rubin Erdely also cast the university as indifferent to her claims of a sexual assault.

...

In a March filing, Eramo's lawyers sought to tone down "vitriolic personal attacks" directed at Eramo by Jackie's attorneys.

In turn, Jackie's attorneys criticized Eramo's attorneys for their "scorched-earth" efforts to depose her. Jackie has also resisted questioning because her attorneys have said she would be "re-victimized" as a sexual assault victim.

What? There was no assault. How could she be re-victimized? Wtf?

Oh, and minus points for both sides getting personal in attacking one another thru lawyerspeak. Stay classy. And if you can't do that, ensure the tantrums make it to the news.

 

[rogdochar]

Yeah, I was shocked that she did that. I still don't think she had any real remorse though, because she kept trying to justify it because of her past assault. I mean I get it, but she was also one of the worst offenders at the time.

And yes, Duke totally screwed over the players and hung them out to dry.

How close did they investigate that assault ? These "rape bandwagons" are a mess - a horrible
occurrence to have false reports on.

 

[Jack o' Diamonds]

I agree completely.
Unfortunately, we learned nothing from the incident in part because nobody in the media or with the Duke administration was ever punished for their behavior.
- Brodhead is president of Duke to this day
- Jesse Jackson moved on to the next racism publicity opportunity
- As you said, the media perfected their social terrorism processes

Beyond the one local journalist featured in the film, no members of the media or the racism industry ever came forward to acknowledge their role. Reminds me of Obama and the Michael Brown case. To this day, he has never admitted that the story he and others told was false.

 

[alcoholica]

How close did they investigate that assault ? These "rape bandwagons" are a mess - a horrible
occurrence to have false reports on.

I was commenting on Ruth Sheehan. She wrote a column that basically said the Duke kids were guilty and needed to fess up. She blamed it on her being assaulted when she was younger. Just a cop out. She was one of the early people calling out the team, instead of calling for patience and due process. She later apologized, but she helped to fuel the fire in a big way.

This documentary does a great job at showing a lot of issues in our society. A lot of shame to be spread around.