Duke Lacrosse Scandal

Duke, Duke, Duke. What won’t those Cameron Crazies do?

Anywho, Mr. Lee asked that I, “as a bona fide Duke foe,” offer my “comments on the lacrosse team scandal.” Well, first and foremost, I think the initial “scandal” – that is to say, the rape charges – have been discounted by a complete lack of evidence and a crackpot DA looking out for number one. Those young men, those “hooligans” and “brutes,” were rattled and racked for Nifong’s self-aggrandizement and, to a certain extent, personal pleasure. Deep down, I’m sure Nifong enjoyed seeing them twist in the wind.

So, at least to me, the true scandal surrounded Mr. Nifong’s treatment of the Duke lacrosse team, and, more importantly, the case. He took an unruly, “go it alone” approach to the rule of law – does that make sense? – and really screwed things up. Even if Nifong had evidence to go on, I doubt anyone would care to hear it from him.

But now Nifong is gone, DAs across the country have spoken out against him, and the boys have started spring practices. In short, the storm has passed. What damage has been done probably can’t be undone, and we are left feeling slightly offset.

I have much more to say, but I need time to think. I love lacrosse, but it has been tarnished by all of this. I have trouble separating my game from the alleged actions of some of its players. We'll see if I revisit this subject...