Duke scandal gets national attention

Once the preseason favorite to win a national title, the Duke men's lacrosse team can now only watch from afar as the rest of the nation battles on. It is not due to injuries that their hopes are dashed, or inconsistent play, or even a single suspension. Right now, the team's season has been ended completely due to an incident that has attracted national headlines.

On March 13, the team had a party in an off-campus house, hired some exotic dancers and served alcohol to minors. That's not enough to cause the wave of outrage though. What's causing all the buzz is that one of the dancers accused some of the white members of the team of raping her.

As a response to the team's admission of the party and the ensuing investigation into the supposed gang rape, the Duke president first suspended the team's play until further notice. Yesterday, as new evidence came to light in the form of a drunken, violent email, the season was ended and head coach Mike Pressler resigned after 16 years with the program. It is easy for him to jump ship — he'll have no problem finding another job — but the athletes he recruited will never get another chance at playing this season. Every detail of the case has headlined newspapers across the country, providing a drastic example of the spotlight athletes live under and the way the actions of just a few can destroy the hopes of an entire team.

What the media and others seem to have forgotten is that, in this country, people are innocent until proven guilty. Instead, judgments have been cast on the players and the program that will tarnish it, the sport of lacrosse and student-athletes in general for a long time. It is likely that only a few members of the team participated in the illicit action, if it occurred, yet the entire team is currently under suspicion. Pressler has obviously already given up hope of resurrecting the program.

Given, the teams' conduct other than the alleged rape was less than admirable and perhaps worthy of a suspended game or two, but not the media theatrics that have been occurring.

Without an official charge filed, the local prosecutor has been making extensive statements regarding the fact that he believed a rape occurred. It is very possible that a rape did occur, but consider that if a Duke student not affiliated with an athletic team were the accused, it would not be national news, period. It might not even be front page news in the local papers.

All this points to the fact that college athletes are under a microscope — they are held to a higher standard. Athletes at major Division-I schools may have certain advantages, but put a hair out of place and there's no hearing the end of it.

It is scrutiny that comes hand in hand with privilege one might say, but one can't have it both ways. People expect student-athletes to live normal student lives — that's why the 'student' part always comes first — yet they expect them never to make any of the mistakes typical students make. This refers to the situation of athletes in general. Rape is obviously unacceptable and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

So athletes have to be careful because any toe out of line speaks ill not just of themselves, but of their team, their sport and athletes in general.

Of the 47 members of the men's lacrosse team, the alleged victim has accused only three of raping her. However, the investigators have not managed to narrow down their search beyond knocking out the one black member of the team. The faces of the remaining team members have been plastered on posters across campus, and the entire team is suspended from play due to the alleged actions of just three. It's like when a coach makes the entire team sprint for the mistake of one player. In athletics, one lives and dies with the team.

Team unity and sacrifice are good things, but when outside perception of an individual is based upon the stereotype of the sport he or she plays, that's a problem — and that is exactly what the Duke scandal magnifies. Every one of the athletes on the team, due to the actions of just a few, are being labeled as rapists, racists and worse. Student-athletes are never recognized just as students, but always accompanied by the athlete label, whatever good or ill image that implies. The Duke scandal is the only lacrosse news the average American will see, and the image of lacrosse players and student-athletes across the nation will undoubtably be tainted.

Meanwhile, the rest of the nation plays on, attempting to fight the image the Duke scandal casts upon them by playing the game of lacrosse. Virginia, still undefeated, has emerged as a dominant national contender, and Princeton hopes to erase the blemish of last season, the first in which they had not made the NCAA tournament in years. The Blue Devils, who last year played in the national final, can now only look on.