Aaaaaarrrrggghhhh!
I'm not trying to defend Nifong at all. But when i read shit like this, my blood starts to boil:
Let's see, guys. You had a team party where you hired sex workers and provided alcohol to underage teammates. (The latter is definitely a crime in the state of North Carolina.) One of your teammates sent an email out after the "party" which read in part:
'"Tomorrow night, after tonights show, ive decided to have some strippers over," the message read. "However there will be no nudity. i plan on killing bitches as soon as the walk in and proceeding to cut their skin off."' Last year, your University President said, to a Chamber of Commerce meeting:
You trashed the house you lived in and the block you lived on so thoroughly that the University paid $3 million to buy up a dozen houses (well above what they were worth on the market) on the block to resell with the stipulation that they never be rented to students again.
Anyone who pays attention to Durham politics knows that Mike Nifong's re-election was a no-brainer before your stupid party ever took place.
At this point, i think it would be best if you get on with your lives in another part of the country, and just shut the fuck up. You don't deserve to live in our town.
Also Monday, Duke University announced it had reached an undisclosed financial settlement with the three former lacrosse players, Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and Dave Evans. Duke suspended them after they were charged, canceled the team's season and forced their coach to resign.
"We welcomed their exoneration and deeply regret the difficult year they and their families have had to endure," Duke said in a statement announcing the settlement.
The players' families racked up millions of dollars of legal bills in their defense, and appear likely to file a lawsuit against Nifong.
The players said in a joint statement they hoped the agreement would "begin to bring the Duke family back together again."
"The events of the last year tore the Duke community apart, and forcibly separated us from the university we love," they said. "We were the victims of a rogue prosecutor concerned only with winning an election."
Let's see, guys. You had a team party where you hired sex workers and provided alcohol to underage teammates. (The latter is definitely a crime in the state of North Carolina.) One of your teammates sent an email out after the "party" which read in part:
'"Tomorrow night, after tonights show, ive decided to have some strippers over," the message read. "However there will be no nudity. i plan on killing bitches as soon as the walk in and proceeding to cut their skin off."' Last year, your University President said, to a Chamber of Commerce meeting:
Earlier Thursday, at the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce's 100th annual meeting, Brodhead got two rounds of booming applause when he told business and industry leaders about the university's stance.
Whether the accusations prove to be true or not, other acts of misbehavior attributed to the lacrosse team were "abhorrent," Brodhead said.
"It's not the kind of behavior we have the habit of condoning," he said.
You trashed the house you lived in and the block you lived on so thoroughly that the University paid $3 million to buy up a dozen houses (well above what they were worth on the market) on the block to resell with the stipulation that they never be rented to students again.
Anyone who pays attention to Durham politics knows that Mike Nifong's re-election was a no-brainer before your stupid party ever took place.
At this point, i think it would be best if you get on with your lives in another part of the country, and just shut the fuck up. You don't deserve to live in our town.
Labels: Duke lacrosse
Since 1949, Durhamites have slept soundly, secure in the knowledge that, in our town, erection can be depended upon. Now, thanks to the power of the internets, we can spread that security all over the world.
14 Comments:
I agree that "innocent" is a term that barely applies to the guys who thru the party. Innocent of rape, ok, but innocent, no.
A bit of a correction though - I believe that Duke bought out Solie just weeks before the party. Strangely, it never seemed to be talked about much that Duke owned the house where the incident took place...
By
Pj, at 9:22 PM
as i recall, the purchase was announced a month or so prior to the lacrosse team party. whenthe deal closed, i'm not sure.
either way, the deal stipulated that the current tenants could stay until their lease was up, but after that, the University would take possession of the houses, and sell them to people who would either live in them, or fix them and flip them to owner occupants.
didn't mean to imply that Duke made the deal as a result of the lacrosse party; rather to reinforce the notion that the lacrosse team had a rather lengthy history of being sucky neighbors even before this incident.
By
Barry, at 9:52 PM
Thanks for posting. I posted a trackback, currently lacking any expressible venom of my own.
By
toastie, at 12:45 AM
Well you may have to put up a few extra tax dollars for the settlement for the players from both the City of Durham and Durham County. I'm sure they will be offered the maximun settlements by the insurer or the parties if they are self insured. There will likely be a painful investigation of the police department and DA's office.
By
Anonymous, at 3:25 AM
Hey Anon,
Right -- though keep in mind the DA is a state employee so the liability lies there. The DPD is another matter, and much hinges on what turns up out of the investigation.
The county has zero obligation in the matter, IIRC.
By
Unknown, at 7:44 AM
From party animals to choir boys--their lawyers have choreographed a complete media makeover. I understand one of the accused even got an award from his priest back home!
If anyone should STFU it's Joe "Nifong...it's what's for dinner" Cheshire.
Good grief.
By
Tony, at 8:50 AM
Thanks for this post Barry. It needed to be said. It's been bugging me to no end that the accused, now "innocent" lacrosse players are being painted as a combination of Mother Theresa and Albert Schweitzer.
By
Anonymous, at 8:59 AM
I would think that a town where years pass without a single arrest for prostitution and a thriving drug trade would have no problem with strippers and underage drinking.
Of course when the same county reelects mike Nifong nothing should surprise.
By
wayne fontes, at 9:54 AM
What town would that be?
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Barry, at 9:58 AM
I was wondering that myself, given the massive prostitution sting operation that cleaned out Driver and Angier last year.
I also rush to point out that the majority of Durham voted "not Nifong" last year, and that Steve Monks pulling a Nader is the only thing that got him re-elected.
By
Anonymous, at 12:42 PM
When Nifong was appointed to fill the term of Jim Hardin back in the spring of 2005, he had nearly 30 years in the prosecutors office, and a stellar reputation.
His main rival for the post, fellow assistant DA Freda Black, had some support. As i recall, some of the opposition to her candidacy stemmed from the perception that she grandstanded during the Michael Peterson trial.
The May 2006 primary election was the first time that Nifong faced the voters. He won a relatively close victory over Black, and, it's my contention, that his margin of victory would have been significantly greater without the lacrosse case. Certainly his errors in the time frame between the original events and the election (mostly consisting of saying too much to the press) were attributable to a lack of familiarity with the extra-courtroom aspects of such a high profile case.
There was, in other words, no reason for the Democratic primary voters of Durham in early May of 2006 to reject Mike Nifong.
Unlike, for instance, the majority of voters in the rest of North Carolina who voted to return George W. Bush to office in November of 2004.
I'd also like to mention that the notion that somehow, taking charges of rape raised by a black stripper against white college students seriously constitutes pandering to the electorate, is one that really needs to not be tossed around so lightly. If there's one thing that Durham residents of whatever race and background have shown, it's that we're capable of judging events on their merits, and responding appropriately.
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Barry, at 1:24 PM
Without the lacrosse scandal, there wouldn't have been any competition in the general election. Steve Monks and Lewis Cheek both jumped in after the primary season was over. Before then, Nifong would have gone into the general unopposed.
There were a couple of reasons to suspect Nifong's ambition in the primary season, most notably the "Freda Black rule." I mentioned it in my take last November, but I may write up a bit more about it tonight.
By
Anonymous, at 2:38 PM
That was a good piece, Michael. I was unaware of the "Freda Black" dating incident and subsequent "rule."
I may need to revisit some of my previous thinking.
By
Barry, at 2:44 PM
I should mention that I'm not entirely sure that Freda Black would have been a better DA. I think she's also rather ambitious, and hasn't always exercised the best judgement. But I don't follow these things closely, so take that with a grain of salt.
It's worth mentioning that Nifong was the consensus choice of Hardin and the DA that came before him. My guess is that some traits just don't show themselves except in the right situation, like the dog that seems calm inside but terrorizes every cat in the neighborhood once out the door.
By
Anonymous, at 1:59 PM
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