Duke University’s talented Blue Devils have apparently managed to hit all the buttons at once – a bunch of white athletes at a pricey American university gang raping a poor black woman who is working as an exotic dancer / escort to pay her way through college and support her two children.
Un-freaking-believable.
This apparently happened on March 13 – over two weeks ago – but only in the last several days has the story made it front and center on the national scene. All by itself, that fact speaks volumes. And they’re just continuing that good ole boy tradition of sticking up for one another, too, according to this AP story in the Chronicle:
Police shouldn’t have much trouble solving this case. They have videotapes and pictures taken during the party, and four red fingernails from the bathroom where the alleged attack occurred. They even have DNA swabs from 46 players.
What they don’t have is any real cooperation from the players themselves. They’ve banded together and refused to talk other than issuing a statement from two captains calling the allegations “totally and transparently false.”
They’re not cooperating? Fine. Charge them all.
Polimom’s sick to death of athletes who rape, and a rich white team of lacrosse players (of all the sports!) looks like a great place to draw some lines in the sand… but given the long-standing traditions behind this crime in America, I bet nothing will change. (Yes, I know… there’s one black guy on the team. Your point?)
There are, in fact, so many “-isms” to the Duke story, I can’t cover them all without driving off-track into an incoherent rant. Is there racism? You betcha. How about sexism? Yep! Ever heard of classism? It’s here too.
Way to go, guys! You’ve managed to roll together the very worst of America’s social ills in one fell swoop. Your mothers must be very proud of you.
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Captain of the Duke Lacrosse Team’s statement here.
Ongoing google news search results here:
Blogobabble here.
Rachel’s Tavern is keeping up with the story, here.