Julianne Malveaux, incoming president of Bennett College, tells NPR (at 11:09 on the  file) about the Duke lax case:

Those kids don’t deserve an apology. They hired strippers . . . They were known for hooliganistic behavior separate and apart from what happened to this woman. So, no, they don’t deserve any apologies at all . . . Not from the professors, not from anyone else.

Furthermore, obviously the woman—the victim in this case—has changed her story a couple [sic] of times . . . Well, frankly, I believe that something did happen there. We know that something happened. We know [sic] that these guys lied about their names, so she had difficulty identifying [them]. Something happened to this woman and she deserves a lot of our compassion.

Rev. [Jesse] Jackson, you know, offered to pay her way through school, and I think that’s a fine offer. I hope she takes him up on it. But I really, you know—I think something happened here. I think these guys are bad apples. They may not—you may not be able to prove rape; you may not be able to prove anything. But something did happen there, and it was something that was wrong.

Transcribed by KC Johnson, who leaves out Malveaux' statement that Nifong may owe the men an apology -- which helps only a little. (Thanks to alert reader FT for the tip.)

Comments

[Alan Cone Bulluck]

If she is sure something happened that night, and the scandalous escort/stripper is still a "victim," why would Nifong owe the boys an apology? Malveaux has always been the female version of Al Sharpton. Bennett should be proud - a winner is at the helm.

[Twilla]

On one hand she says 'they hired strippers'.. then goes on to say this woman deserves alot of our compassion? Wait a minute... THAT WOMAN WAS A STRIPPER!!! Is it just me or does this speak volumes about Julianne Malveaux's intelligence level?

A victim? Of what? I believe they found evidence of at least 5 different semen types in her when they completed their rape kit, none of them matched any of these young men at Duke. I would call that a willing participant, partner, whatever, NOT A VICTIM, and I'm being NICE here.

These kids deserve expongements along with the apologies.. I for one, hope that they get expongements along with enough money to live happily ever after.

What was wrong was the black community jumping on a GUILTY bandwagon before all the facts came out and then to add insult to injury, saying things like this woman Julianne Malveaux (and I use the term woman loosely) said.

I am sick and tired of racist devils in positions of authority! Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson can kiss my @ss too.

[Missouri Mule]

So--now do you think Leonard Pitts made a good point?

[Ed Cone]

I don't think the point Pitts made is in question -- people impose their own views on reality.

I should have been clearer in my original post, which merely noted the beauty of an editor using his blog to argue with his own columnist. In fact, Doug Clark's reading of Pitts seems to cherrypick a quote and ignore the fact that Pitts actually argues against the "emotional truth" meme.

[Bubba]

I'm glad to see that Julianne Malveaux doesn't let inconvenient things like facts get in the way of fulfilling whatever agenda she has concerning this subject.

Perhaps she intends to introduce "Politically Correct Fantasy Projection" as a new major at Bennett.

[RS]

Great, just what Greensboro needs. She probably thinks OJ was innocent, or that Nicole was a hooligan or bad apple.

[mick]

Sad commentary. At least she is honest about it. Give her that.

I believe the Civil Courts in NC may prove her wrong here. And the NC Bar Assoc may well disagree with her as well.

Notably I find it sad, you know, that she apparently, you know, talks totally like my daughter and her, you know, BFFs. Totally.

[Dave Dobson]

Nifong obviously screwed this one up big-time. It's not clear what happened that night, and Malveaux's statement is difficult. But there is still some truth underlying it: (1) an inability to prosecute or convict on serious crimes does not equate to innocence of any wrongdoing, legal or moral, and (2) privileged college guys who get roaring drunk and hire strippers are more likely than most to be buttheads.

Although buttheads have rights, too.

[Ed Cone]

It is true that inability to prosecute does not necessarily equate to an assumption of innocence.

However, the State of NC did not just drop the charges in this case. Atty Genl Cooper said, "We believe these three individuals are innocent of these charges."

As for the statement that "privileged college guys who get roaring drunk and hire strippers are more likely than most to be buttheads," I'm not sure that the qualifiers "priveleged" and "college" increase its accuracy.

[Fran]

Dave Dobson must have missed Roy Cooper's news conference. The lacrosse case has nothing to do with "an inability to prosecute or convict." The AG examined the case for three months and determined that the three players are INNOCENT of the charges, not merely that he can't get a conviction.

As for Malveaux, I've been puzzled from the first about her appointment. She seems to have no professional credentials for her new job (other than an impressive academic background) and her statements here make it apparent that the skills necessary to become a successful cable TV talking head don't carry over well into academia. I just hope she didn't say them in an effort to increase her appeal to her new constituency.

[Dave Dobson]

Dude, like, I didn't say "of the charges," of which they are innocent. I deliberately said "of any wrongdoing, legal or moral." I think that was part of Malveaux's point, however misstated. I'm not defending her, but I find it hard to believe this party was some kind of kum-ba-yah-ish mutually supportive journey of self-actualization, either.

Which, as I intended to imply with "buttheads have rights too," doesn't mean the players in any way deserved what happened, but it doesn't make them martyred saints, either. It's ironic to me that the backlash against Nifong and the accusers seems as rapid, thoughtless, and polarized as was the initial response by Nifong et al.

This situation isn't devoid of nuance, is all I'm saying.

[mick]

To be more politically Ed-like... Dave, what instances lead you to believe the backlash against Nifong and the accuser are as rapid, thoughtless, etc?

Personally, I would disagree to a point. Nifongs actions are pretty well documented though at this point we dont have much of his side of the story. The AG actions and statements do bear great weight with me in this case.
Where are the Gang of 80 or the New Black Pamnthers, Jessie? In actuality there are few similarities. But when Nifong and Mangum are looking at 30 years and multiple felonies for something they DID NOT DO I, I will get back to you.

[Dave Dobson]

Not to point fingers, but Twilla's comment above seemed at least as full of anger and judgement as the Gang of 80. I've heard far worse stuff on the radio from folks who are on just as much of a crusade as were the members of the Duke faculty who commented.

It's possible to be a stripper, to be promiscuous, to be drunk, even to be a liar, and still to be harassed, assaulted or raped. I'm glad the players are off the hook for crimes they clearly didn't commit, and I'm very sorry they were ever accused. That doesn't mean I necessarily respect them, or hate Mangum; nobody has a straight story on what happened at the party, and people who make unfounded assumptions (as did Nifong and others) on either side are those who are making this worse.

The saddest part of the situation here is that it makes it far more likely that in the future, when there is a real case of rape with racial overtones, that it won't be taken seriously.

[mick]

People with POWER and RESPONSABILITY who make unfounded assumptions are far, far more dangerous. Such as, Nifong, Gang of 80, Broadhead, Jessie Jackson, New Black Panther Party, etc.

Miss Mangum does not deserve to be harrassed by the general public. Here we are agreed. I also am sympathetic to her situation and do not believe any greater good comes from prosecuting her for any false statements, etc. Though I am hard pressed to believe she doesnt deserve some punishment.

How you equate Nifong's behavior to simple "unfounded assumptions" is a reach at best. He has been called before the NC Bar and may end up with civil or even criminal issues. All of which will cost you and me even more $$$ than it already has.

I hope (and believe) you are wrong in your last statement as well. This incident will however cause DA's et al to play by the rules for awhile.

[Dave Dobson]

Please don't mistake me for a defender of Nifong. From what I've read, the guy's actions in this case seem reckless, opportunistic, self-aggrandizing, and apparently criminal. A lot of people made unfounded assumptions here; his were far worse because they were backed up by the legal system, at least until the truth came out. The only defensible mistake he made was believing the initial accusations, but even then he took unwarranted action based on that initial belief before the facts were in.

[Cara Michele]

I agree with this:

"I'm glad the players are off the hook for crimes they clearly didn't commit, and I'm very sorry they were ever accused."

But also with this, which has further implications:

"It's possible to be a stripper, to be promiscuous, to be drunk, even to be a liar, and still to be harassed, assaulted or raped."

Doing street outreach, I've met a number of prostitutes. Every one of them has been raped. Every one of them has been assaulted. They rarely, if ever, report these crimes, because they don't think anyone will believe them. (And to those who'll invariably say, "How do you know they're not lying?" In one case, I was with one of the women just after it happened, and there was no doubt that she'd just been through a traumatic experience. She also had visible injuries. In another case, the attacker admitted it. And honestly, when you hear these same types of stories over and over, delivered in the same tone of voice, with that same expression, you don't have to ask if it's real, because you can see it for yourself.)

Rape and assault are real and all too common occurrences for prostitutes. I'm sure it must be difficult for a prosecutor to get a conviction in this type of case, because of people's preconceived notions. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't try. I worry that this woman's false accusations and Nifong's handling of her case have just made it harder for prosecutors trying legitimate cases.

[Cara Michele]

And I should have added: I feel compassion for both the accused and the accuser in the Duke case. How awful to be publicly accused of horrible crimes you didn't commit. And how awful to be so deeply troubled that you would make such accusations against others. God be with all of them, and give them healing and peace.

[jw]

"I worry that this woman's false accusations and Nifong's handling of her case have just made it harder for prosecutors trying legitimate cases."

Absolutely CM and Dave. The Dept. of Justice already reports that over half of the rapes committed are not reported and some statistics suggest the number is higher than that.

Anytime a woman falsely reports a rape, it makes it more difficult for woman, but again, the DOJ puts that number at 7%.

Certainly these boys should not have been prosecuted for something they didn't do.

The unfortunate other side of the coin is the number of rapes that do occur that don't get prosecuted.

[Fred Gregory]

This woman should resign.

[Bubba]

"This situation isn't devoid of nuance, is all I'm saying."

"nuance".....a great weasel word if ever there was one.

Let's clarify things here, Dave.

Who ended up being the victims in this sordid affair?

[Ed Cone]

More conversation about this topic here.

[Doug Clark]

If you reluctantly admit that the former defendants may be innocent of these specific crimes but assert that they're still "bad apples," you're assigning collective guilt to three individuals. Thanks to early reporting of this story, we all learned that the Duke lacrosse team was known for bad behavior (they were "hooligans") and that they hurled racist insults at the dancers on the night of the party. Apparently, Finnerty, Seligmann and Evans, although cleared of criminal charges, are still carrying this baggage. Yet, we don't know that they individually were responsible for the bad behavior. Finnerty was charged with an earlier assault in Washington, so maybe he is a bad apple, but as far as I know Seligmann and Evans have clean records. Is it fair that they're still tagged as bad apples when maybe the team's reputation was earned by others? It's disappointing to me that Malveaux would paint slurs with such a broad brush. I hope she would stand up to anyone who would do that to Bennett students.

[jw]

I had heard of the team's "collective hooliganism" before this situation occurred. While it is true that as individuals they may not have exhibitied bad behavior before, I would wonder what mob-mentality overtook them when they got together as a group and engaged in activities that included under age drinking.

"Is it fair that they're still tagged as bad apples when maybe the team's reputation was earned by others?" Perhaps not, but the old saying, "Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas," may apply. College, the place to refine leadership skills, would have been a good place for the "hooligans" among the soccer team to be tempered by those with better sense.

[Fred Gregory]

Doug,

Oh, no doubt she would stand up to anyone who dared utter a negative comment about a BC student even if there was a video of that student committing a crime.

[Doug Clark]

I'm always shocked to hear of under-age college students drinking alcoholic beverages. I never did, but then the drinking age was 18.

When athletic teams let off steam, they can engage is some bad apple behavior. I've been there. But not everyone on the team participates. A team is like a family, meaning you can't pick your teammates. Maybe the Duke lax team was worse than others; maybe all members share some degree of culpability. But unless we can point to individual members and say he did this, he did that and he did something else, we are unjustified in labeling any one of them a hooligan or worse.

Thanks to Roy Cooper, we now know what these young men did NOT do. What specifically can Julianne Malveaux or anyone else say with certainty that they DID do?

[Twilla]

Hey Mick, maybe my comments did "seemed at least as full of anger and judgement as the Gang of 80", but guess what? I am right. Right is right. I had all the FACTS before commenting. Therein lies the difference. :)

[Nappy HO]

Mrs. Al Sharpton....

[Mark Jaeger]

Let me see if I can sum up Mme. Malveaux's concept of determining guilt and innocence:

believe...think...feel...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but, using Malveaux's own legal criteria, Bill Clinton's impeachment and conviction over L'Affaire Lewinsky should have been slam-dunks, n'est-ce pas?

[Tim]

So, they were hooligans were they? Engaged in bad behavior? You witnessed this? Or you have sworn depositions in your back pocket?

Sounds like hearsay and rumors to me. Just more of the same crap we were fed for weeks right after the stripper got stopped by cops, and told a story which was full of holes from the beginning.

Sorry, this case should have been dropped about a year ago. In my opinion these boys have been both libeled and slandered by a great many people, all of whom are liable for both real and punitive damages, and my hope is I get to sit on the jury when the awards are being determined. I think I can discourage this sort of behavior in the future.

[paul a'barge]

Bennett College? Take a look at their website. Not a white face in sight.

Who cares what these morons think? These people are bona fide reverse racists and Malveaux is the worst of the worst.

[sean coon]

"bona fide reverse racists"

what type of bait did you use on that hook, ed? i mean, the conversation was actually decent for a few days, but out of the blue this townhall type jumped in the mix like there was fresh blood in the water.

hm... i think i answered my own question.

[Bubba]

"hm... i think i answered my own question."

.....says sean the fish.......

[Ed Cone]

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