Suspended from play

The future was looking bright for the Duke lacrosse team: The team has been ranked No. 2 in the nation and was expected to contend for another NCAA championship title this season. That is until recently, when it was suspended for the rest of the season following charges of gang rape. \nAfter being hired as a stripper to perform at a private party on March 13, the victim alleges she was pulled into a bathroom by three members of the team who then proceeded to choke and rape her. To make matters worse, the victim, a black woman, said the assailants were all white and shouted racial epithets at her during the party.\nIt's a story that includes all the factors that make up riveting news: violence, race, gender, class and athletics. The male athlete, once revered for his on-the-field performance, is under scrutiny for his off-the-field behavior with women. But now the story involves prestigious Duke University, leaving the rest of us to ponder if this makes all campuses with athletic programs just as vulnerable. \nResearchers have said that society views crimes differently when athletes are the perpetrators. They live in a different sphere than the rest of us. In the south particularly there remains a certain veneration associated with athletes. Male athletes cling to this image and consider themselves future leaders -- so much so that they are, in essence, "above the law." Conviction rates for cases involving athletes accused of rape hover around 30 percent, far less than the 80 percent conviction rate in other rape cases. Female victims are simply not stepping forward because they know that they have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. And when that famous, celebrated athlete walks into the courtroom, the reasonable doubt hovers tangibly in the rarified air that surrounds his status. \nFunny thing is, you don't usually find gang rape among tennis players or swimmers or those who participate in other solo sports. It's the whole male bonding factor: While women might bond through movie nights and spa getaway trips, men often connect through sexually aggressive activities. Athletes who work together play together. Sometimes though, as in the case of the lacrosse team, team bonding can become criminal. \nCoaches need to take a hard line with their male athletes and educate them about assault. They need to tell them about the consequences of being a bystander and that team members are responsible for each other's actions -- both on and off the field. But this is not a realistic solution when coaches cover for their athletes' inappropriate or even criminal behavior. Even our own Bobby Knight made an unfortunate analogy to losing a game by telling Connie Chung in a 1988 interview, "I think that if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it."\nAs the Duke team continues to sulk in its suspension from the rest of the season, avid athletic fans will use all the usual excuses to justify the incident: "she asked for it," "boys will be boys." The University will try to patch up its renowned academic and athletic reputation. And those with any sense of moral obligation will continue to protest the ill-devised punishment conceived by President Richard Brodhead. \nThe men may have never actually committed the crime, but they are far from innocent. The Duke lacrosse team has shown a lack of character and integrity and for that they are as guilty as Brodhead is for not issuing a punishment of expulsion.