My first post as I signed up looking for a board after the story broke.
After reading the comments, I don’t believe that there is a single person on this board stating that the players are being unfairly because they view the football team through maroon colored glasses which make them instinctively doubt the girl or because they want so see the players on the field to increase our cases of winning the bowl at the expense of minimizing the seriousness of sexual assault. THERE ARE NO RAPE DEFENDERS HERE – PERIOD!
What people are reacting to is what they perceive to be the rank unfairness of the EOAA process with this case being their first exposure to this process. So, it is not that they did not care about this prior to football players being charged, it is that 99% of people had no clue the EOAA even existed previously.
One main issue I have is that the EOAA is putting forth a finding of fact with regard to a CRIMINAL charge – Sexual Assault. They are putting forth this finding of fact using a 51% threshold and arrive at this conclusion despite lacking any true investigatory authority (subpoena power, access to police reports, access to medical files, etc.), investigatory expertise, expectation from the University of the findings being non-biased (as evidenced by the composition and background of the EOAA members) and not providing the accused basic rights such as legal representation. I think this almost makes it to the point of violation of UN charter on human rights. Now, a 51% threshold may be fine for rulings on violations of school policies like plagiarism or cheating - these are not CRIMINAL ACTONS. Further, a ruling against the student for these actions does not have the same life altering consequences of a finding of sexual assault. They don’t put the pictures of plagiarists in the Star Tribune. If the students are so inclined, they simply enroll in another institution and omit any mention of their prior studies at the school which dismissed them. I know of a case where this was done.
However, the finding of the person being guilty of sexual assault – RAPE – cannot simply swept under the rug and the student moved to another institution. It is a stigma that will follow the person for the rest of their life. Rapist is a life altering label that should not be applied by an organization such as the EOAA but should be reserved for the US court system which has the proper authority – both civil and criminal (if you think the 51% threshold is the one that should be used) arms. Regardless of how this plays out moving forward, these players lives and reputations have been unrecoverably damaged. I do hope that they can successfully sue everyone involved and get the financial compensation that they deserve from this injustice done to them by the EOAA and U. Barring the students losing a criminal or civil suit on the rape allegation, the U is 100% in the wrong with how this has been handled.
As for those stating that they have an appeal so there is still due process, I cannot disagree more strongly. They NEVER had the benefit innocent until proven guilty during this entire EOAA ordeal and they definitely don’t have it after the EOAA delivered their finding of facts. Imagine a US court that did not allow you to have a lawyer present during your trial and only allowed them to participate in the appeal. Imagine a US court system where you are unable to face your accuser and cannot compel them to provide available and known evidence that supports innocence. Imagine a US court system where they did not have a trained judge and rules regarding what evidence is relevant to the case at hand and is admissible (such as the non-related text messages). Imagine a court system which ignored the findings of the police as to whether a criminal act took place – instead relying solely on untrained professionals disregarding the trained authority to reach their own conclusions based almost 100% on their determination of ‘credibility’ while ignoring evidence?
I am not a rape defender – no one is. But this process is a joke and should never have been able to implemented in its current form. I don’t have an issue regarding the U making determinations on compliance with the honor code – but CRIMINAL ACTS should not be within their jurisdiction. If they insist on bypassing the entities in a positon with the authority to make rulings on criminal actions – the police and US court system – then their rulings should be forever sealed under the strictest of confidences given the magnitude of their rulings. They should be barred from making any public statements and using terms such as “victim” in any public communication. The people condemning the players without hearing all of the evidence – and it is impossible for them to have heard it as the EOAA lacks investigatory power and the police dropped this based on lack of confidence in a chargeable offense prior to completing a thorough investigation – are not true believers in American values.
As a last point – would you think it would be fair for your current employer to brand you a rapist based on your conduct with a co-worker and then publicize that finding in the newspaper and press conferences? Do you think your current employer should have the right to make that ruling or do you think that should be the responsibility of the court system? I don’t think anyone want a private company making that distinction for them – but a lot here have no issue with the U making that distinction.
