MN Footbal Team Boycotts Bowl Game Over Gang Rape Allegations

[frankmatthews]

After refusing to practice Thursday, Gophers players donned their maroon game jerseys and announced that they are boycotting all football activities — even their Dec. 27 bowl game, if need be — in protest of the University of Minnesota’s decision to suspend 10 teammates as a result of a September sexual assault allegation.

Those 10 suspended players stood directly behind seniors Drew Wolitarsky, Mitch Leidner and Duke Anyanwu — with the rest of the team arrayed behind them in support — as Wolitarsky read from a typed, two-page statement, laying out the players’ demands.

“The boycott will remain in effect until due process is followed and the suspensions for all 10 players involved are lifted,” Wolitarsky said.

Background on allegations

According to police reports and the student’s testimony, the student, who is part of the gameday operations at TCF Bank Stadium, drank five to six shots of vodka on the night of Sept. 1 before heading out of her apartment with her roommates toward Dinkytown.

She then went with two football players to the Radius, an off-campus apartment building. Though she said her memory was spotty, she recalled Djam in a common area asking her to go up to his apartment. She would later testify that she had no intention of having sex.

She said she felt panicked when Djam walked her into his bedroom, but later testified that he never pushed her, prevented her from leaving or said anything threatening to her.

Asked during a court hearing why she didn’t leave, she said, “I felt scared, trapped, isolated with someone I felt had power over me.”

At some point, they began having sex. The police report said “she doesn’t have a recall about how the sex acts started.”

After Djam, others followed. She told police she saw a line of men waiting to take turns.

“I was removing myself from my mind and my body to help myself from the pain and experience going on,” she testified.

She estimated there were at least a dozen men. “I was shoving people off of me,” she testified. “They kept ignoring my pleas for help. Anything I said they laughed. They tried to cheer people on.”

About an hour and a half later, she said, she was allowed to leave. She called her sister, who told her to go to the hospital immediately, where she was given a rape exam, while her mother made a report to Minneapolis police. The next day, an officer sat down with the student, who described her version of what happened.

On Sept. 8, police investigators Eric Faulconer and Matthew Wente interviewed Djam. He acknowledged having sex with the woman, but was adamant that it was consensual. As proof, he played them three separate videos, totaling about 90 seconds, taken that morning.

During an 8-second clip, the woman “appears lucid, alert, somewhat playful and fully conscious; she does not appear to be objecting to anything at this time,” Wente wrote in his report. After viewing two additional videos, he wrote “the sexual contact appears entirely consensual.”

Police later interviewed four other players, who each said the sex was consensual.

On Sept. 30, Wente sent the investigation to the Hennepin County Attorney’s office for possible prosecution. In it, he wrote about the videos, “at no time does she indicate that she is in distress or that the contact is unwelcome or nonconsensual.”

On Oct. 3 the attorney’s office announced there would be no charges.

Afterward, the alleged victim filed a restraining order against six of the players, asking that they be made to stay away from the stadium. After a judge granted the orders, the woman dropped a petition against one of the players.

Hutton, the players’ attorney, appealed, setting up a hearing where the woman testified for several hours. The hearing eventually ended in a settlement — the restraining order would be dropped, but the players still had to stay 20 feet away from the woman and have no contact with her. The two sides also agreed that neither would be able to file a lawsuit.

“I’m glad this is over,” the student read in a statement after the hearing. “This has never been about punishing anyone, I just wanted to feel safe. Because of this resolution that we came to, now I do.”

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-football-players-plan-to-threaten-boycott-of-bowl-game/406928136/


Thoughts?

 

[stillin729]

I wouldn't want to play a Dec 27th bowl game either

 

[wayniac211]

But for real. This is tough. Idk why dudes & gals get off on trains

 

[Brownstone]

During an 8-second clip, the woman “appears lucid, alert, somewhat playful and fully conscious; she does not appear to be objecting to anything at this time,” Wente wrote in his report. After viewing two additional videos, he wrote “the sexual contact appears entirely consensual.”

 

[king of chicago]

View media item 2265179

 

[starboy]

I do NOT know why ****** keep running trains on drunk/drugged up girls. Especially athletes. You already know there's a high probability that **** is going to end up bad. 

Hell even if she's sober....stay away from trains

 

[AZwildcats]

If the police didn't press charges after investigating, then the university imo has no right to punish them

 

[mr jordan04]

But for real. This is tough. Idk why dudes & gals get off on trains

 

[frankmatthews]

If the police didn't press charges after investigating, then the university imo has no right to punish them

University policy is different than the justice system though. They do actually have the right to punish them. You could say maybe they shouldnt, but from what i read it really doesn't sound good. Didnt sound.like homegirl was down for the gb at all.

 

[mrbkkt1]

Well... Quad city djs definitely gonna be the entrance music at the holiday bowl.

 

[dman14]

But for real. This is tough. Idk why dudes & gals get off on trains

something about sharing a lady with a group of friends

 

[mrbkkt1]

Idk. I support the school. They should do the right thing and withdraw from the bowl game. But I also believe that the fact that this is coming up 4 months later is ridiculous. They should have either suspended them early, or after the season.

 

[law3001]

**** all that what about a room fulll a dudes and one drunk girl sound like a good idea

Also cops dropping the charges doesn't mean ****. Big Ben raped a girl in the bathroom of bar while his security kept her friends from trying to get her out. The charges were dropped cause they couldn't prove what went on in the bathroom.

 

[Mr.Guy]

**** all that what about a room fulll a dudes and one drunk girl sound like a good idea

This

 

[AZwildcats]

 

If the police didn't press charges after investigating, then the university imo has no right to punish them

University policy is different than the justice system though. They do actually have the right to punish them. You could say maybe they shouldnt, but from what i read it really doesn't sound good. Didnt sound.like homegirl was down for the gb at all.

I'm a believer that in criminal cases like this one and others that have happened in sports, the school/league should leave the investigating to law enforcement. Whole bunch of guys in a room with a drunk chick is not a good look at all, I will wholeheartedly agree with that. We have numerous cases (like the Duke lacrosse case) showing this is not a good idea, but these kids keep putting themselves in compromising positions.  

 

[frankmatthews]

Idk. I support the school. They should do the right thing and withdraw from the bowl game. But I also believe that the fact that this is coming up 4 months later is ridiculous. They should have either suspended them early, or after the season.

They suspended 4 players for 3 games earlier in the season then when charges were dropped they let em back. The school did its own investigation and found out there were actually 10 team members in the apartment that night and that players had not been truthful and that evidence was destroyed. The schools investigators recommended suspending at least 4 players for a year and expelling a couple. So thats what they went with inculding holding out the additional 6 players who had initially lied from the bowl game.

 

If the police didn't press charges after investigating, then the university imo has no right to punish them

University policy is different than the justice system though. They do actually have the right to punish them. You could say maybe they shouldnt, but from what i read it really doesn't sound good. Didnt sound.like homegirl was down for the gb at all.

I'm a believer that in criminal cases like this one and others that have happened in sports, the school/league should leave the investigating to law enforcement. Whole bunch of guys in a room with a drunk chick is not a good look at all, I will wholeheartedly agree with that. We have numerous cases (like the Duke lacrosse case) showing this is not a good idea, but these kids keep putting themselves in compromising positions.  

I hear what ur saying but people get suspended from school all the time for criminal behavior that isnt necessarily prosecuted in a court of law. Cant have special rules because they're athletes. Also, because of the prevalence of these situations at colleges across the country there are new title IX rules in place. The university itself could be punished if its seen as being soft in sexual assualt specifically. They are actually required to do their own investigation, and they cant just ignore the recommendations of the investigators. University would likely face heavy consequences if they completely ignored what their investigators said, not to mention the public scrutiny.

But these kids are a bunch of ******* entitled idiots trying to stage a protest because they are being punished for having a gangbang. Might not be fair, it might have even been entirely consensual, which i doubt, but to stage a protest over this **** like its some civil rights violation is despicable. If it were me I'd pull every last one of their scholarships and cancel football for however long it took to recruit an entirely new team just for the protest alone.

 

[starboy]

Might not be fair, it might have even been entirely consensual, which i doubt, but to stage a protest over this **** like its some civil rights violation is despicable. If it were me I'd pull every last one of their scholarships and cancel football for however long it took to recruit an entirely new team just for the protest alone.

If you believe they should face punishment even if it was entirely consensual, should the accuser face punishment also?

 

[sleepybluedemon]

If you believe they should face punishment even if it was entirely consensual, should the accuser face punishment also?

They don't have some God-given/Constitutional freedom to play football for the university though. It's essentially a business, and the university is holding all the cards.

What they did do is exercise atrocious judgement and put themselves in a very uncompromising situation that could have potentially ruined their lives and, more importantly to the university, gave the university a black eye. In the grand scheme of things, they got off so damn easy.

As I said, the university is a business. If they would have done this to an employer, they're most likely at the very least let go. A suspension was such a slap on the wrist. Instead, they're all acting like immature self-entitled pricks. Looks so bad no matter how you try to justify it. They're literally standing up for being immature, entitled deviants with the freedom to do whatever they want with no consequence.

 

[starboy]

They don't have some God-given/Constitutional freedom to play football for the university though. It's essentially a business, and the university is holding all the cards.

What they did do is exercise atrocious judgement and put themselves in a very uncompromising situation that could have potentially ruined their lives and, more importantly to the university, gave the university a black eye. In the grand scheme of things, they got off so damn easy.

As I said, the university is a business. If they would have done this to an employer, they're most likely at the very least let go. A suspension was such a slap on the wrist. Instead, they're all acting like immature self-entitled pricks. Looks so bad no matter how you try to justify it. They're literally standing up for being immature, entitled deviants with the freedom to do whatever they want with no consequence.

I'm not sure that has anything to do with what I asked. I'm asking: If the players should still be punished even if it was consensual, should the woman involve also be punished? She's a member of the university too, no? 

 

[AZwildcats]

@Frank Matthews  I agree with most of what you're saying, and I should have worded my post better. I still believe that if the police found them innocent (or not enough evidence to prosecute), then that should be the end of that. I also disagree with coming down hard on these kids for protesting, I think that sets a dangerous precedent. 

 

[frankmatthews]

Might not be fair, it might have even been entirely consensual, which i doubt, but to stage a protest over this **** like its some civil rights violation is despicable. If it were me I'd pull every last one of their scholarships and cancel football for however long it took to recruit an entirely new team just for the protest alone.

If you believe they should face punishment even if it was entirely consensual, should the accuser face punishment also?

Generally I think false accusers should face some sort of punishment. If the school had done it's investigation and found a reasonable amount of evidence that she lied or was not believable for whatever reason then I would have been fine with them suspending her. But thats not what the investigation found, the opposite actually.

The point I was making in the statement you quoted, is even if the sex was consensual, if it came to the point that it goes public, to the point that you embarrassed the team and the university and they decide to punish a few players with a suspension, it is horrible judgement and shows horrible character to try to cry about that and stage a protest like they are entitled to attend class and play football there. They should be punished for that alone.

The hard part about these types of cases is always, how do you prove consent? It's always one persons word against the others. Which is why they are only being suspended from school and not going to prison. What punishment could you realistically give the accuser, whats the burden of proof there?

 

[frankmatthews]

@Frank Matthews
 I agree with most of what you're saying, and I should have worded my post better. I still believe that if the police found them innocent (or not enough evidence to prosecute), then that should be the end of that. I also disagree with coming down hard on these kids for protesting, I think that sets a dangerous precedent. 

So if you get into a fight in school and the prosecutors decides not to charge you with a assault you should receive no punishment from the school, just back to class like you never did anything? Underage drinking, drug possession, robbery? You commit any of these crimes the only way the school should be able to do anything is if the states attorney decides to take you to trial? That sets a dangerous precedent as well. But you're probably right, punishing them for protest might be a little harsh but it just blows my mind how these kids thought publicly protesting punishment handed down for gang rape allegations would be a good idea. Like someone said, if these were employees publicly representing a company doing this they would be fired, I think it's a reasonable response to let them go. I wouldn't want my tax dollars or donations paying for these kids educations if thats how they're gonna respond to discipline.

 

[Chopper]

Players are ******* idiots. This is not the shot to be taking a "stand" on.

Rape is very real, but we all want to act like it isn't. That's why rape is rarely ever reported. F MN Gophers.

 

[blakep267]

Players are dumb. Even if you consider the first guy to be consensual, they know damn well she ain't sign up to bang the whole party with dudes lined up throughout the house

 

[360waves]

I remember reading an article a while back where a man and a woman had consensual intercourse however, the condom broke and the woman took him to court for rape. I believe the condom broke and the man continued without her consent.

Be careful out here man, there's no law on this earth to protect anyone from sexual intercourse ESPECIALLY if you're a black man with a white woman. Be careful