I’ve thought long and hard about how to write a decent article about the infamous Duke Lacrosse Sex Scandal. I spent a lot of time considering my angles: Should I write about racism? Should I write about sexual abuse? Should I write about stereotypes? Finally, after a while, I decided to focus on the positives instead of the negatives and talk about what I know best: the sport.
Lacrosse has played a big part in my life. I grew up in a huge lacrosse town on Long Island, and I was the manager of Maryland’s men’s varsity lacrosse team. When I began as the lacrosse manager freshman year, I had no idea what I was getting into. If you’ve paid any attention to the media during the past 10 months, you might assume that I had to deal with “hooligans,” “jerks,” “arrogance” and “male elitism,” terms that were used to paint with a broad brush not only the Duke team, but the entire lacrosse culture. However, unlike what the media have portrayed, I have had one of the best experiences of my life simply by getting the opportunity to hang out and work with those guys.
Four members of last year’s Duke lacrosse team are from my hometown, three of whom I went to high school with, and one of whom has been indicted. I watched kids I grew up with get labeled racists, misogynists, white supremacists and hooligans. I saw their names, addresses, parents’ income and school GPAs turn into prime time news for months. I witnessed my hometown labeled a breeding ground for racism and spoiled rich kids. While Nancy Grace and Wendy Murphy condemned anyone who had ever picked up a lacrosse stick, I defended the guys on our own team who had often walked me home from a bar, let me crash on their couch, hung out with me on away trips, picked me up when I needed rides, grabbed lunch with me, helped me in my classes and stuck up for me when other guys got too rowdy. While Cash Michaels and other race-baiting journalists continuously commented on the “white culture” behind lacrosse, no one seemed to mention the hours of community service that “culture” encouraged teams to give back.
For weeks after the initial accusations, I was asked about our own team and about the guys I knew on Duke’s team by students, parents and even a columnist for The (Duke) Chronicle. People seemed to be expecting me to say I was sexually assaulted, insulted, treated poorly or that the guys I went to high school with were “bad kids” growing up. People were surprised when I told them that I considered our own team my big brothers, and that if anything, they were the people I enjoyed being around most. Again and again I explained that all the stereotypes, the rude comments and the insults were simply not true. However, none of the positive things I had to say about our team or the Duke team made it into the article the columnist for The Chronicle had written.
And now, 10 months later, the tides are changing and suddenly people are beginning to see what I saw all along. Finally, the truth is coming out, and people are beginning to back off. But is it too little too late? Reputations have been dragged through the mud, lives have been ruined, jobs have been lost, a sport has been tarnished, a team’s unity dented and a school’s reputation forever changed. Acquittals or dropped charges cannot reverse time or the things that have been said.
Clearly I cannot change this tragedy. I cannot give the indicted three back their reputations, I cannot give the graduated seniors back their final season. No one can. The one thing I can do is support the sport I love and the guys who gave me one the best years of my college career. On March 2, Maryland will host Duke. Not only will I be there cheering exceptionally loud for our own team, but I will also be supporting Duke because it is the right thing to do. Duke contributes to our own program in so many ways and is a member of our ACC family. I encourage everyone to come and support both programs on March 2. Though half of the guys I worked with have graduated, I still consider most of them my big brothers, and this program will always have a place in my heart. I encourage everyone to come and see why.
Stefanie Williams is a junior English major. She can be reached at swills25@umd.edu.
