Topic: Lacrosse ugliness at U.Va.

[Moderator1]

Male player charged with murder in death of female player.
U.Va. lacrosse is pretty big around these parts. Of course, this is terrible anyway.

http://www.wtvr.com/wtvr-uva-student-death-story,0,6422679.story

[Killick]

Wow. This is gonna be interesting. A 911 call for aalcohol abuse turns into a murder charge? Either dude was clumbsily attempting a poorly conceived cover-up, or the prosecutor's reaching. Don't see much grey area in this one.

[albert77]

Curious how they arrived at a first-degree murder charge. From what I'm reading, it sounds like an accident or at worst manslaughter. I'm guessing there's more to this than what's in that report.

[Pancamo]

Va has the death penalty. 

[93Devil]

Damn.

To charge that quickly...

[Captain_Kirk]

Police statement mentions "visible physical trauma".

http://www.virginia.edu/emergency/message050310.html

[Double J]

The president of the university has issued a VERY strong statement. Wow.

Although we know nothing other than what appears in the Charlottesville Police Department's more recent statement, this death moves us to deep anguish for the loss of a student of uncommon talent and promise, and we express the University's and our own sympathy for Yeardley's family, team-mates, and friends. That she appears now to have been murdered by another student compounds this sense of loss by suggesting that Yeardley died without comfort or consolation from those closest to her. We mourn her death and feel anger on reading that the investigators believe that another student caused it. Like students who have contacted us in the last few minutes, we know no explanation of what appears now to have happened.

[Double J]

Here's a sickening twist - the accused, George Huguely, and his father were once quoted in the Washington Post about the Duke case.

"I sympathize for the team," Huguely said. "They've been scrutinized so hard and no one knows what has happened yet. In this country, you're supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. I think that's the way it should be."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/31/AR2006033101879.html

Huguely's father, George, Sr. said yesterday that he's had discussions with his son, who will play at University of Virginia next season, about staying out of situations that could be costly.

"Regardless of what winds up happening, you have to learn from this experience and take what you can from it," George Huguely Sr. said. "You always have to remember and can't let yourself be in a situation where something like this could happen."

Um, yeah. I'm thinking those talks didn't sink in as well as you would have liked, George Sr.

[Boom_70]

Another black eye for LAX - guilt by association.  

[Inky_Wretch]

Word on Twitter is UVA has cancelled both teams' remaining games.

Also, I didn't realize the men's team is No. 1 in the nation.

[Moderator1]

One of my tweet-ees said those tweets have now been pulled.  Who knows?

[Double J]

Another black eye for LAX - guilt by association. 

I hope not. It's a great sport.

[Boom_70]

Another black eye for LAX - guilt by association. 

I hope not. It's a great sport.

Sport is fine but the level of entitlement of players at elite schools is second to none.

[93Devil]

How do you let the teams play?
How do you shut their seasons down?

What a nightmare.

[Double J]

Another black eye for LAX - guilt by association. 

I hope not. It's a great sport.

Sport is fine but the level of entitlement of players at elite schools is second to none.

From what I've heard, that's totally a fair statement for many players, but it doesn't apply to all of them. I know a guy who was UVA's starting goalie several years ago, and he's one of the nicer people I've met in the world of lacrosse.

[Double Down]

Another black eye for LAX - guilt by association.  

I hope not. It's a great sport.

Sport is fine but the level of entitlement of players at elite schools is second to none.

From what I've heard, that's totally a fair statement for many players, but it doesn't apply to all of them. I know a guy who was UVA's starting goalie several years ago, and he's one of the nicer people I've met in the world of lacrosse.

Lax is so widely played up and down the east coast than anyone who thinks ALL lax players are prep school dickheads with entitlement issues is generalizing. For pete's sake, a ton of the best lax players in the nation are tough guys from Long Island with accents thicker than marinara.

HOWEVER, Landon Prep is one of the places that breeds dickheads with entitlement issues. It's probably the prepiest prep school in the DC Metro area. So expect this to once again become a huge debate about rich boys who believe they're above the law.

[Baron Scicluna]

How do you let the teams play?
How do you shut their seasons down?

What a nightmare.

For the women's team, let them decide if they want to play, to honor their teammate, or to let them mourn.

For the men's team, investigate to see if any other players were involved. If not, either let them play, or not play to honor the woman. And if more players are involved, then you shut things down.

[Inky_Wretch]

So expect this to once again become a huge debate about rich boys who believe they're above the law.

Based on what's been reported, I'm more inclined to think it's a psycho ex-boyfriend situation than a matter of elitism run amuck.

[Double J]

So expect this to once again become a huge debate about rich boys who believe they're above the law.

Based on what's been reported, I'm more inclined to think it's a psycho ex-boyfriend situation than a matter of elitism run amuck.

Ah, but maybe he's a psycho ex who doesn't like being told no by anybody, including the young women around him, because he's a spoiled rich boy. Who knows?

[ringer]

Horrendous. Just last week, another lacrosse player was convicted of manslaughter in a hate crime against an Ecuadorian immigrant.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/nyregion/20patchogue.html?pagewanted=all

Personally, I've met some of the finest, most upstanding people in the world of lacrosse...but apparently, the dark underbelly of that world is REALLY dark.

[Inky_Wretch]

Horrendous. Just last week, another lacrosse player was convicted of manslaughter in a hate crime against an Ecuadorian immigrant.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/nyregion/20patchogue.html?pagewanted=all

Personally, I've met some of the finest, most upstanding people in the world of lacrosse...but apparently, the dark underbelly of that world is REALLY dark.

He was also a football player and wrester. So why just identify him as a lacrosse player?

[ringer]

Horrendous. Just last week, another lacrosse player was convicted of manslaughter in a hate crime against an Ecuadorian immigrant.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/nyregion/20patchogue.html?pagewanted=all

Personally, I've met some of the finest, most upstanding people in the world of lacrosse...but apparently, the dark underbelly of that world is REALLY dark.

He was also a football player and wrester. So why just identify him as a lacrosse player?

Good question.  Because of this:

"If Mr. Conroy were not in jail, he said he could imagine the life he would be leading: playing midfield on a college lacrosse team, either at the State University at Albany or at Plattsburgh."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/nyregion/30patchogue.html?pagewanted=all

[Jake_Taylor]

God, I was in Durham during the Duke lacrosse fiasco and now I'm in Charlottesville for this. Both times the atmosphere around town is just indescribable. I hate to see lacrosse players labeled as spoiled punks, because I've grown to love the game and have met some great people playing it. I was at lacrosse practice on Thursday to work on a feature on a backup goalie and everybody I've met on the team seems like good people. I'm just absolutely flabbergasted right now.

[forever_town]

Um, yeah. I'm thinking those talks didn't sink in as well as you would have liked, George Sr.

I'd like to think the Duke lacrosse case taught us all about the rush to judgment. Until we have all the facts, statements like that are premature.

Having said that, it's unfortunate that George Huguely the lacrosse player found himself in a situation where he's facing these charges, even if they turn out to be wholly unfounded.

[D-3 Fan]

How do you let the teams play?
How do you shut their seasons down?

What a nightmare.

For the women's team, let them decide if they want to play, to honor their teammate, or to let them mourn.

For the men's team, investigate to see if any other players were involved. If not, either let them play, or not play to honor the woman. And if more players are involved, then you shut things down.

So far, this is an isolated incident from what we know. 

Both men and women's team should be allowed to play.  Hugely isn't playing, nor will he be practicing, traveling with the team, et cetera. 

I can't call this a black eye because this was between two people, and not a team. 

LAX, like football, basketball, and other collegiate sports is going to be filled with troubling stories like these all over the place.  It's sports like LAX, swimming, or gymnastics where we don't expect stuff like to happen in contrast to football and hoops.