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Not playing games

The accusation of gang rape by Duke University athletes is made all the more explosive by the elements: privileged white-male lacrosse players and a poor black female; an affluent, prestigious university set in a Southern blue-collar community; an off-campus party where it is alleged that both booze and racial epithets flowed. But equally jarring is that Duke is an institution with a reputation virtually untainted by athletic scandal.

Duke is supposed to be one of those places where athletic and academic excellence are not mutually exclusive, where athletes are expected to be responsible students as well. The sober and stern reaction of Duke president Richard Brodhead suggests he is not eager for that to change.

"In this painful period of uncertainty, it is clear to me . . . that it would be inappropriate to resume the normal schedule of play," Brodhead told a press conference. "Sports have their time and place, but when an issue of this gravity is in question, it is not the time to be playing games."

To suspend play for a team that is nationally ranked and in the middle of its season is a step few universities have ever taken. After all, no formal charges have been filed yet against any players. Then again, the educational and social context demanded as much.

First, the captains of the 47-member lacrosse team admit the March 13 party involved underage drinking and the hiring of two exotic dancers. Also, as the Raleigh News & Observer reported, 15 of them had previous legal skirmishes, including underage alcohol possession, open containers and public urination.

Second, the accusations have set off a wave of anger in the community. As the student newspaper put it: "The cost is almost unfathomable - town-gown relations could plummet to all-time lows, even after years of effort and service-based work to engender mutual trust and respect. The caricature of a Duke student as a spoiled-brat, hard-partying Caucasian - hardly an accurate representation of the student body - is only further corroborated."

The young woman, who was paid to dance at the party, says she was raped and sodomized by three players. But all 46 white players have submitted DNA samples, and no one is served by a rush to judgment. Durham police are actively engaged in the case, and the young men deserve the presumption of innocence until more is known and more is proved.

The NCAA may steer clear of off-the-field behavior of athletes, but no university can afford to do the same. At Duke, Brodhead has been visible, speaking to the press, students, and community groups. He has written students, parents and alumni, and even established a Web site for further information. "As painful as these times are," he wrote, "the test of a school is not preventing bad things from ever happening, but in addressing them in an honest and forthright way."

That's a fair standard, and one by which Duke, and other universities, should be judged.

[Last modified April 2, 2006, 01:23:12]