Monday, July 02, 2007

The Hero of The Duke Lacrosse Scandal

If there is anyone in the Duke Lacrosse scandal that has maintained their integrity it is Mike Pressler, the Lacrosse team coach forced to resign in the wake of the initial scandal.

The now notorious case cost him more than anyone except the now discredited "persecutor" Mike Nifong. Pressler’s season was canceled; he lost one of the most prestigious jobs in the sport and endured stinging and unfounded criticism from fellow faculty members way before the case was revealed to be total lie. Duke officials told him his job was safe, only to cave in to the hysteria created by minority and women groups, and betray him.

Now, coaching at small Division II, Bryant University in Rhode Island, Pressler has written a book about his experiences. Good for him, he deserves to make some money on this. The lawyers did, and the kid’s parents will for sure.

What impressed me the most was a NPR interview I heard this weekend. Pressler refused to criticize Duke, almost apologizing for their actions. He is not launching a multi-million dollar lawsuit like the families likely will do. He maintains he is Duke’s # fan.

The athletic director at Bryant University had this to say about Pressler:

"He was very honest and forthcoming with us about the situation. To his credit, he was always a gentleman and said nothing but positive things about Duke University.”

Again note, this was before the news that the whole affair was a bunch of lies and manipulations by the now disbarred and dishonored Nifong.

The athletes and students at Bryant have a true hero and role model in their midst. In this world of revenge, lawsuits and passing the blame, Pressler admits where he was wrong (he did admit his students had some issues with drinking and behavior, but he did address the issues. These are adults for god sake, they have some responsibility on their own) and refused to blame everyone else for what happened. It happened, it is done, we’ll move on.

Mike Pressler: a true man, a true hero, a winner in the long run.

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