By now, I’m sure each of you is aware of the circumstances that have transpired with respect to the Duke University men’s lacrosse team. This story has made national news and will continue to do so for some time to come. I wanted you to know that we have instituted a centralized communication policy within our office, and only Director of Communication Brian Logue and I are authorized to speak with the media on this issue. To date, I have spoken with regional and national media ranging from the Baltimore Sun to Time and CBS.
The combination of circumstances and allegations has reflected very poorly on men’s lacrosse, and our comments to the media have focused only on the following:
- US Lacrosse is shocked by the allegations, which are both tragic and very disturbing
- These circumstances are contrary to the character and culture of the sport of lacrosse as a whole, which emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility and inclusiveness, among other qualities
- Lacrosse is, unfortunately, not immune from the societal issues involving underage drinking
- US Lacrosse operations include growing initiatives focused on maintaining character and a positive culture in the sport, as well as expanding racial and socio-economic participation
The circumstances surrounding these allegations suggest inappropriate and irresponsible behavior by some Duke players, and Duke University President Richard Broadhead confirmed when he said:
“This past weekend, Duke University’s Director of Athletics Joe Alleva decided to forfeit last Saturday's and today's scheduled men’s lacrosse games. His decision, which I fully supported, was based on facts team members have acknowledged about their March 13 party. A majority of the team members attended the party, which included underage drinking and the hiring of private party dancers. This conduct was wholly inappropriate to the values of our athletics program and the university.”
What we do know about the Duke men’s lacrosse program is that some of its members made some very poor choices (underage drinking, hiring exotic dancers, etc.) that are an embarrassment to the University and our sport. Additionally, the allegations of rape and assault are horrific, but they remain allegations at this time. US Lacrosse has simply chosen to wait until more facts are revealed before issuing a more meaningful statement. If players are charged and found guilty of these crimes, however, they must be punished to the full extent of the law.
As difficult as it may be, I have felt that the best course of action is to wait for more information and better timing to mount a response. Simply trying to shout over such a huge media machine bent, in my opinion, as much on sensationalizing the event as reporting it, would be very difficult and, perhaps, add to the current image problem. We do not want to suggest that these players are guilty of anything more than poor choices to drink and hire a stripper since no charges have yet been filed, yet we also don’t want to appear that we are minimizing in any way the serious nature of these allegations…effectively playing into the accusations that the sport is an elite, social clique that protects its own no matter the circumstances. But, we are looking toward a window of time in which we can address the criticism that has been focused on the sport, in general. I’m meeting with one PR firm early next week.
There is no question that this incident, as tragic as it is, can be a “teaching moment” for lacrosse – an opportunity for our sport to publicly denounce such abhorrent behavior and rededicate ourselves to promoting racial diversity and mutual understanding through our wonderful sport.
There are clearly many issues at play here: diversity and race relations; behavior and personal responsibility; compassion and respect. I think John Yeager’s recent work was a wonderful beginning to a commitment to preserve a positive culture in lacrosse, and we should talk about further strategies in this regard. Aside form the important cultural issues, I also happen to believe that we should establish a diversity committee within US Lacrosse that is focused “full-time” on developing strategies to broaden the sport’s social-economic and racial participation base. Our BRIDGE initiative will be an important voice in this process.
Please let me know if you have any questions or comments on this situation.
Many thanks.
Steve Stenersen
Executive Director
US Lacrosse
(O) 410-235-6882, x 101
(F) 410-366-6735
sstenersen@uslacrosse.org
www.uslacrosse.org
The mission of US Lacrosse is to ensure a unified and responsive organization that develops and promotes the sport by providing services to its members and programs to inspire participation, while preserving the integrity of the game. |
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