National Football League Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw, on Until Proven Innocent:
This is a tale of grace and disgrace, researched in detail and clearly written. All of us face adversity in our lives, but thankfully very few face the adversity of national press coverage, being abandoned by those who should have defended us, and the possibility of a 30 year prison term for something which was a transparent lie. The Duke lacrosse hoax is fundamentally a tale of incredible courage and integrity on the part of the falsely indicted players, their families, their defense team, a few of their faculty (particularly Professor James Coleman), and the entire Duke lacrosse team, including their current and former coach. Theirs is a tale of incredible grace under searing pressure.
People in positions of power and authority-such as prosecutors, police, and university leaders—carry the responsibility to find and defend the truth. Unfortunately, their tale is one of disgrace—and they are the authors of that disgrace. Stuart Taylor and KC Johnson have written a great book which chronicles a tale as old as humanity—the difficult but always worthwhile triumph of honesty and integrity over those who abuse power.
As for scheduling items:
I’ll keep this item updated as events come in, and provide reminders as specific dates draw near.
Tomorrow, for readers in the Pittsburgh area, I’ll be on 93.7/The Zone with John Steigerwald, at 9.20am.
On September 11, I’ll be speaking at Duke, 7pm at Page Auditorium. I was invited by the Program on Values and Ethics in the Marketplace and by the newly created Duke Students for an Ethical Duke.
On September 28, I’ll be part of a panel at a two-day conference at Duke Law School, entitled, “The Court of Public Opinion.”
On October 2, I’ll be speaking at the Harvard Club of Boston, 5.30pm.
On October 4, I’ll be part of a panel at the Society of Professional Journalists conference, in Washington, DC.
