Comments and analysis about the Duke/Nifong case (2006-2014).
Former Rhode Island congressman Ron Machtley, president of Bryant University, becomes (to my knowledge) the first college or university administrator to publicly criticize how Richard Brodhead and the Group of 88 responded to the lacrosse case.
For the full video, on Bryant's move to Division I, including some excellent footage of Mike Pressler, see Lax.com.
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29 comments:
Well, he most likely has taken the time to get to know Mike and Sue Pressler, and to know what kind of people they are. I doubt seriously that Brodhead gave a rat's behind about Pressler or what happened to his family.
I'm just glad to hear a college president speak openly about Brodhead and what he and his administration did to some good people.
University administrators are a fraternity. It's a really big deal for the Bryant Prez to say unambiguously what he said, which happens to be the truth. Brodhead and Steel and the Gang of 88 are now justifiably infamous. I thought his comment that he could not understand why Duke had not put out an apology ad just like the Gang of 88 attack ad was dead-on. There IS no reason except cowardice and lack of institutional integrity. None.
I don't know much about Bryant but I definitely have a much more favorable opinion of Bryant than duke.
Bryant University is indeed fortunate to have a President of his integrity and cojones.
Thanks President Machtley
This is an exquisite video-ette.
It's wonderful to hear someone inside the academy describe Brodhead and his administration's actions so boldly.
On another note, I watched the interview with Roy Cooper earlier.
The program consisted of several topics. About halfway through the thirty-minute program, the Lacrosse Hoax was discussed.
It's worth watching.
Cooper was certainly the right man at the right time amid all the other elements of the Hoax.
I was just thinking while listening to the program that if John Drescher had been the managing editor of the N&O instead of Melanie Sill.....
.......and if Bob Wilson had been at the helm of the H-S's editorial pages during the Spring of 2006......
.......Reade, Collin, and David would have had a fighting chance with regard to the Triangle media coverage.
John Drescher and Roy Cooper are similar personalities.
No embellishment.
No egotistical maneuverings.
Just the facts.....
Brodhead & the 88 lack the moral fortitude to admit they were wrong. They would lose face among their peers and become outcasts. The worst kind of shame.
So former congressman Ron Machtley, (of unknown political affiliation) is the first to question Brodhead (and the sick culture of Gang88?).
Well, his career in academia is over, that's for sure. Hope he has a backup plan. Return to Congress in RI is out of question too, after this statement.
Machtley spoke the truth. Duke threw Pressler under the bus and then backed up over him (why else would he, a winning Division I coach found it so difficult to get a position - other Division I coaches have committed egregious sins and have quickly found jobs - was Duke trying to sabotage his ability to caoch again - I would put nothing past Aleva or Burness) again and again.
Although I was not one to follow lacrosse - my children are swimmers - I do follow Bryant because of the university's actions.
cks
Duke and its academics are professional thugs who profit from their behavior. They are not going to stop their behavior nor are they going to apologize. They terrorize people and profit from that terror.
Good for him for being honest!!!
I am amazed , but encouraged. Finally, a University President has the courage to speak the truth about Dickie Brodhead's pattern of misjudgments and administrative malfeasance. At least one university president not only understands how inept Brodhead is , but, also, he knows that, unless challenged, Bradhead's brand of self-serving administration will become the "standard" for university presidential arrogance and narcissism.
Just for the record, Bryant President Ron Machtley is a graduate of The United States Naval Academy. He served on active duty for 5 years, graduated from law school and served as a Naval Reserve Officer for an additional 20 years.
He served as a Congressman (Republican) from Rhode Island from 1989 to 1995, did not seek reelection and was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor. He has been the President of Bryant University since 1996.
I also served just over 25 years in the military, with most of that time as a Reserve Officer as well. The vast majority of military members conduct themselves with an extremely high degree of honor. They carefully abide by a code of behavior that provides, among other things, that leaders do not, as we called it, "eat their young."
In the more erudite and scholarly world of academia, this would be called "the presumption of innocence" and a "respect for due process."
As we've seen with the Group of 88 and the Duke Administration, in furtherance of their corporate, ideological and pedagogical goals, they would "eat their young" in a heartbeat.
I salute President Machtley as a man of honor and of high ethical and moral standards.
One Spook
Academic thuggery. You know, I think that really fits! I know that Brodhead is proud of coddling a bunch of thugs and faux academics!
Despite all that we know to be the undeniable truth there are still people, especially in the Triangle, who are trying to defend what happened.
If only more people like this university administrator would speak out.
They know what happened at Duke and they know why it happened.
Yet most keep silent.
There are even a few who defend Tim Tyson and try to build him up as some kind of "saint".
One woman whom I've discovered is associated with a local bookstore and is also associated with the local "women's, gay, lesbian,"....and whatever, else organizations has been coming after me.
She was upset that I referenced the videos / audios that KC posted on Tyson.
None of these people ever have a defense of the Gang of 88 and Tyson.
Only attacks which have nothing to do with the subject matter.
My senses tell me that the bookstores are hoping to make some money off Tyson's book if the little film made from it has any national play.
Watch out for Melody Ivins. She will defend her man Tim Tyson!
This is the woman who's been going after me and defending Tyson.
She is associated with some local bookstores and the race/class/gender crowd.
Hers is another woman who is listed as Ivins' friend.
Check out the list of organizations to which Carter belongs.
Excellent post, One Spook. It is no coincidence that the captain of US Air flight 1549 has the same background. Integrity, morality, courage, work ethic...These are attributes that should be treasured and encouraged in our society. They are sorely lacking in some segments of the Duke faculty.
The anaology b/w the USAir pilot and Bryant President runs even deeper--both are graduates of U.S. service academies (the former, USAFA; the latter USNA). Notably, *neither* has been anywhere near Duke. Thank God at least a few schools--and especially our service academies--develop a healthy respect for "duty, honor...". The idiots intrent on running Duke further into the ground could learn a lot, an awful lot.
Here's another example of the kind of people Tim Tyson and his friends are.
From this page I found proof of the Tyson and Ivins relationship.
These people are nasty and unprofessional to the core if someone disagrees with their rabidity and illuminates their bad behavior.
The woman Melody Ivins who is listed below as a friend and colleague of Tim Tyson's spent the wee hours of the morning today making naughty comments on some of the YouTube Diva videos.
I removed them already. She's so nutty that she probably doesn't realize that you get email notices of comments, She thought I wouldn't see them for days and days.
She even called me a "tart"! LOL!!!
No doubt, she's one of those "saintly" churchgoers like Tyson and his preacher Daddy.
I referenced the KC videos on the N&O fora of Tyson talking about the lacrosse players and Ivins went nuts.
Tyson and his friends can't take the truth and the behavior that Tyson defender Melody Ivins has exhibited---thinking that I would not know her identity---is just more of the same kind of Gang of 88 mentality.
*********************************
Many other friends and colleagues read parts or all of the manuscript, which has benefited immeasurably from their wisdom. We would like to thank Eric Anderson, David Carter, Kirsten Delegard, Christina Greene, Bob Hall, Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, Gerald Horne, John Howard, MELODY IVINS, Beverly Jones, William Jefferson Jones, Robert Korstad, Rhonda Lee, Danielle McGuire, Doris Morgan, Sam Morgan, Richard Ralston, Richard Reid, James Schiffer, John David Smith, Boo Tyson, Vernon C. Tyson, Vern Tyson, William L. Van Deburg, Michael Ward, Lane Windham, and Barry Yeoman.
OMG, it's worse than I thought.
Melody Ivins, founder of The Women's Book Exchange.
Housed at Duke.
I would add that the ROTC programs at colleges also instill respect for "duty, honor..". Two of my brothers (both army, one an active lieutenant colonel the other retired at the same rank) were ROTC products. Integrity, honor, compassion, and a sterling work ethic are a part and parcel of their very being. Their character was formed by parents but also by teachers (not of the Gang of 88 mentality) who taught as much by example as anything.
cks
Inre: "OMG, it's worse than I thought. Melody Ivins, founder of The Women's Book Exchange.
Housed at Duke."
As mentioned before it has come to the point where nothing surprises me anymore regarding Duke. Any egregious, anti-intellectual behavior has become the norm so actions by people like Ms. Ivins meet my expectation relative to Duke. No surprise there.
Now that's cool. Former Navy captain and Republican congressman Ron Machtley, in a serious and dignified manner, tore Brodhead a new one. What a pleasure to see criticism directed at Brodhead from a fellow college president, which makes it that much harder to ignore. He richly deserves it.
Another one bites the dust in Durham.
Diva, you're totally a tart -- a sweet tart! Great for the Bryant administrator. He must not have gotten the PC handbook.
Speaking of biting the dust, is Dean Sue still around and associated with Crime Stoppers?
::
GP
KC,
It seems really unfair to use Selena Roberts' comments on A-Rod to back up your assertions that there were "scant, if any, suggestions that [lacrosse case figures] had learned lessons from their misbehavior."
I say this because you don't cite any continued misbehavior on her part. Were there discrepancies, inaccuracies, or other problems with her reporting of the news surrounding A-Rod? Because saying, "What we tried to do is be very specific about what we heard and make sure that we found credible information and reliable people, and that we buttoned up every single hole to make sure to be absolutely right..." suggest to me that she HAS learned something.
Of course, I'll expect her to back this statement up in her reporting, but until major inaccuracies are found again in her reporting, I don't see how this graph supports your thesis. Am I missing something?
Thanks,
PG
Duke Basketball, A Rape Inquisition Victim?
Duke University has been a major college basketball powerhouse for at least a decade. They've had seven final four appearances since 1990, and fourteen over the period from 1963. During that time they also won 16 ACC titles. They did with players, 14 have been number one NBA picks since 1960. This year's team is just so-so at best and last year's was just a cut above that. In fact since the false rape accusations against the three Duke lacrosse players other coaches around the country are using the case, or more precisely the faculty lynch mob, as ammunition to keep players from going to Duke. It is well known that "scouts" tag promising kids from the time they are seven years old and by the time they are eligible for college every coach from every major program knows who they are and the kids have been "contacted" since the time they were tagged. Over the past two years the best high school players from SoCal went to universities other than Duke, and this year two of the top eight are going to North Carolina and none to Duke. I've been involved in youth sports for many years now and I know that as times change parents have as much to do with the recruiting process as do the recruiters. So the word has been that the recruiters have been blistering parents with tales and write ups about the racial situation in Durham, the clear faculty bias against athletes at Duke, and in particular about the gang of (8, 14, 88?) who still rage against the "boys of privilege" getting away with a rape. I predict that until the Duke Administration owns up to the entire situation you can say bye bye to Duke as THE major power in college basketball. And maybe the ACC as well. How has UCLA done? Not too well either; USC grabbed one of the top eight. So who knows? Times really are a changing.
Thank you KC for finding this clip. President Machtley is a true gentleman, and he was a pleasure to talk to, as well as a very interesting interview. I have no idea how this little clip from the 22 minute documentary ended up on YouTube and then Durham in Wonderland, but I don't much care. What President Machtley said was a message that should be heard.
Just one thing though, the video is on Lax.com. It was completely created by and thus posted originally on LAX.COM . Thanks.
Yes. He was right on this issue, but Machtley generally has been a disaster at Bryant. He has grossly neglected academics there, and he has treated women terribly during his tenure.
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