Four Vanderbilt football players suspended amid sex crimes investigation

[dakid]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...ation/2474125/

[ZachLV27]

All 4 have been dismissed from the team now.

[Sect309Fan]

Vandy fans on the Vandy board I am on are lashing out at the media, but I think most of the media is reporting this correctly. This does hurt Vandy's reputation, even though the school and administration had done the right thing by dismissing these players and not trying to hide anything (except names, which are expected to be hidden at this point, but will definitely be revealed soon).

I have no problems with Coach Franklin or the school. These athletes are to blame, and whatever they did, they will have to live with the consequences of their actions.

[Yvette]

The rumor: http://www.rantsports.com/ncaa-footb...medium=twitter

These athletes are to blame, and whatever they did, they will have to live with the consequences of their actions.

So will their victim if it's true.

[Sect309Fan]

The four ex-players were all charged with multiple counts of rape and more. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20...nclick_check=1

It certainly took a long while (and a trip to California) to get to this point, but at least we have some idea what happened now. I hope that incidents like this and the Stubenville High School rape case will tell young men everywhere, athlete or not, that having sex with an unconscious woman is rape. This is unacceptable and definitely illegal behavior.

I am glad Vandy handled this case the way they did (and completely opposite of how that high school did). My sympathy is with the victim, and I hope she can get through this difficult trial.

[Sect309Fan]

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20...role-rape-case

This case took an ugly turn today with the reveal of text messages between the rapists and Chris Boyd. Boyd had been charged with a Class E felony for helping cover up the crime. When I first heard the accusations against Boyd, I had assumed that he received a video text from the rapists, and just told them to delete it. It's not good, but not too severe.

Now it certainly appears he had an active role in helping the rapists cover up their crime, even helping to move the victim and then discussing the rape with the rapists afterwards. What's even more worrisome for a Vandy fan like me is that the starting Vandy QB helped move her as well. We just don't know the QB thought he was helping out a passed out girl, or whether he knew she had been raped.

I don't see Boyd returning to the team now. While his plea deal dropped his crime to a misdemeanor, which will make him eligible to play again, helping someone get away with rape is just as bad as the rape itself.

The only good news from today is that Coach Franklin has been exonerated of any involvement to this case. A former Tennessean reporter wrote an article for Buzzfeed.com this week saying that a "unnamed source" was 99% sure that Franklin had seen the video, insinuating that Franklin should have been arrested as well. It was terrible journalism and was likely done just to get traffic to his site.

[Sect309Fan]

The trial has been going on for almost two weeks now, and the prosecution is still presenting their side. The victim is testifying right now.

Basically, everything that was presented when this case started appears to be true. These four players participated in sexual assaulting this girl in their own way, it's on video and pictures, and these players tried to cover it up by destroying cell phones and deleting files.

Nothing has been shown that the University did anything wrong, though it looks like a decent number of students knew something strange was going on (like watching players carry around an unconscious student).

This is such a rare case where the perpetrators actually filmed the sexual assault. No wonder the police were so eager to get it prosecuted, since so few rape cases ever make it this far (and very few have convictions).

[Yvette]

.... it looks like a decent number of students knew something strange was going on (like watching players carry around an unconscious student).

An unconscious naked girl.

I really want to know what these assholes are majoring in so I can make sure I never ever do business with them.

[barnybyrd]

I am so tired of hearing they are not responsible because he drank so much he didn't know what he was doing. No one held him down and poured it down his throat. Should have thought about it before he got to that point.

[Orca]

This alum feels ashamed for his alma mater. Is this the cost of college football?

[Sect309Fan]

I am just relieved that justice prevailed and both players were guilty on all counts. If the defense had won for either player, it would have made rape even easier to get away with.

I don't think this is just a college athlete problem. It is a major problem with college students in general. Easy access to Alcohol is a big part of it, but it certainly isn't the only reason. I do worry about my daughter who will be going off to college in less than 3 years.

[Orca]

Orca is still despondent.