Associated Press

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke University’s lacrosse coach resigned Wednesday and the school canceled the rest of the season amid a scandal involving allegations that three players raped a stripper at an off-campus party.

Mike Pressler spent 16 seasons at Duke and won three Atlantic Coast Conference championships. Last year, his team appeared in the national championship game.

“Coach Pressler offered me his resignation earlier this afternoon, and I accepted it,” said Duke athletic director Joe Alleva. “I believe this is in the best interests of the program, the department of athletics and the university.”

The rape allegations have roiled the campus and the city of Durham, raised racial tensions and heightened the long-standing antagonism between the privileged students at the elite university and the poorer people of Durham.

The stripper is black and said her attackers were white. Investigators and witnesses have said the lacrosse players taunted her with racial slurs and insults.

Students and townspeople have marched on campus and off, angry over the school’s handling of the allegations and the team members’ refusal to cooperate with police. Investigators said the athletes are sticking together and keeping silent.

Less than one hour after the alleged rape of a woman at a Duke University lacrosse party, Ryan McFadyen, one of the team’s players, wrote the following e-mail:

“Tomorrow night, after tonights show, ive decided to have some strippers over,” the message read. “However there will be no nudity. i plan on killing bitches as soon as the walk in and proceeding to cut their skin off.”

He later indicated that he would receive sexual gratification from the act.

Of course, this email doesn’t prove anyone’s guilt. I’m sure McFadyen’s lawyer will argue that this was just a mindless rant from a disturbed but harmless teenager. To me, this disgusting letter reveals a level of hatred for women that, along with the other evidence, makes it nearly impossible to believe in the team’s claims of innocence.
Hopefully, this letter will be circulated as widely as the young woman’s occupation as an exotic dancer (with the convenient omission of her status as a full time college student), which is already being used to undermine her allegations.

At first I was a bit surprised at the amount of public attention paid to the Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons divorce beyond the traditional gossip that accompanies a high profile seperation. Based on what I’m gathering from various web sites, magazines, and radio call-in shows, many Black people were genuinely sad to see the two break up. Although I didn’t want them to break up, I certainly wasn’t shocked that a famous couple seperated. Why were other people so emotionally invested in this marriage?

After thinking about it a little more, however, I realized how important it is for Black people to see successful, happy, and loving Black couples (both gay and straight) in the public sphere. Through these couples, many of us are given access to functional families for the first time. (Perhaps this is why Alicia Keys’ hit song “Unbreakable”, which references Russell and Kimora, is so addictive despite its “wrote it on the way to the studio” feel)

Of course, these famous families are often just as messed up as everyone else’s. Who knew how messed up the Jackson’s were when the Jackson Five was at the height of its fame? How many people outside of Hollywood knew that Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee had an “open relationship” that Ruby Dee hated? Still, the public representation of couples like Ossie & Ruby Dee, Will & Jada, and Bill & Camille (before he got caught actin’ the fool), remind us that long term committed relationships are both viable and valuable for Black people. Given the information provided in a recent Washington Post article entitled “Marriage is for White People”, this is not a taken for granted assumption for many of us.

I love the word hater. It so perfectly describes people who literally HATE to see other people’s prosperity. You all know someone that doesn’t like you just because you’re attractive, smart, wealthy, popular, or just plain happy. I’m not sure why, but there’s something both sad and funny about seeing someone actually ANGRY that something is going well for you. I know the term can be overused –nowadays, you can’t criticize or dislike anything without being called a hater– but it’s still one of my favorites. What did we call haters before they were haters?

2006 just hasn’t been a good year for Busta Rhymes. Despite (or perhaps because of) the release of his most recent album, Busta has received nothing but negative press all year. First, his bodyguard, Israel Ramirez, is shot on the set of Busta’s video shoot. Instead of helping the police find the assailant, Busta, as well as G-Unit’s Tony Yayo, have hindered the investigation by remaining silent. Then, Busta came under fire from gay and lesbian activists for the use of the word “faggot” in the remix to his hit song “Touch It”, as well as an incident with a gay fan in Miami. Most recently, Busta Rhymes was involved in an altercation with Source Magazine founder Dave Mays that ended with a bottle being broken over Mays’ head. (Of course, Mays, who was hospitalized, refuses to talk to authorities about this.)

Certainly, there’s a lot of critique that can be offered of Busta Rhymes and his life choices. Equally important, I worry that the brother is spinning out of control a la Tupac. If he is, I hope that someone in or near his circle can reach out to him.