Why Doesn't This End Coach K's career? (and Does it blow back on Wojo?)

[Tugg Speedman]

We live in a new world order.

Joe Pa is run out of town in a matter of weeks, and his statues are torn down over sexual abuse.

Ray Rice creates national outage, see Adrian Peterson too.

Even NASCAR suspended Kurt Busch indefinitely over possible assault charges.

I'm not trying to stir the pot but given the hypersensitivity of sexual assault, how can Duke and Coach K "get away with" hiding sexual assault allegations and then dealing with it by dismissing Sulaimon ... letting him out to be someone else's (another woman?) problem?  If their is serious blow-back on Duke/K, does it touch Wojo?

Will Sulaimon ever play another organized ball game again?  How can he given the new standards?

-----------------------------------

Rasheed Sulaimon at center of sexual assault allegations prior to dismissal
http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2015/03/02/rasheed-sulaimon-center-sexual-assault-allegations-prior-dismissal#.VPR5LeFy2FX
By Emma Baccellieri and Nick Martin on March 2, 2015

Rasheed Sulaimon's dismissal from the Duke basketball program is clouded by allegations of sexual assault, which surfaced nearly a year before he was released from the team in January. Multiple sources close to the situation have confirmed that members of the athletic department were made aware of the allegations as early as March 2014.

The Duke men's basketball department has not provided a detailed explanation of the dismissal, which was the first in head coach Mike Krzyzewski's 35 years at the helm of the program. Sulaimon, a junior, was dismissed from the Duke basketball team Jan. 29 after he “repeatedly struggled to meet the necessary obligations,” Krzyzewski said in his official statement.

Sulaimon's dismissal came not from a singular incident, but was the result of multiple actions detrimental to the program, Matt Plizga—the men's basketball sports information director—told The Chronicle the day of the

The Duke athletic administration declined to speak with The Chronicle after multiple attempts were made to discuss the allegations.
The allegations

Separate allegations of sexual assault by Sulaimon came from two female students in the 2013-14 academic year. Both students voiced allegations publicly, but neither filed a complaint through the Office of Student Conduct or took legal action through the Durham Police Department. The students declined to discuss their allegations with The Chronicle.

In October 2013, a female student said in a large group session at the student-led diversity retreat Common Ground that Sulaimon had sexually assaulted her, three retreat participants said. At the following semester's Common Ground retreat beginning in February 2014, a second female student said she had been sexually assaulted by Sulaimon, according to four retreat participants.

Common Ground is a four-day retreat in which students discuss identity—including issues involving race, socioeconomic status, gender and sexuality—through interaction with other participants, discussion groups and personal narratives. The retreat is held once each semester, with 56 participants selected from a student applicant pool.

A former affiliate of the Duke basketball program, who was with the team throughout the majority of Sulaimon's basketball career, became aware of the allegations made at the Fall 2013 Common Ground. The anonymous affiliate began speaking to the female student in January 2014, and began speaking to the second female student in March 2014 after learning of her allegations.The allegations were brought to the attention of a team psychologist in March 2014, the anonymous affiliate said. That month, the allegations were brought to Krzyzewski and assistant coaches Jon Scheyer and Nate James and associate head coach Jeff Capel.


“It should have been a long time ago. [Krzyzewski’s] never [dismissed a player] before,” the anonymous affiliate said. “I don’t think he knew where the line was. I think he really didn’t want to do it.”

The anonymous affiliate said other athletic administrators were then made aware of the allegations. Among the administrators identified by the anonymous affiliate were Mike Cragg, deputy director of athletics and operations; Director of Basketball Operations David Bradley; and Kevin White, vice president and director of athletics. The allegations were also brought to the attention of Sue Wasiolek, assistant vice president of student affairs and dean of students, according to the anonymous affiliate.

“Nothing happened after months and months of talking about [the sexual assault allegations]," the anonymous affiliate said. "The University administration knew. Kevin White knew, Mike Cragg knew."The fear of backlash from the Duke fan base was a factor in the female students' decision not to pursue the allegations, sources close to the women said.“[The Jameis Winston sexual assault case reaction] would be the same from a fan base as large and as passionate as Duke’s,” the anonymous affiliate said, referring to the former Florida State quarterback, who was the subject of both a police investigation for alleged sexual assault in Fall 2013 and a university conduct hearing in Fall 2014. Winston did not face charges, and he was later found not in violation of the university's code of conduct.Because the women voicing the allegations did not want to pursue their cases, no official complaints were filed with the Office of Student Conduct.

If a complaint is filed with the Office of Student Conduct, an investigation is conducted and a disciplinary hearing occurs if necessary. If a student is found responsible for sexual misconduct in a disciplinary hearing, the recommended sanction is expulsion.Even if a student chooses not to file a complaint, however, the University is legally obligated by Title IX to look into any indications of sexual assault. If the Office of Student Conduct receives information about a possible assault with a student perpetrator, the protocol is to investigate to whatever extent is possible, Wasiolek said.“Sometimes, it’s so little information that there’s really nothing to follow up on. When we have the name of an alleged victim, we would certainly want to talk with that individual,” Wasiolek said. “When we have the name of an alleged respondent, we would want to talk with that individual as well. Depending on what information we get from either of those individuals, that will dictate how we proceed.”Even if an official complaint is not filed, Student Conduct still documents all conversations it has as part of an investigation of a potential sexual assault, Wasiolek said. The records are kept confidential under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.Wasiolek declined to comment on the subject of allegations against Sulaimon.

"The next big Duke scandal"

Senior Lincoln Wensley, a former secretary in the Duke basketball office and current intern for the Office of News and Communications, became aware of the allegations Jan. 21, 2015 when he heard a fellow intern mentioning what she called "the next big Duke scandal."


“And that Coach K had known and knew that Rasheed had these rumors swirling about him and that Kevin White had also known.” —Lincoln Wensley

Wensley followed up with the intern, who said she was best friends with a female student who alleged she had been sexually assaulted by Sulaimon.

“We started texting that Wednesday night,” Wensley said. “She informed me that one of her friends had been raped by Rasheed Sulaimon…. [She] was very upset and had known for some time about this because of the Common Ground retreat. She expressed an interest in taking action herself, but obviously [was] scared because of the power the men’s basketball team possesses on this campus.”Wensley worked with Duke basketball as an assistant to administrative assistant Laura Ann Howard, who works closely with the men's basketball assistant coaches and coordinates administrative duties regarding the team’s players and coaches.The following day, Jan. 22, Wensley—who had been working in the office for more than three years—notified Howard of his knowledge of the allegations and quit his job.The next day, Wensley received the following text message from Cragg:


“Lincoln - this is Mike Cragg from the basketball program. I would like to talk with you this afternoon on your convo with Laura Ann. In person would be great. Nothing long - just want to clean up the end of your desire to work here. And let you know some steps that Laura Ann would not know based on the info you provided her. Thanks.”

Wensley agreed to the meeting and the two met in Cragg’s office the same day. According to Wensley, Cragg began the conversation by advising him on how to better handle professional situations such as the one Wensley had with Howard.

But the conversation with Cragg did not end there.“I wanted personally for the conversation to steer toward Coach K and Kevin White and I think he could sense that too,” Wensley said. “After advising me on my interactions with Laura Ann, he said that if I wanted to pursue further action on this issue that I would need to go through Student Conduct. And that Coach K had known and knew that Rasheed had these rumors swirling about him and that Kevin White had also known.”Cragg and Bradley both deferred comment to Jon Jackson, senior associate athletic director for external affairs. White—whose media requests are handled by Jackson—did not respond for comment. Jackson said the athletic department would not comment on the matter and provided the following statement from Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations.

"Duke takes immediate action when a student reports allegations of sexual misconduct or other violations of the student conduct code," the statement read. "This includes investigation and referral to the Student Conduct Office as appropriate. The University is prohibited by federal law from disclosing information about any individual student or the student judicial process."

Schoenfeld said the University had no further comment on the matter.

After multiple phone and email requests for comment, Sulaimon declined to speak to The Chronicle prior to publication. A lawyer claiming to represent Sulaimon—Bob Ekstrand, Law '98—contacted The Chronicle's office late Sunday evening and said he believed the allegations of sexual assault to be false.

The dismissal

On Jan. 29—six days after Wensley had his conversation with Cragg—it was announced via press release that Sulaimon had been dismissed from the Duke basketball program. The decision was released a day after the Blue Devils’ 77-73 loss at Notre Dame Jan. 28, in which Sulaimon played 12 minutes and scored three points on 1-of-6 shooting.

“Rasheed has been unable to consistently live up to the standards required to be a member of our program,” Krzyzewski said in the press release. “It is a privilege to represent Duke University and with that privilege comes the responsibility to conduct oneself in a certain manner. After Rasheed repeatedly struggled to meet the necessary obligations, it became apparent that it was time to dismiss him from the program.”
Chronicle Graphic by Georgia Parke





The anonymous affiliate reiterated Plizga's statement that there were other factors that contributed to Sulaimon's dismissal.

“It should have been a long time ago. [Krzyzewski’s] never [dismissed a player] before,” the anonymous affiliate said. “I don’t think he knew where the line was. I think he really didn’t want to do it. It’s pretty incomprehensible.”

Reporting sexual assault

The majority of Duke's employees are required to report sexual assault. They may either notify a supervisor, campus police or submit the information through a website that is then sent to Student Conduct. There are select staff members who are not required to report a sexual assault, including staff members at Counseling and Psychological Services, the Women's Center, Student Health and University clergy.


If a victim of sexual assault decides to file a complaint with Student Conduct, a case is initiated. The accuser and accused then submit a statement, and Student Conduct hires an independent private investigator to interview witnesses and establish facts. After this process—which can take several months—Duke convenes a hearing and a three-person panel presides over the process. If the panel determines that there is a "preponderance of evidence" suggesting a sexual assault occurred, the recommended disciplinary action is that the student is expelled.

Sulaimon is still a Duke student and remains in good academic standing.

[WarriorPride68]

Wojo wasn't hired until March 31st if I recall correctly. Interesting Wojo wasn't named


"The allegations were brought to the attention of a team psychologist in March 2014, the anonymous affiliate said. That month, the allegations were brought to Krzyzewski and assistant coaches Jon Scheyer and Nate James and associate head coach Jeff Capel."

[Tugg Speedman]

Wojo wasn't hired until March 31st if I recall correctly. Interesting Wojo wasn't named


"The allegations were brought to the attention of a team psychologist in March 2014, the anonymous affiliate said. That month, the allegations were brought to Krzyzewski and assistant coaches Jon Scheyer and Nate James and associate head coach Jeff Capel."

I agree it is good for Wojo that his name is not in this.  But, this is the first version of the story.  Many more are coming.

[GOO]

Two things:

Wojo is probably okay as an assistant who is now out of there; the focus will be on the higher ups, most likely. If this wasn't reported up the chain of command, it could be different. I'd expect someone at the top to take the fall in a case like this, given the "lower" ranked coach K won't be the scape goat.

This shouldn't end coach K's career, of course, unless he wants it to.  If it did, from a Marquette prospective, that would probably cement Wojo as our coach for a long time.  Wojo isn't going to be stepping back in at Duke at this point, I suspect, given the current season.

[ChicosBailBonds]

We'll see how this plays out.  The Duke Chronicle over the years has had to retract a number of these stories...  just a reminder. 

[mu03eng]

Not sure how there is anything close to firable for Coach K here, but it is a preliminary report who knows what else comes out.

Lots of moving pieces to this whole story, but it will be very interesting to see how it gets reported and how big it gets.  Interesting that the women didn't want to report to police but shared as part of an inclusion retreat, and then they weren't the ones to report to Duke administration, it was people who were at the retreat that reported it.  

Not sure what the obligatory reporting laws do to cover that scenario.  Also because of the Duke Lacrosse thing, this gets even more difficult and twisted.  As convoluted as this seems, I'm betting the media has a field day because they love speculation without facts and insinuation.

Let's just hope Wojo was above the fray in this situation.

[Tugg Speedman]

Not sure how there is anything close to firable for Coach K here, but it is a preliminary report who knows what else comes out.

With the caveat that this is version 1.0 of many more versions ...

Play rapes a student.  Coach knows, keeps playing him as he investigates.  Eventually he dismisses him from the team, less than 24 hours after a game.  The first player dismissed in his 35 year career.  So assume Sulaimon became radioactive to K like no one else has been since he became the head coach in 1980.

Until this story I believe no one knew that Sulaimon was a "predatory walking around looking for another victim" (which is how some will portray him).

It was argued that Joe Pa was responsible as the head of the team.  Why doesn't this standard apply to K?  Because he wins?  I thought this standard was no longer the case (see Adrian Peterson).  And by all accounts Joe Pa knew less about what was happening in his locker room than K knew about Sulaimon.

[ChicosBailBonds]

With the caveat that this is version 1.0 of many more versions ...

Play rapes a student.  Coach knows, keeps playing him as he investigates.  Eventually he dismisses him from the team, less than 24 hours after a game.  The first player dismissed in his 35 year career.  So assume Sulaimon became radioactive to K like no one else has been since he became the head coach in 1980.

Until this story I believe no one knew that Sulaimon was a "predatory walking around looking for another victim" (which is how some will portray him).

It was argued that Joe Pa was responsible as the head of the team.  Why doesn't this standard apply to K?  Because he wins?  I thought this standard was no longer the case (see Adrian Peterson).  And by all accounts Joe Pa knew less about what was happening in his locker room than K knew about Sulaimon.

Thing is, if he was a predator walking around, forget basketball for a second, but he's still at the school in good standing as well. 

[GGGG]

With the caveat that this is version 1.0 of many more versions ...

Play rapes a student.  Coach knows, keeps playing him as he investigates.  Eventually he dismisses him from the team, less than 24 hours after a game.  The first player dismissed in his 35 year career.  So assume Sulaimon became radioactive to K like no one else has been since he became the head coach in 1980.

Until this story I believe no one knew that Sulaimon was a "predatory walking around looking for another victim" (which is how some will portray him).

It was argued that Joe Pa was responsible as the head of the team.  Why doesn't this standard apply to K?  Because he wins?  I thought this standard was no longer the case (see Adrian Peterson).  And by all accounts Joe Pa knew less about what was happening in his locker room than K knew about Sulaimon.

There are differences in the Coach K and Paterno situations.

In the Duke case, it is a matter of months, with a student, and no formal complaint being filed.

In the PSU case, it is over the course of years, with a former member of the coaching staff.  One that was still granted access to facilities even after retiring.

I've got to know more about the case before coming to an opinion about Coach K and how this was handled.

[starting5]

from this artical it looks to me that the basketball team took the right steps and brought it to the dean of students.  If the kid was still allowed in school maybe the only thing K could have done is suspended him prior to his dismissal.  Maybe it was taken care of internally

[Mods, Delete me please. 8/26/2020]

Not sure how there is anything close to firable for Coach K here, but it is a preliminary report who knows what else comes out.

Duke Lacrosse
UVA Fraternity
Lena Dunham
Etc.

I'm not saying the accusers are lying in this instance, but Duke (more than anyone), should know not to immediately side with an accuser.   They got burned once by this, I think they were correct in trying to determine the facts before dismissing the player.  

The real issue is in letting the University determine guilt/innocence in these cases with internal investigations  and on-campus Mock Trials with Judge Reinhold.   Essentially a kangaroo court.   These matters should be turned over to the police and investigated and prosecuted like any other criminal assault.    

[connie]

Although mentioned I think most underestimate the impact of the Lacrosse team debacle.  I am sure all involved were going to be very careful with complaints of criminal activity that the complainants would not take to the police, and it was likely something besides those allegations themselves that resulted in the dismissal.  I doubt there is any fallout on Wojo, other than to those few on here that are already calling for his job.

[JakeBarnes]

Duke Lacrosse
UVA Fraternity
Lena Dunham
Etc.

I'm not saying the accusers are lying in this instance, but Duke (more than anyone), should know not to immediately side with an accuser.   They got burned once by this, I think they were correct in trying to determine the facts before dismissing the player.  

The real issue is in letting the University determine guilt/innocence in these cases with internal investigations  and on-campus Mock Trials with Judge Reinhold.   Essentially a kangaroo court.   These matters should be turned over to the police and investigated and prosecuted like any other criminal assault.    

*bass shot*

[Benny B]

To summarize my thoughts (some mirrored by others):

1) Let's withhold judgement until we can ascertain whether this is the tip of an iceberg or simply a muddy snowball floating in the ocean.

2) If there does turn out to be something here and Coach K were implicated, I'm going to have three tubs of Orville Redenbacher's ready to go on moments' notice.

3) In the absolute worse case scenario where Wojo is implicated and MU is dragged into this, MU better be prepared to cut bait.  On the heels of a couple allegations just a few years prior, it turns out that MU hired another coach who had a history of covering his eyes and ears (or worse), that would be Hiroshima.  If I were MU, I would be hiring a PI to start doing its own digging immediately... as Reagan said, "trust, but verify."

[mu03eng]

With the caveat that this is version 1.0 of many more versions ...

Play rapes a student.  Coach knows, keeps playing him as he investigates.  Eventually he dismisses him from the team, less than 24 hours after a game.  The first player dismissed in his 35 year career.  So assume Sulaimon became radioactive to K like no one else has been since he became the head coach in 1980.

Until this story I believe no one knew that Sulaimon was a "predatory walking around looking for another victim" (which is how some will portray him).

It was argued that Joe Pa was responsible as the head of the team.  Why doesn't this standard apply to K?  Because he wins?  I thought this standard was no longer the case (see Adrian Peterson).  And by all accounts Joe Pa knew less about what was happening in his locker room than K knew about Sulaimon.

Also keep in mind, if Coach K reported it to the proper authorities he then, by law, is no longer allowed to follow up or take any action against the student/offender related to the accusation.

Also a huge difference in the data so far, Paterno had a witness report to him.  In this account, Coach K had a coach come to him, who was told by a student who was at an off campus event that someone at the event claimed she was assaulted by a basketball player but refused to go to police.

If it wasn't so tragic it would be a Ferris at 31 Flavors equivalent.

[Tugg Speedman]

from this artical it looks to me that the basketball team took the right steps and brought it to the dean of students.  If the kid was still allowed in school maybe the only thing K could have done is suspended him prior to his dismissal.  Maybe it was taken care of internally

Again I'm commenting on what we know from the story above understanding that this is version 1.0 and it often changes.

---

I don't disagree with you but I sense their are new rules of the road, thanks to Ray Rice et al, and I'm trying to understand them.

They new rules seem to be saying that society (women) need to be protected from those accused of sexual assault ("predators").  So it does not matter that the dean was notified and they had an investigation, the NFL did the same with Ray Rice and what did that get them?

The question is what did you do to protect society?  Obviously Sulaimon did something serious to be the first players dismissed from the team in 35 years.  If it was raping another Duke student, why is he a still a student in good standing at Duke?  Why does "throwing him back into the pool" (dismissing him and allowing him to transfer) make that the right thing to do.  Why were the police not informed and allowed to investigate.  

And most importantly, who made the decision to not call the police, keep playing him, deciding that rape only needs to be punished by kicking him off the team?

[JakeBarnes]

To summarize my thoughts (some mirrored by others):

1) Let's withhold judgement until we can ascertain whether this is the tip of an iceberg or simply a muddy snowball floating in the ocean.

2) If there does turn out to be something here and Coach K were implicated, I'm going to have three tubs of Orville Redenbacher's ready to go on moments' notice.

3) In the absolute worse case scenario where Wojo is implicated and MU is dragged into this, MU better be prepared to cut bait.  On the heels of a couple allegations just a few years prior, it turns out that MU hired another coach who had a history of covering his eyes and ears (or worse), that would be Hiroshima.  If I were MU, I would be hiring a PI to start doing its own digging immediately... as Reagan said, "trust, but verify."

As to #3 that is my biggest fear. I really hope that he did not have any strong involvement in this case...like an active cover up of any type. That would be pretty devastating for our program, but more importantly, something morally repugnant and punishable.

[mu03eng]

One thing to note, statistically, as I re-read the article that seems very curious.  To date there were two accusers and both "reported" the incident at a campus retreat but at two different retreats(weren't at same retreat together).  According to the story, this campus retreat happens once a year and is attended by 56 students.  Duke had 14,600 students in 2013 according to google.  What are the odds that two different women in different years would be selected out 14,600 to be one of 56 and have the same experience?

This guy may be a serial assaulter which makes it even more tragic, or there could be some things that don't line-up from a factual standpoint.

Far to early to tell on anything, but it'll have legs, Washington Post has already picked it up.  Christine Bremmer should be on this any moment.

[MU82]

We have nowhere near enough facts to comment intelligently on any of this ... but that certainly hasn't stopped us before!

It's Duke. There will be LOTS of stuff about this in the media. In time, we will have the facts.

Until then ... I still can't believe K was playing Sulaimon over Dawson!

[LCDutchman]

Why is this nonsense on a MU basketball blog?  The kid is still in school and you have Coach K resigning in disgrace.  Go get your shine box and get the hell out of here.

[willie warrior]

With the caveat that this is version 1.0 of many more versions ...

Play rapes a student.  Coach knows, keeps playing him as he investigates.  Eventually he dismisses him from the team, less than 24 hours after a game.  The first player dismissed in his 35 year career.  So assume Sulaimon became radioactive to K like no one else has been since he became the head coach in 1980.

Until this story I believe no one knew that Sulaimon was a "predatory walking around looking for another victim" (which is how some will portray him).

It was argued that Joe Pa was responsible as the head of the team.  Why doesn't this standard apply to K?  Because he wins?  I thought this standard was no longer the case (see Adrian Peterson).  And by all accounts Joe Pa knew less about what was happening in his locker room than K knew about Sulaimon.

Very good questions. To my knowledge, nothing transpired with Baywhine on the Bernie Fine fiasco, either Some coaches like K, Baywhine and Prictino are glorified and untouchable, while other guys the media just pole axes: Peterson, Rice. Difference between teflon and stickem.

[mu03eng]

Why is this nonsense on a MU basketball blog?  The kid is still in school and you have Coach K resigning in disgrace.  Go get your shine box and get the hell out of here.

While Heisenburg is likely over the top with this stuff, it is very relevant given Wojo's being their during this time and the current national environment for this stuff.

[Tugg Speedman]

While Heisenburg is likely over the top with this stuff, it is very relevant given Wojo's being their during this time and the current national environment for this stuff.

+1

If Wojo was not our coach, I would have posted this on the superbar.

"over the top" ... probably

[tower912]

1.  Nothing filed either with Duke or the Durham authorities.
2.  Rumors are nothing but rumors.
3.  K reached his own personal tipping point dismissed the player.
4.  Duke lacrosse.

This doesn't bring K down.   It doesn't trickle down to Wojo.

[Dawson Rental]

Seriously Heisenberg, you need something more to do to fill your days.