Now its a Federal Investigation

[warrior_rugby15]

Via the Chicago Tribune.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-us-education-department-investigates-marquettes-response-to-sex-assault-allegations-against-athletes-20111110,0,4852788.story

[dw3dw3dw3]

ugh... live and learn MU...protecting the program is not more important than protecting people (and covering your ass)

I dream of summers when commits get dropped for better players.

[The Lens]

How will this affect recruiting?

[Benny B]

Come on... really?!?  "Federal Investigation"

If the FDA was inspecting the chicken being served in the AMU, would you call that a "federal investigation"?  We're talking about the Dept of Education, not the FBI or SEC.

Let me know when someone with more stature than Arne Whathisface looks into this issue.  If Chisolm didn't have enough to put something together here, what the heck do you think the feds are going to do.  Take away Marquette's railroad funding?

[Chili]

and they will find the same thing the DA did, squat.

[Clam Crowder]

Yeah I think calling this a federal investigation is a little dramatic...sounds like they are just doing a review. We have changed our practices, and have a different president. Nothing is going to come of this

[RyanConroy]

This comment sums it up nicely:

"Sounds an like a poorly sourced story of innuendo.
Oh that is right the Trib is bankrupt."

[wyzgy]

now that the joepa thing has blown-up, i hope people do not try to draw parrallels between the "italian-job" and buzz.  the "incident(s) have been completely taken out of context.  i believe the alleged victim(s) have a role to play here too.  they  need to come out either directly or indirectly and lay it out there so those involved can respond in kind.  as of now, it's like a silent-but deadly hangin over our heads.  cheesus man, bring gloria aldred out here.  problem with her, is remember her response to tsa incidents?  she claimed she didn't mind the aggresssive searches as it had been some time since she was touched like that and it actually, "she liked it"
 http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2010/11/19/gloria_allred_on_tsa_pat-down_i_liked_it.html

[brewcity77]

I don't think anyone will confuse this for the JoePa incident. I truly don't mean to demean what may or may not have happened at Marquette, but covering up the rape of children for a decade is not even remotely the same thing as this. The PSU incident is probably the most heinous thing I've ever heard of in sports.

[MUMac]

ugh... live and learn MU...protecting the program is not more important than protecting people (and covering your ass)

I dream of summers when commits get dropped for better players.

Whoa there.  The policy MU had in place was the policy for ALL students. That is what is being investigated.  It was brought to light because of the situations last year involving athletes, but to say what you did is loose with the facts and quite honestly, very dangerous.

[GGGG]

And seriously, can we not have the whole debate over again over what we think happened?  Changes to procedures were made...the University's former chief legal officer lost his job...  And the worst that can come from this is a fine.  Nothing will happen to the alleged perpetrators, the alleged victims or any one else.

[dw3dw3dw3]

I get that, probably worded a little strong,  my point is there at least was some inference to the alleged victims not to pursue this because of its high profile athlete nature. This is a very gray area and even the Dept of Ed thinks that the accuser should know the potential of what would happen, at least according to this (http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/us-reviewing-marquette-response-to-sex-assault-reports-4e30gub-133656848.html)

"Federal law requires universities to encourage victims to report crime to law enforcement officers, according to Daniel Carter, Security on Campus' director of public policy. At the same time, universities also are allowed to tell those who report crimes about the possible ramifications if they make their accusations public.
"There's a fine line between helping someone make a decision or dissuading someone from making a decision," Carter said."

IMO the gray area opens itself up to public opinion, and when the other side is athletes, public opinion is not going to be on your side. You could assume, at a minimum, the accuser heard (not what was actually said) from public safety that she should think twice about going to the police because of the high profile nature of the case. If the alleged athletes were instead a couple of Engineering students, the message would be different to the accuser, possibly only slightly, but different because of the non-high profile nature of engineering students. It almost needs to be a canned response from the Dept of Ed that needs to be relayed to the students (and signed) so that no favoritism can even be inferred.

[Lennys Tap]

So the feds are going to come in, "study" and then rubber stamp the findings of the local authorities. Your tax dollars at work.

[Blue Horseshoe]

This is not to be taken lightly. The same Dept. of Education is investigating Penn State. The circumstances are different, but ignoring allegations of sexual misconduct is a mistake.

[mr.MUskie]

The (Chicago suburban) Daily Herald ran this Associated Press story in it's main news section today, directly under an article entitled "The Penn State scandal:  If it happened here, how would suburban schools handle it?"  

Federal Agency investigating Marquette response
MILWAUKEE -- The U.S. Department of Education confirms it is reviewing how Marquette University handled two separate cases of alleged sexual assault involving athletes.
The review falls under the federal Clery Act -- the same act that prompted federal authorities to launch an investigation of the alleged sexual abuse scandal involving a former Penn State University football coach.
Last May, a district attorney said prosecutors had decided not to charge several Marquette athletes accused of sexual assault because the school failed to notify police of the alleged incidents.
A Marquette spokeswoman said the school has provided the Education Department with all requested information. She said there have been no requests for on-campus interviews.

[dw3dw3dw3]

The bad part is they (Dept of Ed) are looking to make a statement. Politically motivated (most likely to ramp up positive messages for 2012) or not, hopefully the statement will be about the PSU scandal, however laying down the law against MU would be an easy win for them and score some headlines.

[Pakuni]

This is not to be taken lightly. The same Dept. of Education is investigating Penn State. The circumstances are different, but ignoring allegations of sexual misconduct is a mistake.

Also the same federal government that went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Can a full-scale military invasion - preceded, of course, by a merciless bombing campaign - of Marquette's campus be far behind?

[GGGG]

This is not to be taken lightly. The same Dept. of Education is investigating Penn State. The circumstances are different, but ignoring allegations of sexual misconduct is a mistake.

It's not to be taken lightly, but honestly the worst that can come from it is a fine.  And its not the sexual misconduct that is the issue, but the *reporting* of it.  If MU shows what they have done to improve their procedures, they will be fine.

The bad part is they (Dept of Ed) are looking to make a statement. Politically motivated

Oh good lord no.  This is routine stuff when they get complaints.  This isn't that uncommon.  Remember when I mentioned the federal regulations universities have to go through when they accept federal financial aid money?  This is one of them. 

[Lennys Tap]

This is not to be taken lightly. The same Dept. of Education is investigating Penn State. The circumstances are different, but ignoring allegations of sexual misconduct is a mistake.

[Lennys Tap]

It's not to be taken lightly, but honestly the worst that can come from it is a fine.  And its not the sexual misconduct that is the issue, but the *reporting* of it.  If MU shows what they have done to improve their procedures, they will be fine.


Oh good lord no.  This is routine stuff when they get complaints.  This isn't that uncommon.  Remember when I mentioned the federal regulations universities have to go through when they accept federal financial aid money?  This is one of them. 

So it's not a political, headline grabbing vendetta. Just a paper shuffling, bureaucratic redundancy. That's a relief, I guess.

[GGGG]

Lennys, call it what you will, but this isn't politically motivated.  It is a federal law that MU is beholden to comply with.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

It's not to be taken lightly, but honestly the worst that can come from it is a fine.  And its not the sexual misconduct that is the issue, but the *reporting* of it.  If MU shows what they have done to improve their procedures, they will be fine.


Oh good lord no.  This is routine stuff when they get complaints.  This isn't that uncommon.  Remember when I mentioned the federal regulations universities have to go through when they accept federal financial aid money?  This is one of them. 

You're probably right, but the PR damage is very real.

[Lennys Tap]

Lennys, call it what you will, but this isn't politically motivated.  It is a federal law that MU is beholden to comply with.

I think you're probably right, but it still seems wasteful. Why do we need the federal government to spend taxpayer $ investigating something that's already been the subject of an extensive, case closed local governmental investigation?

[GGGG]

I think you're probably right, but it still seems wasteful. Why do we need the federal government to spend taxpayer $ investigating something that's already been the subject of an extensive, case closed local governmental investigation?

Talk to your Congress-critter.  They are the ones that had the bright idea to pass the Cleary Act.

[MUMBA]

Agendas? Vandetas?  Politically motivated statements?  A bankrupt newspaper trying to sell copy?  This is all very imaginative.  In reality, they likely have an interest in verifying that justice was legitimately pursued.  I assume that they'll verify that the policies are in place to acheive justice (for the alleged victims and defendents) going forward.