SLU_Lax

This is more appropriately put. It would put a stain on Ford that would stay with him if he did not ensure Gordon was released.

It would be another garbage move by SLU not to release him if he requests it. This is NOT what he signed up for. The only bigger garbage move was waiting until the first week of the new semester to railroad the S2 kids to ensure the incurred maximum damage.

Maybe Lindenwood would have interest in buying Chaifetz Arena?

I think what is stopping them from doing this is the amount of time and effort for a school that CLEARLY does not want them there. They are best served by spending their time and energy suing the school for as much cash as they can get and appealing to the NCAA to get back on the court at a school that does want them as quickly as possible.

Rosenblum seems to be going after Kratky. How dare he question the Gold Standard of processes. It results in punishment for the men 100% of the time and that is something that SLU apparently can be very proud of.

D3 is a very reasonable path for the school to pursue. It will be a long while until interest comes back. It sounds like a few season ticket holders since the late 60s and early 70s are strongly considering stopping (and those are just the older people that I know).

If Gordon wants out of his commitment (or Pearson or Thatch), the absolutely right thing to do is to let him leave. This is NOT what he signed up for. I am sure most of my feelings are because I am upset, but I am even beginning to wonder if it is just a bad idea in general for a black male to decide to attend SLU. I do not think Pestello is a racist, but understood the terrible optics. At some point you wonder if it is more than just bad optics.

Awesome. Thank you. I am looking forward to some good news.

It is also difficult to prove intent. My understanding is whomever posted the video says they meant to post it privately and not to be open to the public.

Anything happening on the coaching front?

How is it a safe place for daughters when accusations of sexual assault take 4 months to get resolved? The players are still in school. This process is unfair for all sides. I would immediately conclude as a father that the school is incompetent. This situation isn’t that tough. There aren’t ins and outs to this case. They aren’t trying to bring down the mob by catching little fish and trying to get them to flip on bigger fish. It is a single incident over a single night. It’s not trying to unwind some huge conspiracy. It all reeks of incompetence.

They can be paid. They are not being paid because they are basketball players. They are being paid because their lawyers worked out a settlement for the screw ups of the school. Dez Wells was paid by Xavier (in an out-of-court settlement) and that certainly had no impact on his amateur status. Playing basketball and wrongfully getting "the high hard one" from the Gold Standard of processes are two separate items. I do know there will be some care taken that the damages will not be defined as missed basketball games, but instead will be defined as damage to their reputation and future earnings (earnings do not have to be basketball related).

If the school wants to dodge negative press, a proactive settlement is the best way to do it. They may even reach a settlement with both the accusers and the accused before this is done. After all, the Gold Standard is screwing up a process so badly that both the accused and aggrieved parties have legitimate complaints.

Also, if SLU was smart they will reach a secret/undisclosed financial settlement with the players immediately after announcing their decision (regardless of what the decision is).

Dez Wells sued Xavier and got an undisclosed settlement from them. He also got to transfer to Maryland and not sit out a year. Dez avoided sitting out because he was expelled by Xavier. Xavier was tough on Dez because they botched other investigations the other way and received criticism for not taking sexual assaults seriously. They simply made an example of him (evidence be damned).

So can baby wipes, but it’s still worth it! Think of the recruiting bonanza if the new locker rooms were stocked with Pampers wipes.

Much better finish. Gordon looked pretty good playing the 6’10 McCormack from Oak Hill.

No truer words have ever been spoken. What does her having a baby have to do with this absolute abortion of justice for everyone in this situation? I am compassionate and understand that life is not easy, but a regularly occurring event like having a child is NOT a legitimate excuse to punish 6-7 kids unfairly and force 6-7 kids to put their lives on hold (to varying degrees). The three basketball players lives will all be less because of her actions. The women may never want to report anything to authorities again for fear that they will get wrapped up in some ridiculous 120+ day process again. Everyone loses.

Sadly, I agree with this.

It is 4 players that are involved in the incident. Only 3 players are currently suspended. I am just noting that this powder keg seems ready to explode and it has probably gotten to the point that if the players were reinstated that the anger of those who believed they were innocent will be louder and more visible than those that think they are guilty. I do not think this egg is done exploding. If the school announces the players are reinstated, now both sides will be YELLING at the administration and Pestello will hear more cries of racism from the players' supporters. They may even see lawsuits from both the accusers and the accused. This is just wild.

Is this the point that the school has lost complete control? Pestello constantly being called a racist is a terrible look and while it is not true, his silence makes it an accusation that has a chance to stick. So at what point does the school just need to expel all 4 players regardless of the evidence and write them a big check to go away? At some point it becomes indefensible that this took so long if the kids are not ultimately expelled (i.e. the nuclear option). I really hope this is not the case, but this is getting completely nuts.

This is me guessing (and I am only guessing on top of your guess), but I do not think this would be an enforceable stipulation. If they are reinstated early, I guess the school could say that their punishment would be reduced in return for the players agreeing to a hold harmless agreement with the school. If the school simply says "this process is over, but to continue to be a student and to be activated on the basketball team you must sign this hold harmless agreement", it is completely unenforceable as there is no "consideration" being given to the players in return for that hold harmless. The school would then be saying that you joined school and the team under this understanding, now that you are here we are adding this requirement or we are going to take things away from you. I could also see that the school (private or not) would be viewed as trying to improperly limit the boys rights that are guaranteed by federal law/regulations. Again, I am way out of my area of knowledge. I just have trouble viewing this as an enforceable requirement.

If they are found innocent/not punished, it does NOT in any way change the fact that the school punished someone that their own protracted investigation could not find ample evidence to punish. It looks awful that things were drawn out and spinning it could make the school look worse. The spin could evolve into "since the allegations were really serious, we made sure to punish the players (and then extend that punishment as long as possible) regardless of outcome to let people know how serious the allegations are". That will play as well as the Kratky Title IX story in the Post about the kid who got expelled and then it was overturned when the girl with the overnight bag stayed at his apartment.

Hopefully we will have some better understanding in the next 20 or so days.

That case was MUCH more complicated as it involved the "triangle of silence" among the coaches and an entire system that was established over 6 years to keep any improprieties quiet. It also involved an accuser who was unwilling to cooperate. It covered a MUCH, MUCH broader scope than our investigation is covering. I would, however, say that Rich was not fired because of Title IX. He was fired because the team was not winning at an acceptable level. If he was winning, this would not have been an issue. He also appears to get his full severance package and the only thing he was established to have done is cheating on his wife (and being committed to created his "triangle of silence" which is certainly not a good look).