Lacrosse ugliness at U.Va.

Sport is fine but the level of entitlement of players at elite schools is second to none.

 

How do you let the teams play?
How do you shut their seasons down?

What a nightmare.

 

From what I've heard, that's totally a fair statement for many players, but it doesn't apply to all of them. I know a guy who was UVA's starting goalie several years ago, and he's one of the nicer people I've met in the world of lacrosse.

 

Lax is so widely played up and down the east coast than anyone who thinks ALL lax players are prep school dickheads with entitlement issues is generalizing. For pete's sake, a ton of the best lax players in the nation are tough guys from Long Island with accents thicker than marinara.

HOWEVER, Landon Prep is one of the places that breeds dickheads with entitlement issues. It's probably the prepiest prep school in the DC Metro area. So expect this to once again become a huge debate about rich boys who believe they're above the law.

 

For the women's team, let them decide if they want to play, to honor their teammate, or to let them mourn.

For the men's team, investigate to see if any other players were involved. If not, either let them play, or not play to honor the woman. And if more players are involved, then you shut things down.

 

Based on what's been reported, I'm more inclined to think it's a psycho ex-boyfriend situation than a matter of elitism run amuck.

 

Ah, but maybe he's a psycho ex who doesn't like being told no by anybody, including the young women around him, because he's a spoiled rich boy. Who knows?

 

Horrendous. Just last week, another lacrosse player was convicted of manslaughter in a hate crime against an Ecuadorian immigrant.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/nyregion/20patchogue.html?pagewanted=all

Personally, I've met some of the finest, most upstanding people in the world of lacrosse...but apparently, the dark underbelly of that world is REALLY dark.

 

He was also a football player and wrester. So why just identify him as a lacrosse player?

 

Good question. Because of this:

"If Mr. Conroy were not in jail, he said he could imagine the life he would be leading: playing midfield on a college lacrosse team, either at the State University at Albany or at Plattsburgh."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/nyregion/30patchogue.html?pagewanted=all

 

God, I was in Durham during the Duke lacrosse fiasco and now I'm in Charlottesville for this. Both times the atmosphere around town is just indescribable. I hate to see lacrosse players labeled as spoiled punks, because I've grown to love the game and have met some great people playing it. I was at lacrosse practice on Thursday to work on a feature on a backup goalie and everybody I've met on the team seems like good people. I'm just absolutely flabbergasted right now.

 

I'd like to think the Duke lacrosse case taught us all about the rush to judgment. Until we have all the facts, statements like that are premature.

Having said that, it's unfortunate that George Huguely the lacrosse player found himself in a situation where he's facing these charges, even if they turn out to be wholly unfounded.