Duke Lacrosse players granted 5th year of eligiblity

[mblax10]

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What are they going to do for the 3 kids who were charged, I wonder?

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Evans was a senior in '06. I don't think the '06 seniors were given a 5th year.

Seligmann and Finnerty were both Sophomores in '06. Seligmann announced this week he is going to play for Brown next year. Finnerty was invited back to Duke and is undecided. I believe both have 3 more years of eligibility.

[mblax10]

Comments from D1 Lax coaches from various sources:

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-There is a part of you that says, 'Hey, good for [the players].' They were wronged. But there is a part of you that says, 'Hey, Duke University made a lot of mistakes' [in the aftermath of the allegations].

-This is going to affect a lot of things. It affects finances. If all [12.6] scholarships are given away, how do they come back? How does it work for the kids who were recruited and are coming in, thinking they've got an opportunity to play?

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Dave Pietramala, Johns Hopkins

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-I just think, on the surface, it just appears that the N.C.A.A. didn’t put any thought into this whatsoever. One of their prestigious institutions, that happens to be a player in a major sport, asked for something involving lacrosse, and they gave it to them.

-There's no chance the NCAA moves like this if its a basketball or football issue.

-The court of public opinion got to the point where in general the public, as they've gotten to know these kids said, 'hey these are pretty nice kids. I was rooting for Duke last weekend and remember saying afterward, well maybe we can stop talking about this now. The NCAA made this where now you can talk about this another couple years.

-I know that the coaches and players wanted an explanation, or an apology maybe, before they wanted the extra year back. In lieu of that, Duke stepped up and said, ‘Look what we’re doing for you.’ I don’t think anyone is being held accountable for what happened here.

-I'll be honest, I was looking forward to seeing Matt [Danowski] in a Chicago Machine jersey next year. Really, though, right now you have Duke potentially able to choose a team from five classes while the rest of us have four.

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Dom Starsia, Virginia

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-There’s a huge pink elephant here. What about [Former Duke head coach] Mike Pressler? What about Reade [Seligmann] and Collin [Finnerty]? Will their new schools be able to put in for the year? What about the competitive disadvantage that happens to a team that may now have to play against all these guys? The overriding factor for me is that I know this thing is just starting.”

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Bill Tierney, Princeton

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-Wow. I'm shocked, to be very honest with you, that they got it back, but that's based on little to no information about what information and criteria the NCAA based its decision on. It's not my place (to judge). But based on everything I've seen throughout my tenure as a coach, knowing the kind of decisions (the NCAA has) made in the past, the number of games Duke played and that their season was ended by the University and not the NCAA makes it more surprising.

-They're stacked (with seniors). If all those guys come back, they've got to be heavy favorites to be frontrunners for the national championship.

-I'm happy for the kids. Obviously those guys went through a lot. It seems a lot of it was unfair in terms of the reactions that were made — the sanctions that were made. In a way you have to feel like they've been through so much, at least give them another opportunity to relive what they missed out on as juniors.

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Jeff Tambroni, Cornell

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-I like the Duke kids and feel the pain they went through, but you have to understand I'm coming from a competitive situation. It's difficult to comprehend having to play against five classes of players rather than four.

-It was an overreaction on one side to stop the season, and it's an overreaction on the other side to give them another season after they already played [eight] games.


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Dave Cottle, Maryland


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-I'm happy for the young men, but I think it opens up a lot of new issues. It opens up Pandora's box.

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Charley Toomey, Loyola