Duke Basketball (II): Notes on a Scandal
I am getting a lot of blowback from the Duke basketball fans since I published my original article “Duke Basketball - A Social Change in the Sports World/A Last Hurrah”. Most of the blowback is coming from the Duke faithful off the campus. And what is surprising is that a great deal of the blowback artists are Black folks. When I look at the “Cameron Crazies” I see one or two Black faces in the crowd. But in the LinkedIn world and the Twitter world I have been surprised to find that there are droves of Black Duke fans.
Not so surprising though is that they all seem to be fanatical. But it is not clear whether they are fanatical about college basketball or fanatical about Duke college basketball. But early indications are that it is the latter. And most of them reside in the Northeast rather than here in the South. As an aside to this, a North Carolina Supreme Court Justice one said, “I spent my whole life in the state of North Carolina except for the 4 years I was at Duke University”. This confirmed one of my suspicions that Duke University is in the South but it is not a Southern school. Which is why I suspect the university is going to do the right thing in the area of Social Evolution as the oncoming scandal approaches.
The scandalous affair pertaining to 3 former Black Duke University students Justin Fairfax, Meredith Watson, and Corey Maggette has surfaced after being "buried" since 1999. The university will be in a compelled Social Evolution when the scandal surrounding the basketball program becomes larger than the universities justice and money.
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The affairs pertaining to 3 former Black Duke University students Justin Fairfax, Meredith Watson, and Corey Maggette has surfaced something like this:
Justin Edward Fairfax is an American politician and lawyer who has been serving since 2018 as the 41st Lieutenant Governor of the state of Virginia. A member of the Democratic party, he defeated Republican nominee Jill Vogel in the 2017 election. He is the second Black politician elected statewide, following former governor Douglas Wilder.
In early February 2019, it was reported that Fairfax had been accused by Vanessa C. Tyson, an associate professor at Scripps College and a fellow at Stanford University, of sexual assault in a hotel room at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, MA. Mr. Fairfax over the summer of 2004, had joined the John Kerry presidential campaign as a body man for vice presidential candidate John Edwards. A body man or body woman is, in U.S. political jargon, a civilian personal assistant and sometimes valet to a politician or political candidate. Such a person accompanies the politician or candidate virtually everywhere, often arranging lodging, transportation, and meals, and providing snacks, a cell phone, and any other necessary assistance.
Tyson said she had suppressed memories of the event but began telling close friends about it when she saw pictures of Fairfax running for lieutenant governor in 2017. Tyson had first approached the Washington Post with her allegation after Fairfax won election in November 2017, but the Post said that it decided not to run the story because it could not corroborate the story or find similar incidents in Fairfax's past. Tyson also approached a friend, the Black Virginia Congressman Bobby Scott with the allegation around the same time, but Scott declined to act on it. According to the New York Times at least six friends of Tyson reported that she told them about the alleged assault between 2017 and 2018. Fairfax denied the accusation, saying his encounter with Tyson was consensual and the timing of the reports was intended to smear him.
Beginning February 1, after the discovery of a racist photo on Virginia Governor Ralph Northam's medical school yearbook, there had been widespread calls for Northam to resign and let Fairfax become Governor of Virginia. Fairfax also insinuated that supporters of Northam, or someone connected with another Black office holder Richmond Virginia mayor Levar Stoney, a potential political rival since both were speculated as possible Democratic candidates for governor in 2021, may have been behind the allegation going public.
On February 8, 2019, a second woman, Meredith Watson, came forward with sexual assault allegations against Fairfax, alleging that he raped her in a "premeditated and aggressive" attack in 1999/2000 when both were undergraduate students at Duke University. A college friend of Watson stated she remembered Watson telling her about the assault the day after it happened. Watson said she had been previously raped by a Duke basketball player, later identified as Corey Maggette, and brought the matter to the dean but was discouraged from pursuing the matter.
Watson's attorney said that Watson had one interaction with Fairfax after the alleged assault outside a campus party, during which Watson said "Why did you do it?" and reported Fairfax replied, "I knew that because of what happened to you and Corey Maggette last year, you’d be too afraid to say anything." Watson's attorney said this showed Fairfax "used the prior rape of his 'friend' against her when he chose to rape her in a premeditated way." Fairfax denied the second accusation.
According to the Washington Post, after the allegations became public, Fairfax was placed on leave from his law firm, asked to step down from the board of visitors at Duke University's Sanford School of Public policy, and left his post as chairman of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association. Four of his staffers (two from his state office and two from his political action committee) quit in the wake of the allegations.
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The national media has been all over the Justin Fairfax, Ralph Northam angle, but fairly reticent pertaining to the Duke basketball angle. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the social media has been all over the Duke basketball angle. There are several explanations for this. First, there are lots of Duke alumni in the nations newsrooms. When I resided, and worked in New York, Madison Square Garden and the other NY basketball arena Barclays in Brooklyn were often referred as Cameron Indoor Stadium North. Second, Maggette works for the Fox Sports Network - as a sportscaster - which is owned and operated by Fox News Group. Under the Fox umbrella are multiple media properties including the NY Post which has one of the best sports pages in America; and these media properties are seemingly reluctant to beat up on one of their own. ESPN, a Fox Sports competitor, has reported very little pertaining to Duke University’s complicity in the matter not being made public since 1999 because scandal among athletes is not their thing - they are a “Rah, Rah” behind the athlete’s type of TV sports organization. Interestingly, the sportscasters formerly working at ESPN who could tell-it-like-it-is (Colin Cowherd, Jason Whitlock, and Skip Bayless) have all left ESPN and are now working for the Fox Sports Network.
So, the storm is brewing among the little folks on social media. And the storm is raging as to whether or not this scandal will engulf the Duke basketball program and/or the Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski or both.
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Duke Blue Devils Men’s Basketball and Coach Mike Krzyzewski
The Duke Blue Devils Men's Basketball team represents Duke University in NCAA Division I college basketball and competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The team is fourth all-time in wins of any NCAA men's basketball program, and is coached by Mike Krzyzewski. Duke has won 5 NCAA Championships (tied with Indiana for fourth all-time behind UCLA, Kentucky and North Carolina) and appeared in 11 NCAA Championship Games (third all-time) and 16 Final Fours (fourth all-time behind North Carolina, UCLA, and Kentucky), and has an NCAA-best .755 NCAA tournament winning percentage.
Mike Krzyzewski is a two-time inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, in 2001 for his individual coaching career and in 2010 as part of the collective induction of the "Dream Team". And he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, and the United States Olympic Hall of Fame in 2009. On November 15, 2011, Krzyzewski became the coach with the most wins in NCAA Division I men's basketball history. Krzyzewski's 903rd victory set a new record, breaking that held by his former coach, Bob Knight. On January 25, 2015, Krzyzewski became the first Division I men's basketball coach to reach 1,000 wins
When the allegations against Corey Maggette first broke on February 8, A.J. Perez of USA Today reported that Coach Mike Krzyzewski made the following statement:
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski says he's not sure if a rape allegation against one of his former players is "true or not” and he didn't know about the accusation until hours after it became public Friday. Meredith Watson, the second woman to come forward to accuse Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault, said in a statement released by her lawyer that she was raped two decades ago by an unspecified Duke basketball player. Krzyzewski responded to that allegation for the first time after Duke defeated Virginia 81-71 Saturday night.
"I think there was an allegation made, right?” Krzyzewski said. “So, I'm not sure if it's true or not, but there is an allegation. I did not find out about until late last night. I had no knowledge. That (allegation) is hugely important and our university will take care of whatever actions and give whatever information that is needed."
A person with knowledge of the alleged sexual assault told USA TODAY Sports that the incident occurred in 1999, a year before Watson said Fairfax sexually assaulted her when both were students at Duke. That person was granted anonymity because details of the incident have not been made public. Nancy Erika Smith, Watson’s attorney, wrote in a statement Friday that Watson “went to the dean, who provided no help and discouraged her from pursuing the claim further.”
Duke’s student newspaper, The Chronicle, detailed two sexual abuse allegations made against guard Rasheed Sulaimon after Sulaimon became the first player in Krzyzewski’s tenure to be dismissed from the team in 2015. The two women were allegedly assaulted during the 2013-14 academic year, although neither filed a complaint with the school or with local police, The Chronicle reported. The Chronicle, citing multiple anonymous sources, said multiple members of the athletic department had knowledge of the accusations. No charges were filed in either allegation.
Krzyzewski said in a statement at the time that “Rasheed repeatedly struggled to meet the necessary obligations.” While Krzyzewski didn’t state what obligations Sulaimon failed to meet, Sulaimon’s mother told The Baltimore Sun in October 2015 after her son transferred to the University of Maryland that the allegations played a role. “He didn’t want to deal with it,” Angela Sulaimon told the newspaper. “He wanted to go on with the season. But there was no record, there were no formal charges. Nobody said, ‘Yes, he did it.’”
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A few days later, February 12, USA Today reported the following:
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski on Tuesday addressed Corey Maggette being identified as the unnamed Duke men’s basketball player who allegedly sexually assaulted Meredith Watson. A friend of Watson’s confirmed in an email to USA TODAY Sports on Monday that she had told him that she was raped by Maggette when the two were at the university in 1999.
Krzyzewski first yielded to his earlier statement Saturday, before Maggette was named, but when on the explain that it was a matter that needed to be handled by the university. “I had no knowledge,” Krzyzewski said following win against Louisville. “At that level, for that serious of an accusation, it’s always university-level. Always. Our university will handle everything, and that’s what should happen. Coach shouldn’t do anything with that. “I have no knowledge of it, but I’m not the one — our university should do all that, and rightfully so. That’s the level where it needs to happen.”
Maggette, who was first identified as the alleged perpetrator the New York Times denied the accusation. "I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my life and I completely and categorically deny any such charge," Maggette said in the statement issued through a spokesperson.
Duke is also investigating the allegation against Maggette.
"We are in the process of gathering information to determine what policies and procedures were in place during the time period in which these events are alleged to have occurred, and whether they were activated and followed," Duke said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports Monday. "We are not able to provide further information or comment on any individual at this time." Last week Watson became the second woman to come forward to accuse Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of a "premeditated and aggressive" sexual assault.
Follow USA TODAY Sports' Evan Hilbert on Twitter @evanhilbert.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mike Krzyzewski addresses Corey Maggette being accused of rape during his time at Duke
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When I published my original article “Duke Basketball - A Social Change in the Sports World/A Last Hurrah” this story had not broken. My original story was based in the recruiting of high school players and the “recruiting wars” between college basketball powers Duke, the University of North Carolina (UNC), and the University of Kentucky. I based my story on 2 premises that were evident at the time, and one premise that has become apparent since.
First premise was that a recruiting crop like this one that Duke has assembled this college basketball season will not be accomplished by Duke again because Jeff Caple - Duke’s master recruiter - is no longer with the Duke basketball program. Second premise, is that the NBA and the NCAA is seriously considering a relaxation of the rules prohibiting high-school players to go directly from high school to the NBA. The third premise, that has become apparent since - between the writing of my original story and the breaking of this story - is based on a glance at the 2019 ESPN 100 top high school basketball players and seeing that only 15 are uncommitted. Of the top 10 only 3 are uncommitted and of those 3 UNC is only recruiting 1 (Anthony Cole), Duke is only recruiting 1 (Matthew Hurt), and Kentucky is only recruiting 1 (Jaden McDaniels). Of the next group 16 thru 50 players only 1 is being recruited by one of the 3 powers (# 38 Kelon Brooks/UNC). This tells me that the talent is out there to build a squad like Duke has now, but the other programs have stepped up their recruiting of the players, and parity has come to the college recruiting game. Presently, of the top 50 players in the 2019 ESPN 100 top high school basketball players no school had signed more that 2 players.
Since the story broke I have made one main prediction and made one main speculation pertaining to the Duke Blue Devils Men's Basketball program that has the Duke faithful all riled up and throwing daggers back at me. Prediction # 1) The Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski would deny any knowledge of the alleged assault by Corey Maggette on Meredith Watson back in 1999. Speculation # 1) Not only did he know about it, and if you read how Duke’s student newspaper, The Chronicle, detailed how the two sexual abuse allegations made against guard Rasheed Sulaimon was handled back in 2015, you will see that this kind of stuff concerning Duke basketball players is Krzyzewski’s bailiwick; and there is no way he could not have known. Upon review Question # 1) Why deny it? If the Maggette matter it was handled back in 1999 the way the Sulaimon matter was handled in 2015 - the answer is they simply did not know what to do with it. Although, the Maggette matter should have given the Athletic Administration some kind of playbook.
Other powerful college basketball coaches in the past such as Bobby Knight, Jim Valvano, Rick Pitino all have one thing in common. When the scandal surrounding the program becomes larger than university justice and money - the head of the program has to go. In other words, and quite simply, there are perhaps 5 families who have sons that are great high-school basketball players who are hoping and praying that their son gets into Duke - to play basketball on a “for free ride”. But there are perhaps 5000 or more families who have daughters who are valedictorians who are hoping and praying that their daughters get into Duke - for money on the barrelhead. I can imagine the Duke Academic Administration does not want to be in a position where they have to answer questions about the possibility of basketball players raping their daughters. Therefore, I continue to imagine, the Duke Academic Administration has to restore justice - and take the cash money on the barrelhead and tone down the Athletic Administration.
As indicated above, this is sociocultural evolution. The philosophical idea that society moves forward by evolutionary means. It may refer to a paradigmatic change in the socio-economic structure, for instance a shift away from structuring society around relationships (i.e., coach, player, team and free rides) and towards a larger structure such as justice and tuition money from the larger population. Therefore, as a first step in the process, the administration has to eliminate the cause and effect.
There is one “hail-mary” possible saving grace for the program. And that is the “Dean” that Meredith Watson reported the rape incident to. According to my research there is only one individual in the Dean’s 5-person office that was on the staff in 1999 (An Associate Dean). He may take one for the team and admit that he “buried” it from the Duke Academic Administration, Krzyzewski and the Athletic Administration. Or, he may remember the incident being reported to whomever was the Dean of Students at the time, and that person takes the fall. Otherwise, it’s curtains for Krzyzewski.
There is no penalty for lying to the press. But the Duke University investigation as well as the NCAA will look at “Lack of Program Oversight” - which is how they got Rick Petino (sexual scandal) and Art Bryles (sexual assault scandal), and Bobby Knight (unacceptable pattern of behavior). And, any sworn testimony given in any of he criminal proceedings emanating from the rape allegations will fodder for those seeking who to blame for the burying of the rape allegations for 20 years.
And even if there are no NCAA sanctions on the program, without Krzyzewski and Capel there will be no more bumper crops of recruits, no more sold out arenas up north, no more NCAA championships. But Duke will still be a great university and safe place for the 5000 female valedictorians.
Predicted Aftermath -
This Year’s Team - This team could win it all (Dukes’ 6th NCAA Championship). I did not think they had enough upper classmen leadership (a Krzyzewski model) until I witnesses the Virginia game victory and the Louisville game victory. What this team lacks in one or two areas they make up for with comradery. As they get further and further into the NCAA tournament they will run into more opponents that can fully execute the Louisville strategy - beat them off the boards, do not allow then to get into transition, and force them to shoot 3s. The problem for those opponents will be that this Duke squad has seen it all before - and beaten it before.
Meredith Watson, and Vanessa Tyson: I have lived it: The Black Woman as Head of Household. Living in this world with you two courageous young women has helped me to better understand why this has always been so.
Justin Fairfax, and Corey Maggette: I wish I could relay to these 2 guys, and the young Black guys out there in the social media world who are giving me the most blow back, a story about the first time I saw Barak Obama. It was in a crowded and very large, and very noisy room in New York. And the oldest person in the room, an old Black lady, was trying her best to make it thru the crowd so she could get closer to the then candidate and future Black president of the United States. Occasionally, someone or something would get in her way and she would push them or it aside and mumble something that sounded like, “I want to tell him something”. When she finally got to Barak, I was standing nearby, and I heard her say, “I am so proud of you”. I wonder how many old Black ladies and other Black folks were proud of Justin Fairfax? One of the “blow-back” boys publish that he wants to grow up to become a sportscaster. I wonder if he is so much in love with Duke basketball that he is still proud of Corey Maggette. These 2 guys had every opportunity that Dr. King sacrificed for, and if they are guilty, they have embarrassed our whole race.
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