I hate doing this, but I have a very strong opinion on the recent allegations against the two unnamed MSU players, and since comments on the story are closed I'd like to use this as a sounding board. Like in the Only Colors original post on this subject please refrain from speculation (despite the fact that most people on campus pretty much know who the players are) and any inappropriate comments since this is a very touchy topic.

First off, the original story can be found here. If you are unfamiliar with the case please read it and LVS's original post just to get some perspective.

In the comments page of the original post many people demanded dismissal from the team and assumed that the two players did in fact commit rape, which is one of the worst crimes possible. What's being either forgot or dismissed is the fact that the affidavit and the alleged victim were looked over by two prosecutors (both female by the way) who advised not to prosecute.

Why? Because in the corraborated chain of events both of them determined that the victim:

She [the victim] fully understood and agreed

The prosecutor ran a mock-questioning of the victim as well, asking legitimate questions like:

...whether or not it was possible the perpetrators thought the activity was consensual, why she didn't yell and scream and why she didn't run or try and fight her way out of the room.

On top of this there is a witness to the crime, the players' suite-mate who upon questioning stated:

he heard a woman "moaning" and said it sounded like she was having sex "and was not in any trouble."

When another person enters a room whilst a woman is being raped, logic may dictate that the woman would signal to the person that she was in trouble. On top of this she was in a dormitory, and as I think everyone who has ever lived in a dorm would agree, any screams for help or sounds of struggle would eventually be heard.

I'm not trying to blame the victim. I think that she was most certainly taken advantage of in her drunken state. However in the player's account which was confirmed by the victim, after he stopped engaging in sexual activity due to her wishes, the other player coaxed her back into it. I know for a fact that it is at times very easy to convince a drunk person to do something they wouldn't otherwise do had they been sober. However the word coax is not a synonym for "forced".

In conclusion I think the real deal breaker here is that two prosecutors feel this case is not worth prosecuting. Two. I think the victim feels wronged, and in the players statement he feels they "disrespected" her. The presence of alcohol and the mixed signals that seem to have been sent from both sides make this case nearly impossible to try. Depending on your moral standpoint two players "tag teaming" a drunk girl may be reprehensible, however to this humble writer it seems more like a night of drunken copulation that went wrong. I think in cases like this you have to look at both sides and find the correct middle ground, and that's it for me. I don't think she's making it up like in the Duke Lacrosse or Kobe Bryant case but I don't think these players are thugs who enjoy forcing themselves upon young women.

So what should the players punishment be? Nothing. Unless charges are filed and they are found guilty the team should not punish the players seeing how they are innocent until proven guilty. I do think Izzo should let these two know that they are on a tight leash however.

Blast away at my stance, but please remember to keep it clean and not speculate or be offensive.