Providence Police now investigating the suspended pc players

Gunboat · Unread post by **Gunboat** » 10 years ago

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1 ... reno64-wsj

@SamWalkers: Exclusive: Providence police are investigating a sexual assault claim against two basketball players. http://t.co/aJeNVgxFpz

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 10 years ago

if this was investigated since november, why is this coming out now? sketchy

makes PC look shadowy in terms of the handling of a potentially embarrassing situation, makes Cooley look good and makes Altman look like a d-bag.

Gunboat · Unread post by **Gunboat** » 10 years ago

bigappleram wrote:if this was investigated since november, why is this coming out now? sketchy

makes PC look shadowy in terms of the handling of a potentially embarrassing situation, makes Cooley look good and makes Altman look like a d-bag.

The girl finally decided to go to the police somewhat recently. I can only surmise that she wasn't happy with the punishment handed down by pc, but that's just a guess.

The article also says that Oregon was told by pc that the infraction was minor. They don't seem happy to find out the seriousness of the charges.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 10 years ago

"I explained that I could not speak to the details of the suspension but that we were taking the matter very seriously."

To me that seems like Cooley is saying he told them it was serious. And then Altman asked the kid and decided a consensual menage a trois was not something he felt was serious.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 10 years ago

Timing of this is definitely curious.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 10 years ago

Any way you slice it, this is not good news for the PC program or Cooley either.

Talk about a distraction at the worst possible time.

Ram70 · Unread post by **Ram70** » 10 years ago

Very suspect...shades of a Penn State-like cover-up?

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

For some unknown reason, PC had Bullock in the net
cutting after the Creighton game.
Maybe the girl saw this and was pushed over the edge, and decides
he wasn't punished sufficiently, and made formal charges?
Who knows?
Between this and the Henton fiasco, why can't college athletes
behave themselves?

Smokinjimit · Unread post by **Smokinjimit** » 10 years ago

How did the WSJ hear about this before the projo?

Rhode_Island_Red · Unread post by **Rhode_Island_Red** » 10 years ago

Kevie is waiting for Pee-C to issue a press release.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 10 years ago

jimiT, because PC is the "favored son" of RI hoops.

If this was about URI, it would be plastered all over the news.

Something's very fishy here.

Smokinjimit · Unread post by **Smokinjimit** » 10 years ago

I like the part of the article that states it is not PC policy to report sexual assaults to the police. I believe that comes right from the Vatican.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 10 years ago

Talk about insular.

"What happens at PC stays at PC"

peeps4life · Unread post by **peeps4life** » 10 years ago

Smokinjimit wrote:I like the part of the article that states it is not PC policy to report sexual assaults to the police. I believe that comes right from the Vatican.

and i like the part where RI law doesn't require it.

why did this girl not go to the police in November? curious indeed...

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 10 years ago

rambone 78 wrote:jimiT, because PC is the "favored son" of RI hoops.

If this was about URI, it would be plastered all over the news.

Something's very fishy here.

As I have said repeatedly in my rants against Providence College, it is much bigger than hoops. This has very little to do with basketball, IMO. As an institution, Providence College is at the center of an insular, incestuous and infinitely corrupt social structure in and around the capital city that permeates all facets of life. Not just basketball. Basketball is the public face of the institution, which is why it draws some of my ire, but it in and of itself is not the problem. It goes much, much deeper than that. And it effects the entire state and is a big reason the state is so strange and backwards compared to its neighbors.

I have little doubt that if the perpetrators of this incident were the sons of connected lawyers from Providence or Barrington, or of state Assemblymen, or from families in NJ that were major donors to their home parish, that they would be afforded the same protections from the PC administration. I guess one thing you can say about them is that they are consistent. Unfortunately they are consistently terrible.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 10 years ago

Like everything else, there is probably more to this story than is being reported....

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 10 years ago

For Friar fans, it is the best of times (NCAA), it is the worst of times (sexual assault charges). It likely would have been much better for all parties had the charges been filed back in the fall. What should be a joyous time for PC hoops is now tainted with scandal.

The PC administration did all it could to keep this quiet in the fall dealing with it internally. The filing of charges now has to be their worst nightmare. The actions and words of PC officials will now be open to public scrutiny. Their internal process apparently found these two players to be guilty of some transgression given their suspension. Why then did PC only suspend these players from the program and not expel them from the school given the serious nature of these charges? Did the school put other coeds at risk by allowing these students to remain on campus? Why did Coach Cooley appear to want these players to be eligible to play and publicly support them with words indicating he felt bad for them given what is now known? What message was sent by having Bullock at MSG this past week having his name announced and being allowed to participate in the celebration and cutting down of the nets at their tournament championship?

It would seem that there will now be a lot questions being asked about what happened and how it is was dealt with. It is unfortunate for diehard Friar fans that this is all happening at a time of participation in the NCAA Tournament which should be getting enjoyed and savored.

ramfan85 · Unread post by **ramfan85** » 10 years ago

I'm sure Donaldson will write a scathing article about the liars...I mean friars.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 10 years ago

as a coach, cooley did all he could be expected to do. he took direction from the school and suspended the players for the season. i dont think this taints him as the guy running the program, nor does it have much impact on the current players. i doubt their play suffers because of this. what this does is cast a net over PC, a catholic institution, and its handling of a sex related crime. the prez and AD should be on the hot seat, not the coach.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 10 years ago

Plus, they have a looming APR problem.
How about Driscoll's tweet about "Ignoring the noise".
Seems a lot more than noise.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 10 years ago

bigappleram wrote:as a coach, cooley did all he could be expected to do. he took direction from the school and suspended the players for the season. i dont think this taints him as the guy running the program, nor does it have much impact on the current players. i doubt their play suffers because of this. what this does is cast a net over PC, a catholic institution, and its handling of a sex related crime. the prez and AD should be on the hot seat, not the coach.

I don't agree. It was pretty much common knowledge that Cooley was disappointed that these players were suspended. He even seemed to publicly support them stating he felt bad for them. He also allowed Bullock to take part in the celebration of winning the inaugural new Catholic Big East Tournament. He reportedly was even allowed to help cut down the nets. What kind of message is Ed Cooley sending with these words and actions? Some might deduce that Cooley either thinks the victim is a liar or sexual assault is not a big deal.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 10 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Plus, they have a looming APR problem.
How about Driscoll's tweet about "Ignoring the noise".
Seems a lot more than noise.

The intent of the tweet is not 100% known but one could very easily connect it to the PC sexual assault scandal. I think it was theefore a very poor decision by Driscoll to send that tweet out. It is not good that people may think he is implying that sexual assault is just "noise" and not something serious.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 10 years ago

RF1, as is usually the case, whether it was consensual is the missing piece. If he believes it was, then yes I can see him feeling like at this point Bullock's punishment had fit the crime. especially if he was operating under the assumption that the girl wasn't pressing charges.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 10 years ago

RF1 wrote:
rodfromcranston wrote:Plus, they have a looming APR problem.
How about Driscoll's tweet about "Ignoring the noise".
Seems a lot more than noise.

The intent of the tweet is not 100% known but one could very easily connect it to the PC sexual assault scandal. I think it was therefore a very poor decision by Driscoll to send that tweet out. It is not good that people may think he is implying that sexual assault is just "noise" and not something serious.

Bob Driscoll ‏@PCBobDriscoll 2m
Stay focused on what u control and block out the noise. #gofriars

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 10 years ago

bigappleram wrote:RF1, as is usually the case, whether it was consensual is the missing piece. If he believes it was, then yes I can see him feeling like at this point Bullock's punishment had fit the crime. especially if he was operating under the assumption that the girl wasn't pressing charges.

BAR, I kind of agreed with your first post about Cooley not being as much to blame as the school itself, but with respect to this idea that Cooley may have believed that the girl consented ... all due respect, but how the hell could he possibly have an opinion about whether the girl consented? That doesn't seem like it is his place to form an opinion or draw a conclusion about that. I think overall more of the blame falls on the administration at the school, but the things RF1 brought up definitely are questionable by Cooley, IMO.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 10 years ago

how could he have an opinion that the girl didn't consent? if she didn't press charges what is he to presume?

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 10 years ago

I think what you do in that situation is basically what he did - bar them from the team pending the results of an investigation - and withhold judgment. That is why I think the blame is mostly not on him. But allowing Bullock to participate in practice and in cutting down the nets (and obviously traveling with the team) undermines the message that you are taking it seriously and reserving judgment.

Having said that, maybe Bullock was only allowed to do those things after PC's internal investigation was concluded. In which case, obviously I think that is horse shit on the part of the school to do an "internal" investigation of a serious crime and fail to elevate it to law enforcement, but it isn't really Cooley's fault and with no criminal investigation ongoing he would be justified in bringing Bullock back on the team.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 10 years ago

The blame is on Cooley for recruiting these two guys in the first place AND in not being able to prevent activity like this from happening.
Baron got blame thrown his direction on Holton and rightfully so - I don't see any difference here except there were two involved and we don't know how bad is was yet - but probably pretty bad. Cooley is not looking good in this either - NBE Winner or not.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 10 years ago

i think that is a bit extreme. none of these kids had any type of criminal history. i could see you laying blame on him for Ledo, who was notoriously a bad apple who ran with a bad crowd. but ledo never played a game, so the point is moot. holton also had previous history, didn't he? that changes things. its impossible for any college coach to monitor his teams behavior 24/7. at a certain point boys will be boys, and you just hope they make good decisions.

rjsuperfly66 · Unread post by **rjsuperfly66** » 10 years ago

IMHO, this is sketchy. If what happened was worse then portrayed by Providence College, that obviously makes the school look terrible. But how come the girl just started the process of having this investigated by Providence Police? The event occurred in early November, and their suspension was passed down in late November, with the denial of their appeal occur into after Final exams in December. Why didn't she try to get in touch with Providence police before, during, or right after the internal PC investigation? Why did she wait 3 months after the suspension was passed down? That makes me question motive.

Rhode_Island_Red · Unread post by **Rhode_Island_Red** » 10 years ago

At UConn, until recently students filed complaints with campus authorities and, when athletes were concerned, the outcome seemed to be the same -- minimal.

Maybe she put her faith in the Pee-C administration without realizing that for decades they've allowed their basketball players to get away with murder (or at least attempted murder), and now that she's seen the light she went to the police.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 10 years ago

Do we really need to have a discussion of why sexual assault victims do not always immediately, or ever, report to police? I don't know if any of those factors are in play here or not but let's not pretend they don't exist.

rjsuperfly66 · Unread post by **rjsuperfly66** » 10 years ago

Fair enough, but if true, why did she wait over 3 months to go to the Providence PD? She already came forward about the events, it's painfully obvious she had no problem coming forward at that time. Think it's a little different than your every day sexual assault case where victims fail to come forward.

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 10 years ago

Oops.
Corrections & Amplifications
An earlier version of this article was accompanied by a photo of a Providence basketball player who was incorrectly identified as Rodney Bullock. The photo was of a different player.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 10 years ago

rjsuperfly66 wrote:Fair enough, but if true, why did she wait over 3 months to go to the Providence PD? She already came forward about the events, it's painfully obvious she had no problem coming forward at that time. Think it's a little different than your every day sexual assault case where victims fail to come forward.

Maybe she was pressured to await the outcome of the internal investigation, and was not satisfied with those results when they finally came down. It's really difficult to have any idea what happened because the process used by Providence College to deal with the situation was so opaque. They really shouldn't get to benefit from their own opaqueness by getting the benefit of the doubt instead of the alleged victim of a sexual assault.

rjsuperfly66 · Unread post by **rjsuperfly66** » 10 years ago

If they were suspended for the season in Novemeber, wouldn't it be fair to assume that is the time the internal investigation concluded? How do you pass down punishment if an active investigation had not be finished? The year long suspension passed down was more definitive than the indefinite suspension initially announced.

peeps4life · Unread post by **peeps4life** » 10 years ago

the girl had been encouraged to contact the police, but the school itself is under no requirement to do so. even if she had waited for the decision (which came in december)... i too question the motive of waiting 3 months after suspensions were given and 4 months after the matter was initially reported to campus police.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 10 years ago

In situations involving sexual assaults and other serious allegations, you are frequently suspended pending the results of the investigation if the allegation is credible. A comparable situation is a cop that shoots someone. They are typically placed on leave until the investigation is concluded whether the initial impression is that it was justified or unjustified.

So as soon as the girl reported it, the players were likely suspended within minutes of the allegations being made to the school. The investigation could have taken literally any amount if time.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 10 years ago

rjsuperfly66 wrote:Fair enough, but if true, why did she wait over 3 months to go to the Providence PD? She already came forward about the events, it's painfully obvious she had no problem coming forward at that time. Think it's a little different than your every day sexual assault case where victims fail to come forward.

I don't know. I'm not her.

"It's painfully obvious she had no problem coming forward at that time." You don't know that. The fact that she told someone reflects not at all on the ease with which she did so.

I know nothing of this case other than what I've come across that's been made public. I have no desire to make the individuals directly involved, the school, the team, or the coach right or wrong in this. At the same time, I wouldn't dare try to relate or compare the experiences or reactions of victims of sexual assault- alleged, proven, or otherwise. I've counseled victims of sexual assault; there is no "right way" to respond.

NHRamFan · Unread post by **NHRamFan** » 10 years ago

bigappleram wrote:i think that is a bit extreme. none of these kids had any type of criminal history. i could see you laying blame on him for Ledo, who was notoriously a bad apple who ran with a bad crowd. but ledo never played a game, so the point is moot. holton also had previous history, didn't he? that changes things. its impossible for any college coach to monitor his teams behavior 24/7. at a certain point boys will be boys, and you just hope they make good decisions.

BAR - your "boys will be boys" comment is enraging. It implies an acceptance that sexual assault is one of those behaviors we have to accept/expect from young men (emphasis here: these are men, not boys) as they wend their way through various rites of passage growing up. BS! I coach young women at the JUCO level; I am the parent of a D3 female student-athlete. I have witnessed some pretty outrageous behavior by young men towards young women! Not enough time to explore the various societal and cultural reasons behind it; but suffice to say that a "boys will be boys" mentality certainly contributes to the problem, and its resolution. You wonder why women won't step forward when assaulted? Your comment is the answer.

peeps4life · Unread post by **peeps4life** » 10 years ago

TruePoint wrote:In situations involving sexual assaults and other serious allegations, you are frequently suspended pending the results of the investigation if the allegation is credible. A comparable situation is a cop that shoots someone. They are typically placed on leave until the investigation is concluded whether the initial impression is that it was justified or unjustified.

So as soon as the girl reported it, the players were likely suspended within minutes of the allegations being made to the school. The investigation could have taken literally any amount if time.

correct.

however, this girl reported it to campus police only. a former RI state trooper led the internal investigation which concluded in december that there was NOT sexual assault. the punishment was still "suspension for the year". only now in early march is this being reported by the girl to PPD.

very questionable.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 10 years ago

NHRamfan, the comment is not to imply "boys will be boys" and make light of this situation, or in any way connect that comment to a sexual assault case, i do not consider rape to be a case of boys being boys...if that is in fact what happened here. What I meant by that is that 18-19 year old college kids, especially Div 1 athletes, are going to find themselves in precarious situations whether they are looking for them or not and you have to hope they have a head on their shoulders or some guidance in life beforehand that will aid them in making better decisions. Sorry if that was misrepresented and did not intend to enrage or diminish what could be a very serious situation.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 10 years ago

I would have thought the PC President might want to keep a low profile at this time with the news of the sexual assault charges breaking. I guess not. He apparently is very thrilled with things.

http://www.providencejournal.com/sports ... season.ece

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 10 years ago

RF1 wrote:I would have thought the PC President might want to keep a low profile at this time with the news of the sexual assault charges breaking. I guess not. He apparently is very thrilled with things.

http://www.providencejournal.com/sports/college/content/20140318-jim-donaldson-pcs-rev.-shanley-thrilled-with-friars-season.ece

Puke.

hrstrat57 · Unread post by **hrstrat57** » 10 years ago

Likew many of you I hate the PC Friars....

However let's remember the Duke lacrosse case before we send these young men to jail.....

NarraRamFan · Unread post by **NarraRamFan** » 10 years ago

I have no background in law or personal injury but it seems her advisors have gotten an investigation by pc, now an investigation by prov. police and now they can get to work finding weaknesses in both for their case. Timing could be the result of the school not quietly settling.

Running Ram · Unread post by **Running Ram** » 10 years ago

These things take time, unless of course they have to get wrapped up before the Heisman award selection. I have little to no faith that justice will be achieved. I'm not making any accusations as I know absolutely nothing about the situation, but I will say I don't see the timing as dubious, it shouldn't take the only known woman in the thread to remind of us that there could be any number of reasons the young lady did not press charges until recently. Individually many of us may feel socially enlightened, but its still bad out there for women and for each of us that feel women are men's equals there are two that feel like women are lesser somehow to men. And in cases of sexual assault it seems women are almost always made to feel ashamed for their own choices as if there is some kind of responsibility sharing that needs to be allocated. If you get your large screen TV stolen because you left the window curtains up at night leaving your goods on display, your fault, you were asking for it. Again I'm not speaking about anything specific to this case, just the unfortunate timing of the news, which I don't see as suspect.

seanmc94 · Unread post by **seanmc94** » 10 years ago

This entire thread is hysterical:

Some of the highlights:

Cooley shouldn't have recruited them-bc he has a crystal ball that predicts players future behavior

PCs policy is scandalous; despite the fact it follows state law

Shanley obviously condones sexual assault; even though he was interviewed 2 days before the story broke.

True Points entire rant: there just aren't words.

Of course many here condemning the PC players had zero problem with Holton.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 10 years ago

Let's be clear, the only thing that is hilarious is that u post on our board while your team is playing games in march. Once you did that you lost any iota of credibility you might have had.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 10 years ago

Yes, Sean, we all applauded what Holton did......geesh, you are unbelievable.

Login • Register