Posted on 04/20/2006 10:34:03 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. -- They grew up in privileged surroundings in suburbs of New York City.
Collin Finnerty of Long Island and Reade Seligmann of New Jersey both come from a world of golf courses and multimillion-dollar homes and were educated at exclusive all-boys Catholic prep schools. Their paths merged after the high school lacrosse stars won admission to Duke University, and continued their athletic and academic careers.
On Tuesday, they stood as co-defendants, accused of raping a stripper at an off-campus party in Durham, N.C.
Defenders quickly came forward at both of their high schools. Finnerty, 19, was described as a good student and athlete who was never in any trouble, while 20-year-old Seligmann was remembered as a kid incapable of committing such a heinous act.
"Knowing Reade Seligmann as well as we do here at Delbarton, I believe him innocent of the charges," said the Rev. Luke L. Travers, headmaster at Seligmann's $22,500-a-year high school. "The hearts and prayers of our community go out to Reade and his family, the woman who made the accusations, the players on the Duke lacrosse team and all their families."
At Chaminade High School on Long Island, where Finnerty was among the 1,600 students, his former lacrosse coach said the young man "really was never in any trouble. Basically, more of a quiet kid."
Jack Moran, the Chaminade lacrosse coach for 28 years, recalled Finnerty as an A student and a good teammate.
"Collin obviously was a very good player," Moran said before practice Tuesday. "He was good enough to play at Duke. He was a good student. ... Obviously, a good enough student to qualify academically for Duke."
An education at Chaminade cost $6,670 a year in regular tuition, while students in the elite collegiate program paid more than $23,000 annually.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Just as an aside, I grew up in Garden City and attended Chaminade High School and I did not "come from money".
(Or perhaps my parents hid my trust fund very well, because I sure as hell haven't been able to find it.)
And the strippers came for that money!
Sure seems funny to me that this woman would have a criminal record, 2 kids, going to college, which I know isn't easy....but.....
wouldn't it be easier if we could 'sue' someone with 'money' so we didn't have to be a stripper and we could have all the nicy nice things now instead of later????
I just don't think this would work for the majority of the world...do you????
I couldn't care less whether they come from money. Money or not, I can't seem to drum up much sympathy for them. False accusations? Cry me a river, "gentlemen."
As the saying goes, "If you play with fire, you might get burned."
There's your answer. The DA should drop this case immediately, but he'll continue this for all political gain he'll be able to recieve.
After millions of dollars worth of damage.
Obviously, the stripper did not have any morals in the first place so she probably sensed an opportunity and thought she could get a boatload worth of cash from the lacrosse players.
It's a tragedy because cases like this make it so much harder for actual rapists to be convicted.
Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas.
What would the WAPO print if she came from money and the white boys were from poverty? "Rich Black Dancer Claims Rape by poor White trash"....I'll believe that one when I see it.
Yeah, they should just have gone to the strip club in the first place.
But then again, they did not want to be spotted by UNC fans.
And they thought they would be better off by hosting a private party with strippers.
I manage to be able to occupy my time enjoyably without cavorting with prostitutes.
A lot of people manage to survive without ever entering a strip club.
No one held a gun to their head and forced them to behave like animals.
That is because you are older (I assume?) and wiser. They are young men who made youthful mistakes. Hell, President Bush got a DWI in 1976.
It does not justify the media treatment of the Duke players.
Whatever happened to being innocent until proven guilty?
Well, that's the crux of the matter here.
The media is not only proceeding on the assumption that they are guilty - which they did not do with Zacarias Moussaoui even after he openly admitted to investigators that he was a proud member of al-Qaeda - but they are tarnishing the reputation of the whole team, thewhole school, the coach, and the parents and family of the accused.
This is exactly the kind of behavior that they ascribe to Joe McCarthy, but unlike Joe McCarthy they are actually engaging in it, full-on.
With the exception of extreme left wing professors, I'm sure they learned a valuable lesson here.
Never ever trust liberal press ever.
BTTT
Then they need to check the money for DNA evidence :-)
I love how it says that they "won" admission to Duke. How about earned admission. I don't think they won admission to Duke is some type of freakin' lottery.
Lives in a nice, big home so he must be guilty? LOL
This shows you how absurd all of this is. And to show you that MSM are a bunch of commies.
This case is mind boggling to me. My brothers attended Chaminade. My husband and his brothers attended Chaminade--No one was rich. BUT Finnerty is more than wealthy. I currently live in NJ where my son has played club lax with Reade's younger brothers. Reade is also very wealthy. That being said, if the media is going to play this elitest,racist,snob card..do they really think these kids would touch this stripper and any diseases she might have? They'd have to be REALLY drunk.
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