OUCH: Huffington Post singles out McCombs for assault

[EdgewoodNHV]

So why did she feal unsafe? There is nothing in that "article" that would lead me to believe that her safety was in jeopardy.

The folks at the center said they'd have to tell McCombs about her report. And she just watched this dude shove his girlfriend in front of everybody and nobody did anything. I'd probably feel a little afraid, too.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

Irish Loop, on the moving issue I'm saying that there isn't a shred of evidence, she doesn't even make an accusation, that anyone did anything to threaten her. She called the cops over a fight between two other people.

It's a common notion that people who rat other people out to police are probably not safe. Especially when the police themselves admit they'll tell the perpetrator, who also happens to be a) way bigger and stronger than you, and b) apparently above the law.

I'd be afraid too.

 

[upstater]

What I don't understand is why administrators at Universities all over the country don't take this stuff more seriously? It seems like it is being ignored all over the place and it makes no sense to me. Top it off with the fact that in this case it involves women being insensitive to the claims of other women. I guess it just flies in the face of all things I consider morally right and logical.

First - This stuff can not be ignored. It is simply wrong to do so. All accusations of s e xual assault need to be taken seriously. We should all understand this by now.

Second - when will these administrators realize that this stuff always comes back to bite you in the . The only logical reason I can think of that they cover this stuff up is to "protect" the schools (or whatever institution) and make them look better. In the end it only makes everyone look worse. If you really want to protect the school then protect the students. Get the perps off campus and protect the safety of the people entrusted to you that should be able to trust in you.

It's because they are afraid of lawsuits, and their jobs. If you press the issue and become an advocate, then you are sticking your neck out. if you send them over to the police, well then you have done your duty. If the police drop the ball, well then....

 

[upstater]

There are probably a few thing at work here. Like she didn't witness Whitey Bulger gunning down a bystander in South Boston. She "witnessed" what turned out to be a spat between 2 college kids that apparently deteriorated into the pair spitting at each other. They were both arrested and apparently released without any further action. They probably both deserved to be sent to timeout for 10 minutes. Actually it was sort of like they were from the sounds of things. And from the quote she attributes to the administrator, she sounds like she has had some other issues, though again we don't know for sure. Nor does she indicate that she requested to have her housing assignment moved. One problem with only gettin gone side of the story is that you only get one side of the story.

Were you there? Sounds like you were there.

 

[freescooter]

What does s e xual assault evidence look like? A lot of the time, it looks exactly the same as consensual s e x. there's no such thing as "proof." So if someone denies s e xual assault, do we automatically believe them over the victim? How do we tell? As a society, the "burden of proof" breaks down severely in this situation, but given that 1 in 4 women on college campuses have experienced some kind of assault (nevermind how many are unreported), I don't think just assuming "no proof = no assault" is working particularly well.

Also, the idea that because we have a female President at UConn somehow affectgs what some beat cop tells some assault victim at 3 am on a Wednesday is comical at best.

This wasn't a case of s e xual assault. If anything it was simple assault but I think they were both charged with a misdemeanor like breach of peace. That is a huge difference. That this case gets included with infinitely more serious allegations like rape and s e xual assault is in its own way a problem. In many respects this case is completely and entirely separate from that whole issue, and if Lyle McCombs happened to be not a football player it would never have been brought up. Somehow the UConn football program, which frankly has had fewer serious problems than many national programs and for that matter fewer than some other UConn programs we could name, is being targeted. In part I suspect that it is a bit of guilt by association. But this case wasn't about s e x ual assault at all. I'mnot sure how it even relates.

 

[freescooter]

It's a common notion that people who rat other people out to police are probably not safe. Especially when the police themselves admit they'll tell the perpetrator, who also happens to be a) way bigger and stronger than you, and b) apparently above the law.

I'd be afraid too.

I'll grant you a) but how was a guy who GOT ARRESTED apparently above the law? he was taken away in cuffs for gawd sakes. Had to post bail apparently to go home. And he was not even accused of s e xual assault. He apparently had a fight with his girlfriend where they pushed and spit at each other. Stupid? Yep. Childish? Yep. S e xual assault? Not even on the same planet.

 

[CL82]

Here's what I don't get...

"According to the report, UConn police responded to LaFlesche [on-campus apartments] after an alarmed resident called and said that a male and female were involved in a domestic dispute late Thursday night. According to the police report, it was learned that McCombs was yelling and had spit at and pushed his girlfriend while outside of a residential hall.

McCombs was arrested at 12:19 a.m. Friday; Jones, of Stratford, was arrested an hour later and charged with the same thing, second-degree breach of peace. She was released on a $500 non-surety bond, according to the report, which also said Jones was yelling, had spit on and scratched and pushed her boyfriend outside of a residential hall."

So the girlfriend was arrested/charged for the same thing as Lyle, but this witness seems to be making a much larger deal out of what Lyle did without mentioning that the girlfriend was also charged. Is that because the police decided not to charge him with what he really did, or is it because she did not see what the girlfriend also did in the altercation since she admittedly did not see the entire event?

Thank you.

When a third party witness felt McCombs punishment was too lax, her concern was taken seriously and referred to Community Standards. She made a statement but want to do so anonymously. When she was told, properly that her statement was going be part of a public record, she backed off saying that she was concerned about her safety. The university representative said, properly my view, if you are concerned about your safety don't make the statement (because it will be part of the public record.) I'm having trouble finding that to be objectionable.

 

[huskymedic]

This wasn't a case of s e xual assault. If anything it was simple assault but I think they were both charged with a misdemeanor like breach of peace. That is a huge difference. That this case gets included with infinitely more serious allegations like rape and s e xual assault is in its own way a problem. In many respects this case is completely and entirely separate from that whole issue, and if Lyle McCombs happened to be not a football player it would never have been brought up. Somehow the UConn football program, which frankly has had fewer serious problems than many national programs and for that matter fewer than some other UConn programs we could name, is being targeted. In part I suspect that it is a bit of guilt by association. But this case wasn't about s e x ual assault at all. I'm not sure how it even relates.

This is how it relates: "I am one of seven girls who has filed a claim against UConn under Title IX with violations specific to my case including, but not limited to, hostile environment, inadequate sanctions foster hostile environment, and discouragement from reporting." It's a bigger picture view.

 

[freescooter]

Just to be clear, if McCombs was accused or s e xual assault, I'd want him gone. And I absolutely think UConn needs to get its act together and deal with that issue in a consistent way. But this is a goofy example that shows none of that.

 

[CL82]

This is how it relates: "I am one of seven girls who has filed a claim against UConn under Title IX with violations specific to my case including, but not limited to, hostile environment, inadequate sanctions foster hostile environment, and discouragement from reporting." It's a bigger picture view.

Accurate statement. Of course the other allegations include a logo of dog that encourages sexual assault and allegation that UConn administrators encouraged violence against woman by having a trail. I agree that this allegation is every bit as valid as those two.

 

[freescooter]

This is how it relates: "I am one of seven girls who has filed a claim against UConn under Title IX with violations specific to my case including, but not limited to, hostile environment, inadequate sanctions foster hostile environment, and discouragement from reporting." It's a bigger picture view.

But to be a hostile environment doesn't somebody have to do something, you know, hostile? thinking that somebody might do something when they have given no indication that they will nor do they act in any hostile way, isn't exactly the same thing. Fact is if this didn't involve a football player, if it were an incident between two "normal students" it owuld never have been brought up.

 

[huskymedic]

But to be a hostile environment doesn't somebody have to do something, you know, hostile? thinking that somebody might do something when they have given no indication that they will nor do they act in any hostile way, isn't exactly the same thing. Fact is if this didn't involve a football player, if it were an incident between two "normal students" it owuld never have been brought up.

Both lawsuits are portraying this as a "culture" issue. Read this to get the broad angle on the "hostile environment" - http://knowyourix.org/title-ix/title-ix-the-basics/ "Title IX doesn't just cover sexual assault. It protects victims of all forms of gender-based violence, including relationship abuse."

No argument what-so-ever that the "football player" involvement get's it more attention and into a different media stream.

Whole new world out there...

 

[Santini35]

Both lawsuits are portraying this as a "culture" issue. Read this to get the broad angle on the "hostile environment" - http://knowyourix.org/title-ix/title-ix-the-basics/ "Title IX doesn't just cover s e xual assault. It protects victims of all forms of gender-based violence, including relationship abuse."

No argument what-so-ever that the "football player" involvement get's it more attention and into a different media stream.

Whole new world out there...

Odd that that says Title IX is supposed to prevent all sex based discrimination in education, but no one seems to have used it yet to get rid of the whole "if a man doesn't register for the draft he can't get federal scholarships or jobs, while women don't have to" problem now that they have removed the women in combat restrictions

 

[SubbaBub]

What does s e xual assault evidence look like? A lot of the time, it looks exactly the same as consensual s e x. there's no such thing as "proof." So if someone denies s e xual assault, do we automatically believe them over the victim? How do we tell? As a society, the "burden of proof" breaks down severely in this situation, but given that 1 in 4 women on college campuses have experienced some kind of assault (nevermind how many are unreported), I don't think just assuming "no proof = no assault" is working particularly well.

Also, the idea that because we have a female President at UConn somehow affectgs what some beat cop tells some assault victim at 3 am on a Wednesday is comical at best.

You are absolutely correct about the difficulty of the burden of proof. That doesn't mean we ignore it. No proof does not equal no assault any less than an accusation equals one. They are matters that require very intense investigation because they are serious accusations and the evidence is almost always muddled. It's also why on a college campus such accounts are both too common and too often dismissed, through no fault of the administration.

The attack on the woman jogging behind HBH by a delivery driver was taken very seriously. Drunken encounters in a dorm room are more difficult to verify. Time is critical as is the willingness of the accuser to participate in the investigation. Filing a complaint even a day later hinders any case almost to the point of hopelessness.

I would ask if the Town of Mansfield should be held liable for safety and conviction for an accusation in an off-campus apartment? This is the same thing. The University as with most universities, has more public safety features than almost any other facility. Once you are in the privacy of your residence, what else are they supposed to do? Short of allowing a convicted offender back on campus, I don't know what case the plaintiff can bring.

 

[ruskin]

Not that Lyle is an angel but sounds like he ought to get some legal representation soon and bite back at Allred and her ilk. Like 'quit calling my client a rapist' for starters

 

[UConn07]

Ok - I read the entire 38 page document and I was dead wrong about a couple of things (guess I should take my own advice and get all the facts before spouting off).

Conclusions:

1. Lyle McCombs has absolutely nothing to worry about - he's not even mentioned in the document. The only time he is mentioned is during the article posted here. She used it as an example of UCONN not responding to an incident she witnessed in an opinion piece, but McCombs was not included in any legal documents.

2. The document reports a sexual assault of a women's crew member by 'another student athlete.' The document does not say it was a football player, I still don't get the accusation from last week that a football player committed sexual abuse, not sure where that one is coming from, which backs up Coach P's quick and decisive response last week.

3. When it comes to the rapes and sexual assaults outlined, the UCONN adminstration better be letting some people go. The way the different rapes were treated by various on-campus groups and the UCONN police department, IF ACCURATE, was depolorable. If I'm a parent of one of these girls and they are being truthful, I'm looking for heads to roll, from all fronts.

4. Carolyn Luby is still trying to be a part of something she shouldn't be a part of. She is the one sensationalizing everything based on the document. As mentioned, she's the one that said the logo promoted a rape culture. That is a wrong statement. She needs to take a back seat and shut up. Comparing what she went through by getting threatening facebook messages and tweets to rape is beyond ridiculous. She's dealing with juvenile stuff; the girls that were actually raped are the ones that should be speaking out. I also disagree with her sentiment that what happened in Spain is UCONN's fault. I'm sure she had to sign a waiver before leaving to study abroad.

5. Rape culture at UCONN does not exist. The response of certain administrators at UCONN is the issue. Whether they were perceived to be believable or not, rape is a serious accusation and no matter who you are, if a girl mentions she was raped, authorities need to be called immediately. And if those authorities refuse to do anything, go further up the food chain.

6. I think the girls are pointing the lawsuit at the wrong people. They shouldn't be calling out the school. They should be calling out the perpetrators that carried out the rapes. They are the ones who should be held responsible for their actions as apparently these incidents can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. There seems to be a number of things in place as is at UCONN to handle these situations, much more so than what I originally thought.

Those are all my thoughts. Can I repeat, Carolyn Luby is an idiot. All the rest, I apologize to for jumping to conclusions (even thought I highly doubt they've read anything here).

 

[huskymedic]

Ok - I read the entire 38 page document and I was dead wrong about a couple of things (guess I should take my own advice and get all the facts before spouting off).

Conclusions:

2. The document reports a s e xual assault of a women's crew member by 'another student athlete.' The document does not say it was a football player, I still don't get the accusation from last week that a football player committed s e xual abuse, not sure where that one is coming from, which backs up Coach P's quick and decisive response last week..

Those are two separate incident involving two different students.

You must have missed line #139 - "The perpetrator was a member of the UConn football team."

 

[Jimdish255]

Ok - I read the entire 38 page document and I was dead wrong about a couple of things (guess I should take my own advice and get all the facts before spouting off).

Conclusions:

1. Lyle McCombs has absolutely nothing to worry about - he's not even mentioned in the document. The only time he is mentioned is during the article posted here. She used it as an example of UCONN not responding to an incident she witnessed in an opinion piece, but McCombs was not included in any legal documents.

2. The document reports a s e xual assault of a women's crew member by 'another student athlete.' The document does not say it was a football player, I still don't get the accusation from last week that a football player committed s e xual abuse, not sure where that one is coming from, which backs up Coach P's quick and decisive response last week.

3. When it comes to the rapes and s e xual assaults outlined, the UCONN adminstration better be letting some people go. The way the different rapes were treated by various on-campus groups and the UCONN police department, IF ACCURATE, was depolorable. If I'm a parent of one of these girls and they are being truthful, I'm looking for heads to roll, from all fronts.

4. Carolyn Luby is still trying to be a part of something she shouldn't be a part of. She is the one sensationalizing everything based on the document. As mentioned, she's the one that said the logo promoted a rape culture. That is a wrong statement. She needs to take a back seat and shut up. Comparing what she went through by getting threatening facebook messages and tweets to rape is beyond ridiculous. She's dealing with juvenile stuff; the girls that were actually raped are the ones that should be speaking out. I also disagree with her sentiment that what happened in Spain is UCONN's fault. I'm sure she had to sign a waiver before leaving to study abroad.

5. Rape culture at UCONN does not exist. The response of certain administrators at UCONN is the issue. Whether they were perceived to be believable or not, rape is a serious accusation and no matter who you are, if a girl mentions she was raped, authorities need to be called immediately. And if those authorities refuse to do anything, go further up the food chain.

6. I think the girls are pointing the lawsuit at the wrong people. They shouldn't be calling out the school. They should be calling out the perpetrators that carried out the rapes. They are the ones who should be held responsible for their actions as apparently these incidents can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. There seems to be a number of things in place as is at UCONN to handle these situations, much more so than what I originally thought.

Those are all my thoughts. Can I repeat, Carolyn Luby is an idiot. All the rest, I apologize to for jumping to conclusions (even thought I highly doubt they've read anything here).

Unfortunately #3 and #6 go together.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

As opposed to FSU?

Or as opposed to tOSU, UNC, Florida, Oklahoma State. . . and on and on. UConn is no different than the other P5 schools. Reform in college sports . . . 100% for it. Blow up college football as it currently exists. Tell TV to stay "on the sidelines" until sensible reform in all aspects (recruiting, conferences, bowls, playoffs, National Championships, etc.) are reworked. Then TV can broadcast the games that are made available to them (don't need Georgia on 18 times per season). Stop letting TV drive the bus and just permit them to fill there time slots with a more equitable sharing of games.

 

[whaler11]

Or as opposed to tOSU, UNC, Florida, Oklahoma State. . . and on and on. UConn is no different than the other P5 schools. Reform in college sports . . . 100% for it. Blow up college football as it currently exists. Tell TV to stay "on the sidelines" until sensible reform in all aspects (recruiting, conferences, bowls, playoffs, National Championships, etc.) are reworked. Then TV can broadcast the games that are made available to them (don't need Georgia on 18 times per season). Stop letting TV drive the bus and just permit them to fill there time slots with a more equitable sharing of games.

LOL. Yeah just send back the billions of dollars that enrich the people that make the rules.

 

[uconnric]

I would feel unsafe if I was in her position. She called the cops on her next door neighbor who happens to be a football player. On top of that she called the cops because he was assaulting another woman.

This particular instance is being blown up apparently because it was a "football player". If this is an indication of the allegations in the complaint, this article weakens the public relations aspect of the case. If she was unsafe, then I guess all the women in that dorm would have to be moved out. Insanity.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The woman in the HuffPost article lost every shred of credibility when she completely misrepresented what happened with McCombs and his girlfriend. Most likely the university admin saw that she was an attention hound and told her to buzz off.

Women like this and Carolyn Luby demean the real victims of rape.

 

[upstater]

Or as opposed to tOSU, UNC, Florida, Oklahoma State. . . and on and on. UConn is no different than the other P5 schools. Reform in college sports . . . 100% for it. Blow up college football as it currently exists. Tell TV to stay "on the sidelines" until sensible reform in all aspects (recruiting, conferences, bowls, playoffs, National Championships, etc.) are reworked. Then TV can broadcast the games that are made available to them (don't need Georgia on 18 times per season). Stop letting TV drive the bus and just permit them to fill there time slots with a more equitable sharing of games.

The guy at the head of the NCAA allowed administrators who covered up a rape by Roc Alexander to stay on the job. How serious do you think Emmert takes rape by football player after reading this?

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2004177723_uwrapecase12m.html

The actual narrative was much more harrowing than this article accounts for, the administrator told her to keep her mouth shut.

AND, check out this testimony from the administrator:

Tuite testified in the deposition that the plaintiff did tell her Alexander had acted inappropriately but didn't say "rape."
"I didn't want to ask her specifically," Tuite said. "I'm not trained in that area, and didn't feel it was my place."

This is my experience in academia. Because people don't want to know, they kick these things down the line. Looking at the Sandusky case, there is ample evidence that this is what Paterno did. McQueary is clear he never told Paterno what happened, but Paterno saw him agitated. What, he didn't ask? No, Paterno didn't ask. He sent McQueary to see the AD. Spanier was told about a Physics professor who molested a boy at a camp in Maryland (out of PSU's jurisdiction). When evidence turned up in the form of a tape with the professor's confession (recorded over the phone, which is illegal in Maryland), the victim said to Spanier directly that he had a tape and would send it to him. Spanier told him directly that he did not want the tape and would not accept it. CYA is the modus operandi.

Mark Emmert had multiple people under hush up the rape of this woman, and after the lid blew off the cover-up, he never fired or reprimanded a single one. Peyton Manning, Mr. Clean, had an incident in which -- were he an average student -- would have been thrown out of school. Of course it was hushed, especially at Tennessee.

 

[uconnric]

[quote="
6. I think the girls are pointing the lawsuit at the wrong people. They shouldn't be calling out the school. They should be calling out the perpetrators that carried out the rapes. They are the ones who should be held responsible for their actions as apparently these incidents can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. There seems to be a number of things in place as is at UCONN to handle these situations, much more so than what I originally thought.

Those are all my thoughts. Can I repeat, Carolyn Luby is an idiot. All the rest, I apologize to for jumping to conclusions (even thought I highly doubt they've read anything here).[/quote]

They are calling out the school because of punitive damages and ATTORNEY'S FEES that are available to the plaintiffs under the federal act. To say that UConn condoned a "culture of rape" is way over the top, but then again, so is Gloria Allred showing up in the case. This is a legal fight carried on the judicial court and in the court of public opinion.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

5. Whether they were perceived to be believable or not, rape is a serious accusation and no matter who you are, if a girl mentions she was raped, authorities need to be called immediately. Absolutely, positively agree with this statement.

6. I think the girls are pointing the lawsuit at the wrong people. They shouldn't be calling out the school. They should be calling out the perpetrators that carried out the rapes. They are the ones who should be held responsible for their actions as apparently these incidents can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. There seems to be a number of things in place as is at UCONN to handle these situations, much more so than what I originally thought. UConn is the "deep pockets" in this scenario. No money to be made, in all likelihood, from the alleged perps. If this were JUST about JUSTICE, they'd focus on those responsible, but this is about money and so the institution becomes the target.

Can I repeat, Carolyn Luby is an idiot. That's a real possibility. Nothing worse, IMO. than a know it all, zealot of the female persuasion. The Crusader.