<p>Our local news in South FLorida is reporting the parents of the boy own a two million dollar plus vacation home in a very exclusive enclave on Hypoluxo Island (near Palm Beach) and the grandparents own a million dollar condo in Manalapan on the water, and that Huguely was arrested in the area for underage drinking at least once before, at the age of 17.</p>
<p>An affluent kid( any teenager really) getting arrested for underage drinking is not uncommon. 99.9 % of them will not go on to murder someone. This is a tragedy. I do think cartera45’s comments about the lacrosse culture are interesting. Mixing privilege, drinking, possible sense of entitlement, the aggression the sport needs, etc. seems like a perfect storm ( as someone else has said) for trouble. Maybe some lacrosse parents out there can add some perspective to this. My kids were more baseball, volleyball, basketball types so have no first hand knowledge of the elite lacrosse scene. For those of you that are really into lacrosse, I’m sure this is very sad.</p>
<p>More news…I know this is snarky, but I wonder if Sunday was Huguely’s “one night a week.” </p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/05/AR2010050503762.html?hpid=topnews]washingtonpost.com[/url”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/05/AR2010050503762.html?hpid=topnews]washingtonpost.com[/url</a>]</p>
<p>^^Yes Dean </p>
<p>^^Yorkyfan, I somewhat disagree. I imagine that the decision to play or not to play was carefully considered by everyone at UVa. Even at the high school level I’ve seen teams that cancel because of something and by the same token I’ve seen teams continue. It’s quite possible that the team needs the tournament as part of the healing. Those young men deserve, if they desire, to finish out their season and for some, their senior and possibly last year at something they have done for years and years. Whether or not guy sports attract people with certain personality types is not relevant…there are dozens and dozens of wonderful, well adjusted young people paying contact sports like rugby, lacrosse, hockey, etc.</p>
<p>My college rugby playing son was voted “most laid back” by his class BTW. He might “fight” on the field, but it doesn’t extend into his non-sports personna…quite the opposite LOL. My lacrosse playing kid has a similar personality…loves defense and the physicalness of the sport but pretty easy going in personality.</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/05/AR2010050503762.html?hpid=topnews]washingtonpost.com[/url”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/05/AR2010050503762.html?hpid=topnews]washingtonpost.com[/url</a>]</p>
<p>This article discusses that 8 UVA lacrosse players have been arrested for alcohol related offenses. </p>
<p>It discusses the team alcohol policy which is that a student cannot drink more than one night per week. If caught, they get a suspension and if caught a second time, they are removed from the team. </p>
<p>So, this begs the question…what happens if you are actually ARRESTED for alcohol related offenses?? Why do you get to stay on the team then? </p>
<p>Huguely had the arrest in 2008 but remained on the team. </p>
<p>Also sunnyflorida posts about a report of an underage drinking arrest when he was 17 and obviously not yet on the team but he got accepted to college with an arrest on his record (I guess that is possible to do).</p>
<p>[The</a> Associated Press: UVA didn’t know lacrosse player had been arrested](<a href=“http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jxE8H_NFgNdQBmh6ArH6rsjXlA6AD9FGVC3O1]The”>http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jxE8H_NFgNdQBmh6ArH6rsjXlA6AD9FGVC3O1)
^UVA is saying that they never knew of the previous arrest because it occurred off-campus.</p>
<p>I find it hard to believe that they didn’t know.</p>
<p>I find it harder to believe that the UVA coaches did not know that NINE --one before he enrolled in UVa–out of 41 lacrosse players were arrested for alcohol offenses and SIX were CONVICTED. That’s eight students arrested and six CONVICTED WHILE ENROLLED IN UVA.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I don’t. I know personal anecdotes are usually pretty useless, but at my (relatively) high-rent private HS a third of my graduating class was cited for alcohol related offenses before graduation (myself included), and that number was around 70% as of last summer (graduated four years ago). Money and drinking, particularly underage drinking, tend to go together. Typically students that are well-connected are able to get off easier or can afford to pay for the better lawyers.</p>
<p>FYI, Many underage kids in Virginia drink, period. That is the reality and the laws are fairly harsh. Again, 99.99 % of these underage drinkers are not going to go on to murder someone.</p>
<p>I’m not in any way linking the drinking arrests to murder. </p>
<p>The point is that the team policy is that a second offense of drinking more than one night per week results in removal from the team. That is why it is hard to understand how you can be on the team if arrested and convicted of an alcohol related offense. </p>
<p>This is a separate thing, and not about the murder itself. But this news came out due to the case.</p>
<p>What happens to students at universities who are convicted of alcohol-related offenses? What happens at UVA? Is there a different standard for lacrosse players (or other athletes)? Do they get to stay on their teams?</p>
<p>One of the articles above said this: “Had UVa officials been made aware of the incident in Lexington, Wood said, Huguely would likely have been told to meet with an administrator from the Dean of Students’ Office and might have faced disciplinary action such as mandatory substance abuse counseling or a referral to UVa’s judiciary committee.”</p>
<p>So who decides whether an offender gets mandatory substance abuse counseling or the referral to the judiciary committee? And what are the possible outcomes of a referral to the judiciary committee? Different outcomes for athletes on possible NCAA champion teams?</p>
<p>I wondered if Huguely was underage when he was arrested in Lexington, but with his 9/1/87 birthday, he wasn’t underage in November, 2008. </p>
<p>Six convictions out of eight on the lacrosse team, even with the caliber attorney their moneyed families must have hired? Wow.</p>
<p>Cuse, nobody is saying they are surprised there is drinking! The issue is how there are athletes who were convicted and one would think that violates the policy to remain on the team. I mean, in high school, it often does (at least at our public high school).</p>
<p>^
How would they know? The arrest and disposition of the case was away from Charlottesville. </p>
<p>cartera - I get what you mean about the “lacrosse culture”. BTW - there is something very <em>unique</em> to the lax culture in Maryland that you just don’t find elsewhere. It is very “in-bred”.
But - remove that from the equation for a minute. I think this very well could have happened without it. It is easy to say - she should have gotten a restraining order or her girlfriends should have protected her.
Unless you have been in the situation of a threatening relationship you don’t realize that it’s not all black & white. There are shades of gray. Unless you have been in the position of wondering if you should get that restraining order, you don’t really know what it’s like to make that decision. Couple that with young people who have lived sheltered lives.<br>
How many parents really have sat down with their daughters proactively and explained to them the nuances of a breakup and what to watch for? Not many.
How many parents really know what to say? Where do you draw that line?
it is all very very subtle. Those on the inside don’t see things the same way as those on the outside.
This stuff happens outside of the lax culture and to those who are not privileged. Relationship abuse crosses all socio-economic lines.
Parents who have not raised their children in a privileged environment should not be so righteous.</p>
<p>I cross posted with you, Cuse and my post 312 was in response to your earlier post. </p>
<p>But the issue with Huguely in the 2008 arrest was not underage drinking but public intoxication, resisting arrest, etc.</p>
<p>JustAMom, I agree. People are being righteous that the student grew up in a privileged background but relationship abuse crosses all socio-economic classes.</p>
<p>JustAMom, it is true that the arrest of Huguely was away from Charlottesville, but it is hard to imagine that the team/coach did not know about it. But put him aside for a moment. Why were others who have arrests and convictions related to alcohol allowed to stay on the team when the policy is that you are removed from the team after two incidences of being caught drinking more than once/week. An arrest/conviction seems a lot worse than being caught drinking more than once/week.</p>
<p>Cuse, I edited my post before I saw yours. As I originally typed it–accidentally leaving out the fact that my disbelief was that UVa didn’t KNOW about the arrests-- your comments are accurate. I can believe that a lot of lacrosse players drink. I think it’s more than a bit disingenuous for UVa to issue a statement saying “we didn’t know Huguely had been arrested” when 9 out of 41 players have been.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>My mistake. I guess it depends on the charges. A conviction for underage drinking, for example, would probably lead to different university sanctions than a conviction for DUI. At my school (UNC), underage drinking tickets usually result in few if any university consequences, while DUI’s result in an automatic semester suspension, no exceptions. The DUI policy was initiated several years ago after a tennis player (again, usually a privileged group) got drunk, ran over two girls late at night and tried to run from the scene.</p>
<p>Other schools have different policies. NC State, for example, recently cut loose a football recruit after he received his 3rd DUI (he’s not even 18 yet). This kid was also arrested for assault on a bus driver. Why it took so long to get rid of him is mind boggling.</p>
<p>Perhaps the convictions at UVa were for trivial alcohol-related matters and thus did not require university action?</p>
<p>JustaMomof4 and soozievt, I don’t think anyone here is being “righteous.” Obviously, everyone knows abuse crosses all lines.</p>
<p>Drinking laws are pretty strict in most all states. Doesn’t matter how good the attorney is, at best they can pull off a smaller fine and probation and allow the kid to maintain the driver’s license or get a deferred adjudication…very few states look the other way with underage drinking…and folks it’s been sad time and time and time again on these forums that kids drink in college. If the offense happens off campus I’ve never heard of an instance or a legal “mechanism” to “notify” the colleges, let alone something that happens in a different city or even different state. There’s no “business arrangement” for college administrators to be replacement parents. This is not new news…</p>