Snob Appeal
Posted June 6, 2006, 8:57 AM ET

Duke will be back.

Those words were probably uttered when Coach K's team was upset by LSU in Atlanta during March Madness, but I was referring to the Blue Devils' men's lacrosse team.

Duke University announced this week that their much-maligned lacrosse team will be back in action for the 2007 season. I know many of you don't care and have grown tired of the ubiquitous media coverage from Durham.

I don't have to go into detail about the alleged rape of a woman by three members of the Duke lacrosse team....there is no way to miss the coverage from the national networks. But while this issue is being played out in the courts and on television, the Duke lacrosse team has been on "double secret probation"....until now.

Duke University President Richard Brodhead announced this week that the team will be allowed to play next season, but under strict rules and guidelines. The school president admitted he was taking a serious risk by allowing the team to continue.

So with that said, why take a risk until you know the facts? It seems strange to me to make this announcement until the judge rules in the kids' favor. Listen, I don't have the facts and like everybody else, I won't know them until they are presented to the public. But I find it hard to believe that Duke would put itself into this position without any knowledge or official word that the players are not guilty of the rape allegation.

Let's play the "what-if game"....what if the lacrosse team is in the middle of their regular season in 2007, and the players are found guilty? Duke has already received enough bad press with this issue, and reinstating the team before there is a ruling is absolutely stupid.

Despite the ugly mess surrounding the Duke lacrosse team, there was another member of the team that was arrested over the weekend...does anybody on the men's lacrosse team have a clue? Does the Duke president know what he's doing?

It would seem to me, as an outsider, that Duke would be better off chilling out on the sidelines. What is the rush in putting the team back together when there are much bigger questions and concerns surrounding the program and the school?

Somehow I think the Duke Athletic Department will be able to make ends meet without the men's lacrosse team playing games in 2007. And if it turns out there are some guilty rulings of the Duke lacrosse players, the school president should be treated just like the former lacrosse coach...he should resign...immediately.