THE MALCOM X-FACTOR: More to Lax Than Duke Case

A year ago this time, it seemed like nobody knew that it even existed.

Not really, of course—it’s been around since the 19th century in more-or-less the form it stands today, but in all honesty, only the die-hards and the occasional Saturday afternoon ESPN watchers really saw it with any regularity.

But a night in Durham changed all that.

Now, it seems like men’s college lacrosse is synonymous with the infamous Duke rape case, and any and all headlines devoted to the sport somehow center around that fateful night last March when who-knows-what happened.

Two Saturdays ago, for example, was the first game for the Blue Devils since their 2006 campaign was washed away in the thundering wake of the accusations of sexual assault. They beat Dartmouth, 17-11, in front of a home crowd that approached a school record, but my thoughts weren’t on the great fan support, the pressures facing first-year coach John Danowski, or the “innocent until proven innocent” buttons that apparently filled the bleachers.

My first thoughts? Great; the rival Big Green lost its first game.

Because, you see, there is a distinction to be made between the greater world of college lacrosse and a single isolated incident that happened on a single isolated campus involving three single, isolated young men. Let’s be real, though: college lacrosse on the whole and the Duke lacrosse scandal aren’t mutually exclusive.

But they should be.

Duke’s first game in months is most obviously story-worthy, but we shouldn’t have to sacrifice the game itself in order to hear about last year’s alleged indiscretions with a stripper. The Associated Press should devote lots of coverage to the Blue Devils’ opening game, but at the end of the day, they still have some duty to actually, well, cover the game.

There’s no chicken-and-egg conundrum here. We all know which came first, and we also know which will have a lasting impact. Duke’s lacrosse program—the team, the games, and the sport itself—will still be around long after Mike Krzyzewski retains his rightful place as the most important person in Duke athletics. This case, I’m happy to say, will not be.

This is why we shouldn’t fret when we hear that Reade Seligmann, one of the former Blue Devil players still facing charges for sexual offense and kidnapping, could possibly make his way to Harvard. Duke was and still is one of the premiere programs in the nation, and Seligmann was good, so what’s the beef? He’s not a convicted criminal, the case itself is ripe with corruption, and there are no suspicions of any NCAA impropriety.

And now that it’s been confirmed that Harvard might have some interest in bringing Seligmann to the program, I welcome the idea. That potential is still a long way from becoming a reality, but if it did happen, it would only be a strong addition to the growing program.

The coaches here (and at Brown, another school interested in Seligmann) understand something important: it’s about the game. The program and the sport itself predate any single player currently involved with it, and with that in mind, it’s poor recruiting for a staff not to take a look at a player like Seligmann. Until he’s convicted of a crime or some proof arises that can offer some real evidence to the wrongs he’s committed, there’s just one thing his potential suitors should think about: how it will help the team on the field.

If he can be of assistance in that respect, then it’s a good investment.

I’m often the first to step back and ask everyone to maintain a bit of perspective. I’m quick to be the reminder: It’s just sports. Just sports.

In regards to the Duke’s ongoing off-the-field lacrosse saga, however, it’s just news. It’s fleeting, it’s time-sensitive, and save for a few unforgettable moments in history, it always eventually drifts away.

The game they play, and sport in general—the entity of athletic competition itself, not an individual game or an individual college athlete—well, that’s what they’re here for.

Let’s remember that there is a great sport underneath the exterior layer of the Duke scandal that most people don’t get to see. Let’s remember why it’s such a big story in the first place: because they were lacrosse players.

Such a scandal became what it was because of the game, not the other way around. Let’s not forget what came first.

—Staff writer Malcom A. Glenn can be reached at mglenn@fas.harvard.edu.