Don’t Feel Too Sorry for the Dukies

Wow. Don’t feel too sorry for some guys who wrongly accused of rape?
Hope you’re never in their shoes.

Nonsense! Evans has already lost a job offer. Nifong should be made to repay ALL legal fees for all three players, and pay Evans annually an amount equivalent to the salary he lost by losing the job offer (with annual percent increases = typical career path increases for next 40 years [typical career length]). I doubt any of the three players will ever be able to hold a corporate white-collar job with their reputations ruined. Saying they deserve no sympathy because they made a mistake by having the party is a bit extreme. I made a silly mistake at a bridge tournament last week (I drew one too many rounds of trump) but didn’t lose a job, pay roughly $1,000,000 in legal fees, or suffer anything more than a transiently bruised ego. EW

One must feel some sympathy for these guys, but we must also remember that these are not upstanding individuals. They are priveleged rich men who finally had a year of adversity in their lives as a side effect of their reckless partying…boo hoo. The public will soon forget these men, and the tarnish will wear off their names soon after. Hmmm…I wonder what the after-party from their press conference was like.

Taking issue with the treatment of these young men because their behavior on the night in question was not admirable is like saying we should not have been outraged by the assasination of John Kennedy because of his moral misconduct as President. Anytime a public officer of the court misuses is authority to prosecute someone he knows to be innocent, or even suspects might be innocent, he is jeopordizing the freedom of all of us. Further, don’t underestimate the part the news services played in this disaster. How much do you think the attention of the national news broadcasters had in pushing this matter forward and inspiring Mr. Knifong to use the prosecution to put himself in a better light before the voters in order to get reelected. You are not innocent in this matter and should look very closely at how much the stories you choose to magnify for the sake of ratings deserve the attention you give and whether you have verified the facts before you take them public. Where would we be today if someone had asked for real proof of WMDs before supporting a war in Iraq?

The article states:
“MOST IMPORTANT, there are many, many cases of prosecutorial misconduct across our country every year. The media covers few, if any, of these cases.”
Yes, and that’s exactly why these young men deserve restitution. In other, lower-profile cases, the court does what the court does, and, hopefully, justice finally prevails. In the case of these young men, their names were tied to their alledged misdeeds in headlines all across the country. They were not merely falsely accused and indicted on little or no evidence, they were publicly slimed, on a regular basis, for a year or more.
Nifong, whose personal vendetta apparently was not swayed by a total lack of corroborating evidence, should do hard time after paying full restitution.

Who cares about feeling sorry for the accused – sympathy is a nice sentiment, but that’s not what this is about. These young men were wrongfully accused of disgusting crimes that they did not commit, and they were exploited by leaders in their community, national figureheads (Sharpton, Jackson), and their own teachers. Everyone who threw mud at these boys had an agenda to push, publicity to gain, and they’ve all faded quietly into the background. To suggest that these wrongs should be dismissed in the eyes of the public because the victims were well-connected, rich, white men is simply despicable. You do all wrongfully accused persons a disservice by suggesting the Duke students’ plight is worth less because of their social & economic status. The system is broken – people of all class & color suffer at the hands of power-hungry politicians and lawmakers every day, and this case has brought it to light. So no, don’t feel sorry for the men, but acknowledge that
they experienced an undeniable injustice that should be neither ignored nor rationalized.

Who are you and what rock did you crawl out from under?
Racial epithets? First amendment to the constitution.
Paid $800 for strippers? Supply and Demand
Previous offenses? No bearing.
Resources for attorneys? What if it was your kid?
You’re kind of journalism is troublesome BUT I won’t hold it against YOU!
Either they did something illegal or they didn’t.

WOW! Look at the commentary -theme running through out most of the comments, one that is imploding our country every darn day, the old rich vs. poor perception.
First, IF these kids do indeed hail from ‘rich’ families, what does that say about their families? I’ll tell you what it says, it means they busted their humps to get where they are today despite a majority in this country who push more and more to take from them (because just they are ‘RICH’) and give it to those who are basically lazy and undisciplined!
Bottom line…who cares if they kids are ‘privileged,’ poor or purple in color! In my opinion, these kids were done dirty by a pompous lawyer and then excoriated by the media, as usual, race baiters and whacked out Duke professors.
If this had happened to my kid, Mr. Moran, I’d have your colleagues, Mr. Nifong and the race baiter’s heads served up a silver platter! And when finished, my son would indeed be one rich dude!

Articles written by idiots like this author are the real problem. Instead of focusing on the illegal and immoral behavior of a power hungry DA, he’s focusing on something that’s more media-friendly, like the race and social classes of the falsely accused. Saying they shouldn’t receive sympathy, I hope this author loses jobs and friends because someone falsely accuses him a crime and he has no outlet to defend himself because other people want to believe the “good story” rather than the truth.
Comparing their plight to the Rutgers basketball game was by far the most short-sighted and ignorant comment in the article. These guys were possibly going to prison for 30 years based on a lie. They were going to lose their lives. The Rutgers basketball team had a comment made about them by some old white bigot on the radio, and will recover within a week. Plus, the comments aren’t even as bad as the things you hear on a hip-hop/rap radio station.

Usually I respect Terry Moran, but this is the most ridiculous thing I’ve read about the case. Good heavens, man! You really need to rethink this.

Terry,
You are weird man. Colleged aged men drinking before they are 21 and going to party with strippers. Wow, that is crazy. I would put those kids right behind Hitler and Stalin on my morally reprehensible spectrum. As for the racial epithets, not acceptable, but who is to say any of the 3 ever used them. It appears Seligman was not even at the party when most of the shannigans were going on. I do not think the kids are heroes, but no matter how you stack it or ratinolize it on an individual level these kids got royally screwed.

Terry:
I totally agree with you – its not the first time that well-to-do preppies have gotten off because of their background. Those that think demeaning women in any way, shape or form is what men are put on this earth for, and whether the woman is good, bad or indifferent is the least of their worries. Had they had Ken Starr on their case, innocent or not, he would have not given up until he found something to make them guilty. At least Bill Clinton never demeaned, or made Monica look bad – she did that by telling her good friend who told the world. Try living under the circumstances Bill Clinton did and see if these three preppies can become the exemplary person he has. Its unfortunate their first disappointment in life had to be this severe – and of course we can’t compare them to the thousands of others who have been unjustly incarcerated, some for long periods of time or life, because they don’t have the resources. And when I hear – “they’re doing what ever other college guy has done,” it just galls me. That’s the most assinine answer so overused. If these preppies think they went through a year of hell, how about the young girls who attend a frat party and end up being raped, maybe pregnant, and can’t prove who was responsible because she had been drinking. I don’t think her time in hell is one year and forgotten. Especially if she’s not rich, whethr nnocent or guilty.
Bottom line is – life is not fair, and justice is not fair. If the lawyer knew, as the preppies say, that they were not guilty – then he’s the guilty one. If he knew he was dealing with a sick person, it should never have gone on. If the preppies lawyers were the best in the country – obviously they weren’t smart – they didn’t stop it early on. They obviously made quite a bundle off these preppies’ families. Money doesn’t always buy the best.

Whoa, Terry,
Not feeling sorry for the “Dukies” does not compute. Of course there are many other poor or minority members of our society who are jailed because they couldn’t afford the high priced defense these 3 young men had. But these people and the “Dukies” were equally injured by what happened. The fact that their parents were able (and willing) to put up the dollars to go after that arrogant nutcase Nifong helped the rich and poor alike. He will no longer be around to invent dramatic causes to advance his political career. And it might serve as a warning to a few others like him out there. I hope those boys do sue him and strip him of every penny he has. The shame of this whole mess is that no one seems to intend to go after that lying piece of human garbage who started the whole mess. She was blatantly caught in her lies. Scooter Libby is headed to jail for his lies. Martha Stewart went to jail for hers. And neither of the things they did were considered sufficient enough to prosecute them for a crime. Making a false accusation is. She should be prosecuted for that, as well as lying. Apparently when it comes to lying all the discrimination is aimed at the white “haves”. That is not OK with me. Justice should be color blind and money blind. As far as I’ve read this AM, only Fox News has decided to publish an expose on her whole sordid existence. How many more men is she going to be able to bring charges against before she’s stopped? As a woman, it makes me furious. Women ARE raped. Women ARE victims of domestic abuse. But because of her, and a few others like her, women with real injuries are viewed with scepticism when they report it. And because of that, real abusers go free. As far as I could see from the blogs I’ve been reading, she never got much sympathy from the females of America from day one. That’s because we saw the inconsistancies in her story from day one. We didn’t believe her. And because we knew the real crime here is what she’s done to women as a group. Now women with legitamate injuries will have to think a little harder about bringing charges out of fear of being disbelieved. While she goes scot free to continue with her tawdry lifestyle. Oh, and BTW, Terry… I remember being shocked way back in the 70′s when it became OK to hire a sripper to come into a home or workplace to spice up some guy’s birthday party. Guess it must have been legal, since it’s still openly going on. How can I blame these guys for hiring strippers to spice up their party, when it was my generation that taught them it was a cool thing to do??? Whew! I feel better for having gotten that off my chest. Have a great day, y’all!! Scarlett

great article

I think if you had just deleted the words “don’t feel too sorry” for these boys, then people wouldn’t get so angry. You made EXCELLENT valid points that should be recognized, but often people don’t get past the emotion to see and understand those points.

Wow, talk about blaming the victims (the Dukies in case you were wondering). While you want us to remember “a few things” about that night, you should take note that everything you mention was legal.
Filing a false police report was not.
It sounds like this blog was written to help you sleep better at night. No doubt you were one of the many who presumed they were guilty because of your own white guilt.

The liberal media stikes again. This never would have been blown so out of proportion if it were not three whites boys that looked like they might be wronging a black women…..the media and prosicuter jump to convict in the press without all the facts. Do I hear any appologies from Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson???? Or are they along with the sick liberal media too busy hanging a shock jock who was just using freedom of speach??? There are lots of in justices that occur every day and the press MUST stop convicting people in the media. Terry Morin is way short sided on his views….he doesn’t slur people, he only implies. Sooo ABC is that OK or should you hang him out ot dry? Why is his oponion important? He is surposed to report the news NOT make the news.

I presume that this would continue to be your view should you or your children someday be indicted for a crime of which you were innocent?

TC………Spot on could not have said it better myself

Can you really be that stupid ?

Imus got fired for saying what they thought they were paying for. These young men choose to have what they thought was a great party. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time doing the wrong thing. The crime was and still is defending that behavior.

Wow, there are alot of opinions out there.
Terry, I have to agree with you.
Now regarding responses that include racism, get over it!
I wasn’t here back in the days of slavery and most likely most of you weren’t either! You want racism to stop, then stop throwing it in our faces. As long as the good reverend’s are on their soap boxes, it will never end.
The Duke guys will be fine. They will reap the rewards with being known for something.
I will never be famous for anything but I am good enough for the life I live!

I find this appalling. All of it. I especially find it unsettling that Mr. Moran believes that students attending Duke or other similar schools are cushioned from the real world! Give me a break. These young men obviously have the brain power to get into Duke and to stay there. My parents graduated from Duke as did my two nieces. My father was the son of missionaries and my nieces are the daughters of a minister and a school teacher. Both of these families have/had limited funds but felt education was a priority. Before one pigeon-hole’s everyone, he should conduct the necessary research. Mr. Moran is sorely wrong about this.

This is absurd. I think these young men should be given an apology from all those who prematurely condemned them. I agree with the poster who stated that I was not around during the time of slavery and neither were most who still use slavery to throw in our faces. Yes, what happened the night of the lacrosse team party was unseemly and repulsive, but the accuser’s story was never very believable. Revs. Sharpton and Jackson must be ecstatic that they have a new controversy to protest or else they just might have to apologize to the young men they wrongfully accused. Are Sharpton and Jackson going to apologize to these boys? Is Oprah going to invite them on her show to speak of the legal injustices they have been subjected to because they are wealthy white folk? Probably not. The “Dukies” and their families did not ask for an apology from Sharpton, Jackson and all of the others that prematurely proclaimed their guilt, but I think that we should demand that they get one, just like others demanded that the RU women’s team get one.

The fact that these three men come from wealthy backgrounds has nothing to do with this case. It’s comparing apples to oranges. They were wrongly accused and the arrogance of the prosecution had to be addressed and must be punished. Maybe this case will have a positive outcome for all races. Maybe, just maybe, prosecutors will now take a closer look at all the evidence before they judge the accused. That’s assuming prosecutors have evaluated the outcome of this case and have learned something from it.

Gee Terry. There are an awful lot of negative comments here. Is that what you wanted or do you actually feel that judgemental against three innocent people.
I know a person that wound up in the hospital with chest pains after being wrongfully and vengefully accused. His family lost their life savings but we are not to feel too sorry for these people? You better hope this never happens to you.
I will never watch ABC News again because of you and your tasteless comments.

First of all, I didn’t realize there was “praise” being heaped upon these young men.
Second, why should it matter that they requested a white stripper? If a service is for sale or hire legally (whether you agree or disagree with the availability and provision of that service) isn’t it the purchaser’s right to specify precisely what it is they want to purchase?
Finally, the fact that these young men were lucky enough to have families with financial resources should in no way matter to whether one feels sorry for them or not. Its as if you think its okay that their famiiies will likely have to pay approximately 1 million each in legal bills.
I expect more of you Moran. Hope its never your son or daughter in such a predicament.

To relate this case to the Rutgers case is an outrage, but because you attempted to draw the relationship, lets continue it. I would imagine most if not all of these young ladies on the basketball team drank underage, bought rap music that called white people racial epithets, or otherwise broke the law or acted immorally. So does that make it ok to say that we shouldn’t be sympathetic for them?
How bout “Rev.” Jesse Jackson. He came out and condemned these 3 guys, along with just about every other major Black organization in the country. They said Imus shouldnt keep his job because he used GOVERNMENT controlled airwaves to make the comment. What did Nifong do? What did Jesse Jackson do? Called these kids every type of name in the book. To call these kids privileged, etc is exactly the type of name calling this country has cried out against in the Rutgers case, except these kids are hated because they are wealthy, and white. They were called rich brats, hooligans, and any number of names. But it is okay because they are white?
When you make a comparison, draw it to its conclusion and make sure that is where you want your comment to go.

Many valid points made in these posts. Wouldn’t our world be a much nicer place if we could live with no ethnic or economic boundaries, and these boys, along with their accuser, were being judged by their ACTIONS as opposed to their ethnicity, social status and financial standing. I think many of these posts might read differently, as would Mr Moran’s article.
On another note, it sure would be nice to see people stand up and become accountable for their actions, good or bad, instead of constantly finding someone to blame (or sue) because “they can”. In my day, accountablity was a valued quality. It seems that although these boys were wrongly accused, I have not heard any reports of how sorry they were for the “party” that they were responsible for hosting when and where the incident occured. Perhaps the families are “suffering” not only because of the unjust charges that were rendered against these boys, but also because of the embarrassment that the “party” caused to the University, and their families. If not, wouldn’t these boys return to the fine University to finish their education? Is Nifong responsible for those actions also??
Yes, this has been a terrible representation of our Legal System, and as a tax paying US Citizen for more years than i care to admit, I for one am very frustrated at the amount of money that was spent to wrongly prosecute innocent men. Can i sue Mr Nifong too??
These young men will live with this forever, and to be wrongly accused is a very unfortunate error. However, for all that we complain that their “false guilt” was displayed in the media, and has cost one young man a job on wall street, and hurt their futures, i say this. as our media has very openly reported to us their alleged guilt, they have also vehemently expressed their innocence. I would think these future employers would ALSO see this information. As they apply for these prestigious positions, they must realize that not getting the job may not be a reflection of the false allegations, but perhaps in their behavior which first led to this entire incident
I just wish our world would drop the race card, and i mean that about ALL races.

I completely agree with you Terry, and frankly, these boys are NOT completely innocent. I am appalled at their behavior that night….and I compel any reader (those that aren’t rapists and racists) who disagrees with you, how they would feel if these boys were their children and behaved the way they did. It is absolutely disgusting.
I hope that all of this will make these obviously “privileged” boys realize that they can’t get away with everything and learn to treat women with respect. Unfortunately I know these types well…if it didn’t happen this time, I am sure it will happen next time. Ask any rape crisis counselor…these boys are casebook.

Terry, your opinions lack consistency and depth of knowledge. We should feel sympathy for all who are wrongly accused, rich or poor and black or white. These boys have acknowledged how lucky they are to have had the resources to fight off a misguided DA and an opportunistic accuser (read article on CNN.com from the AP).
Terry, you pointed out that there are many poor Americans who do not have the resources to defend themselves like the Duke lacrosse players did. But how does that make them more deserving of our sympathy? Sympathy does not require that you be a minority and a destitute. Sympathy is merely feeling the emotions that others are going through and recognizing how their situation would make you feel. Finnerty, Seligman, and Evans are people who were wrongly accused and are worthy of our sympathy.
The bottom line: sympathy for the wrongly accused and condemnation for the false accuser.

Suggesting that these men deserved what they got is comparable to implying that a promiscuous woman deserved to be raped.

Fire Terry Moran. He’s the sort
of nasty journalist who feeds our
current mood/mode of vindictiveness at all cost. And I guess he’s not in the echelons of privilege himself??

Hiring striipers and behaving in that manner may or may not be immoral depending on your personal preference; however it certainly is NOT illegal. What happed to them cost them more then financial compensation can accont for. How about loosing an entire year of school; being set back that far back for nothing. AND to talk about finances, lawyers aren’t free, just because they can afford them is not an excuse to why they needed lawyers in the first place; bottom line, it cost them millions, and an entire year, for nothing; so yes, I do feel sorry for them, and i cannot believe ABCNEWS encourages your nonsence.

Shame on you Terry. Hope you and yours are never unjustly accused of a crime you didn’t commit. Guess if that did happen, I shouldn’t feel too sorry for you. You can afford good lawyers, right? I also bet that when you were a young man of college age you had a few wild nights yourself. You were just lucky enough to not meet up with a lunatic who ruined your life.

There is a principle of law in this country, that one is presumed innocent until proved guilty in a court of law. These men were found guilty in the mind of a prosecutor, and were punished in the public press on no more authority than that personal “verdict”.
And now we see people like you, Terry, attempting to excuse this horrid wrong by pointing to the possibly-regrettable by still wholly LAWFUL behavior of the accused in hiring strippers for a team party. You are exchanging “guilty even though never tried” for “innocent but they really deserved it [wink, wink].”
SHAME ON YOU!!!
If we cannot stand up against unjust prosecutions and unjust prosecutors in a case like this, then we will NEVER stand up against such injustice in our land.

As someone posted earlier, most of these opinions, including Terry Moran’s, seem to come down to spite and envy. In other words, if you don’t have as much as these kids have, you hate them, predictably; if you do have as much, then it’s not an issue and you allow yourself to recognize that these kids were wronged. The Attorney General of the State of North Carolina personally declared them innocent, so there’s no question on this point. My question is this: since when did we as a nation get reduced down to such greedy, small-minded, and self-centered cavemen that we must begrudge others a little sympathy when it’s clearly deserved, just because of their economic status? Must we always check with the selfish part of the brain (the one that calculates whether someone has more or less than we do), before allowing ourselves to empathize with them? What a pathetic bunch of moral midgets we’ve become when every smidgeon of emotion we feel for others must first pass our own personal envy test! Fat chance anyone gets much sympathy these days!!! We only demean ourselves by constantly linking our sense of right and wrong to material standards. As Terry Moran’s views so aptly illustrate, the days of genuine moral integrity in this country, that is a sense of morality uncompromised by personal considerations, are long gone.

“…I have a dream that someday, a person will be judged by the content of his character rather than the color of his skin…” MLK
Judging from Mr. Moran’s article, I would guess that we are still a long way off. I am aghast that we have awoken from MLK’s dream to the nightmare of reverse racism. God help us!
C.M. Irwin

Your opinion is completely one sided Mr. Moran. Because of privilege it’s all right that they were villified?! WRONG!!! Let me tell you about the rutgers basketball team- I’m sure they are privileged in their own way getting athletic scholarships to pay their way through school! And I am sure they are quite comfortable for college students.
It was wrong for Mr Sharpton and Mr Jackson as well as Mr. Nifong to rush to judgement!!! Just as Imus was wrong to say those things about the Rutger’s womens’ basketball team.
If I were those boys I would sue Mr. Nifong, Mr Jackson, Mr Sharpton, and the University- they were clearly wronged!

Where there is smoke there is fire. These clowns may have been falsely accused – and this is wrong – but they placed themselves in this predicament and I don’t feel sorry for them for one moment regardless if they are rich or poor.

Sure, Terry, you elitist jerk.
And I’m sure your Lawrence University was a poor kids’ school, just this side of Appalachia Community College.
I hope your son is never accused of rape.

You’re an idiot, Terry.

Wow! You get paid to write this illogical drivel??? Your thesis:If you’re white, privileged and sometimes behave inappropriately ie: drink, use profane or racially inappropriate language and hire a stripper (like thousands of college students –and adults– have been known to do), it’s no big deal to lose a year (395 days) of your life…to have your face and name the subject of countless newspaper/magazine articles and talk shows condeming you for something that did not occur. After all,many have suffered more,right, so why should sympathy or outrage be expressed for the lies of the accuser or the misconduct of the DA in this case?
Money can buy anything, right???
I imagine you are financially “comfortable”, Mr. Moran. What importance/value then would you personally assign to 395 days of similar treatment for you and your family?
Wow….

I do not think that anyone can honestly say that the justice system on this countrey is fair and balanced. There is overwhelming evidence that it is not. And it is the poor and minorities who bear the brunt of it. Those young men are not heroes but they definitely got screwed. Perhaps their behavior was not beyond reproach, but that doesn’t mean they should pay for a crime they did not commit.
Funny though how Mr. Moran doesn’t mention this:
One of the players, Reade Seligmann, said his experience had opened his eyes to a “tragic world of injustice” that he never knew existed.
“If police officers and a district attorney can systematically railroad us with absolutely no evidence whatsoever, I can’t imagine what they would do to people who do not have the resources to defend themselves.” Another of the players, Collin Finnerty, said he would use this experience to stop “this ever happening again”.

I so agree with Yvonne. Where are the apologies from Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton? They were ready to hang these guys…they would expect an agology if the shoe was on the other foot. It’s all so one sided. When did it become a crime to come from a well off family? I say God bless the boys families for working hard and being in a position to be able to put their sons in a great school and pay for the best legal defense they could get. If they couldn’t afford the best lawyers I would expect that the boys outcome would have been very different. We were all ready to hang them.

If the accused had not been able to hire private attorney’s, they could very well have been convicted.
Whatever poor judgement which the Duke students may may have shown that night does not justify the hassle that was brought upon them over the last year.
This editorial is just plain misguided hogwash.

All men are potential rapists in Terry’s world. Leprechauns and unicorns are also real in Terry’s world.

Well gee Terry, I think overpaid so-called “journalists” like yourself were certainly a huge contributing factor to these young men recieving such sensationalized press in the first place. So what if these guys hired strippers? Not exactly a practice ones pastor might approve of……but NOT illegal.
And two of the biggest fire-fuelers were those wannbe MLK and Malcolm X clowns named Sharpton and Jackson. Those two individuals are two of the most divisive, race-baiting, reverse-racists in the country.
These 3 young men were tried and convicted in the media without any facts whatsoever. As for your reference to the Rutgers girls………there is a BIG difference between being called a nasty name and being accused of a crime that could have landed these guys in prison for 30+ years.
Terry, Im’ pretty sure that you are well compensated by ABC, and that you personally would have a big advantage financially if you ever needed legal counsel……enough said. The state of North Carolina and the City of Durham should negotiate a speedy and generous settlement with these three young men for all they have had to endure.

Your attempt at logic should be kept to a hobby.
So, you’re only telling the truth if you’re poor, or if you’re not poor, it doesn’t matter what happened? I’m sure glad you weren’t around when they wrote the Bill of Rights!

This is quite possibly one of the most moronic things I have seen written on this topic.

Ace of AoSHQ Blog is correct. This article by Terry ‘Moron’ is cryptomarxist twaddle.

Most people have said it well, so I’ll just pile on.
Most readers are obviously sick of the irony of privileged people like Terry Moran performing a beat down on people he considers privileged. Typical liberal do-as-I-say…
Terry, did you read what you wrote or are you just a faucet of illogical nonsense? As so many people have written, if YOU were wrongly accused of a crime, your words would be different. That’s hypocrisy.

Terry, I once had a modicum of appreciation, however those days are over – your obvious play towards class/race baiting is truly pathetic – a point of perspective – Rutgers women are called a name by a known bigot whose social influence is marginal at best while three completely innocent men are forced to fight for their lives against a prosecutor who consciously hid evidence which would have exculpated them? Are you serious? As one of the defendents attorneys said yesterday, pray you never find yourself in the positon these guys found themselves, convicted of a crime you never did (the evidence is utterly overwhelming) with posters with your face on them posted all over your college campus labeling you a rapist – with faculty members of your school, some of whom you’d studied under placing advertisments in the campus newspaper clamoring for your conviction, holding you up as an example of all that is wrong with college athletics (remember you’re innocent btw). And what’s with the class hatred Terry? Geez, get over it – I grew up in Newark NJ, in the housing projects, and I know all about being on the wrong side of the tracks and I am outraged at what these poor guys went thru – a miscarrage of justice is a miscarrage of justice – or should we let these “white” guys fry to satisy the vengful dreams of extremists who say it’s fair since so many poor blacks get beaten over the head by the system. As other posters have said Terry, pray someone you love never has to endure such treatment – I also will NEVER tune into ABC news again if this is what passes for ‘honest debate’ at the alphabet network.
Paul, Essex County, NJ

I just can’t believe you’re writing something like this now that the truth about the Duke Lacrosse Rape Hoax has come out.
“They were part of a team that collected $800 to purchase the time of two strippers.”
What’s your point? It’s not illegal to hire a stripper. It *is* illegal to lie a Grand Jury about being raped and withhold evidence from the defense, which Crystal Gail Mangum and Mike Nifong did do.
“Their team specifically requested at least one white stripper.”
Nothing wrong with wanting to see at least one stripper you find physically attractive. Funny how the Duke rape pot-bangers were claiming the Duke players specifically requested a *black* stripper so they could rape a black woman.
“During the incident, racial epithets were hurled at the strippers.”
Possibly, but reports are the strippers also used racial slurs against the white guys at the party. I guess black on white racism doesn’t count.
“Colin Finnerty was charged with assault in Washington, DC, in 2005.”
True but that doesn’t make him guilty of rape.
“The young men were able to retain a battery of top-flight attorneys, investigators and media strategists.”
Good for them. They needed it to fight off a corrupt DA and a system that was biased against non-poor white males.

Both Nifong and the anonymous false accuser should each serve at least 5 years in prison.

Thanks for reinforcing for me why I never watch the MSM. Ever. I will now expand this to never going to Disneyland – I live in Southern Cal – and will have to now give up watching ESPN. Thank God for the Internet. Oh, and I will be staying away from all of ABCs sponsors.
It’s little men like you, and networks like yours, who continue to divide this great country.
Disrespectfully yours,

Hey, as long as they’re white males and “privileged,” they deserve whatever they get, right, Terry?
What if they had been wealthy black males accused by a poor white girl? Would you have written this same piece? Or would you have written that justice had been served?
These men were falsely accused of a crime that they didn’t commit, a crime that NEVER HAPPENED.
Being called a name by a dumb radio host is nowhere the equal of being falsely accused of a horrible crime, regardless of their background!
Sheesh. And you journalists think the media isn’t biased towards the left and against anyone white.

Don’t you get it? They suffered this false prosecution BECAUSE they were white, “privileged”, successful university athletes from out of town. There was never ANY evidence and they were prosecuted only because they were the perfect defendants for Mike Nifong to pander to Durham’s racial division.

Terry. You are SICK

You make my head hurt. Which of the three accused hurled the racial epithets? You know who it was. Why not tell your readers? How about I just guess at your reasons since you like guessing games.

Thank you Terry for confirming my pre-existing view of your reporting. To somehow justify blatant prosecutorial misconduct on the fact that these men come from a well-to-do background only shows your classism and sexism. I would expect a legal affairs correspondent to look beyond one’s biases and view cases on their merit or lack thereof.

RIGHT ON TREVOR!!!
That again is my point about liberal “justice,” namely, it’s only for the marginalized of their choosing. Again, the sooner we get rid of this “black people are poor and victims” and “white people are rich and victimizers” rhetoric, the sooner I think we can all respect each other and fight for true justice where evil is punished, truth preserved, and innocence protected.
A word to the Liberals: Take note, social justice is not served by political ideologies and agendas, but by fighting for the truth in all cases, even when the facts go against your advocacy groups..
Wake up America!

I’ve been at rougher parties with uglier strippers while in the Army… in uniform … and no children of the privileged were in attendance as far as I could tell.

You write like an affected college kid.
By the way, were you ever in the presence of a stripper in college?
I liked how you slimed Finnerty, that was out of the blue.

“Mike Nifong… has been found to have been reckless and deceitful in the discharge of his duties… Based on the public record of what he did in this case, he may well be properly disbarred.”
and
“The accuser in this case has been shown to be either a vicious liar or a troubled fantasist.”
Terry Moron’s own words. He admits that the accusations were totally bogus. He admits that the prosecution was a railroad job.
But we are supposed to still hold the lacrosse guys in contempt because they came from wealthy backgrounds.
Wait, there’s more:
(My Comments in parentheses)
“…let us also remember a few other things”:
“They were part of a team that collected $800 to purchase the time of two strippers.” (So What? It’s a free country)
Their team specifically requested at least one white stripper. (Which proves exactly what?)
During the incident, racial epithets were hurled at the strippers. (Or so says Crystal Mangum, the accuser. Can we believe anything she says?)
Colin Finnerty was charged with assault in Washington, DC, in 2005.
(Totally irrelevant to whether or not he commited the rape)
The young men were able to retain a battery of top-flight attorneys, investigators and media strategists. (What? Are they supposed to voluntarily accept the services of the public defender? Are they supposed to apologize for being able to afford good legal representation?)
Terry, your argument is incoherent. It is a unrelated, unorganized pile of class envy. I am familiar with logical fallacies, but I don’t remember ever seeing them all in one place before.
Terry Moran is a snide, self-satisfied, condescending, upper-west side smartass. He can dish it out but cannot take it. Can you imagine what would happen if Mr. Moran was wrongly accused of a crime? My god, we’d never hear the end of it. In fact, someone ought to put this theory to the test. Someone ought to accuse him of something. Then just watch how fast ol’ Terry gets himself all lawyered up with someone like Mark Geragos. I mean, he deserves it, right? He’s rich. He’s Famous. He’ll do all right. In fact, I quote Mr Moran himself:
…these young men will get on with their privileged lives. There is a very large cushion under them–the one that softens the blows of life for most of those who go to Duke or similar places, and have connections through family, friends and school to all kinds of prospects for success.”
Sort of like a correspondent for ABC News?
Terry Moran…
You stink!

This is sickening.
Oh please. Everyone, including you, Mr. Moran, get over your liberal selves. If Hillary Clinton was wrongly accused of a crime, you’d want the head of the prosecutor on a silver plate and have the execution of that prosecutor televised.
These kids were wrongly accused of a serious crime, and were part of a media frenzy that would leave anybody, rich or poor, embarrassed.
And do you know the status, financial, academic, and scholarship status of each and every player on the Rutger’s team? I think not. Those women have a bright future ahead of them – the WNBA for some- where they’ll make millions and be as or MORE well off as the three that were WRONGLY (do I need to repeat WRONGLY) accused of rape.
Hypocrite. You make me SICK. You’re a well off, white, affluent and influential man – you have the same qualities as the boys you are arguing against.
By the way, these kids came from families whose financial status is below that of yours, Mr. ABC.
Go join Rosie on the View. You can come to your liberal conclusions together and annoy the country together.
You’d be the first to complain of how racism is still a problem in this country. Well, Mr. Moron, racism is a problem because of bias, ignorant articles like this piece of rubbish are published.

Just go ahead and drop the “a” in your last name and replace it with an “o,” Mr. Moron.

I think that most of you are missing the point of the article and also perhaps in the future most of you should temper your angry responses by first reflecting on what he actually wrote. This could help you avoid childish, inflammatory and in many cases useless postings. Making fun of his name is about and childish, stupid, and useless as it gets.
First of all Mr. Moran reiterates that DA Mike Nifong was totally in the wrong. He then clearly states that the accuser was either a “vicious liar or a troubled fantasist.” And finally he ends with the position that the “young men…were victimized.” Isn’t that what the rest of us feel? So I ask why all the hateful responses?
There are three points to this article and all are addressed specifically to the media covering the story and not necessarily to the general public. If you don’t think so please read the second to last paragraph again.
The first point is: Don’t beatify these individuals in your media coverage because doing so really detracts from the true problems in the system. Pick someone more deserving such as James Giles (although not a saint in his own right) if you truly want to make a statement and not just get better ratings.
The second point can be summed up by recounting what their dad’s probably told them when the moms left the room. “Son I am glad this is over and I am certainly glad that you are innocent. I love you very much… but you were an IDIOT for being at that party in the first place! You should have known better and I hope that the lesson you learned, albeit way too harsh, will stick with you the next time you and your friends come up with such an asinine idea.
The third point, a bit cynically put for my taste, was that although they were victims they will recover because they have resources to do so. Sympathy for these Duke Lacrosse players isn’t totally misguided but the vast amount of sympathy would be more appropriately directed to those who are also victimized AND do not have a way to recover.
Perhaps we would understand Mr. Moran’s view if we looked at what he is referring to when he mentioned James Giles or the other victims of prosecutor misconduct. Also do any of you know for what he won the Thurgood Marshall Journalism Award? It obviously doesn’t mean he is above reproach but perhaps it does mean we should all take a step back and take a hard look at all the facts before writing a response next time.

Just a picture perfect example of what is wrong with people in the media today that are suppose to reporting the facts and truth to the people. I had to read this twice because I could not believe your comments here.
What was the main problem for these young people falsely charge? Why, you Mr. Moran and everyone else in the Media who decided this was front page news for a year. It is YOUR fault these poor students are going to be scared for life.
You and ever other media organziation out there should be doing a front page apology, but instead it seems you want to blow it off and make it seem not as bad as what happened to the Rutgers University women’s basketball team. Unbelieveable.
Thank you for this nice write up that shows exactly what is wrong with the Media today.
It is too bad these students can’t sue you and every other media organization out there that dragged them though this.

Don’t feel too sorry for them because they can afford their legal bills? That’s like telling people not to feel too sorry for Elizabeth Edwards because she can afford to pay her healthcare bills. Which is, if you haven’t realized already, a completely ridiculous and heartless thing to say.

Now let me see…three young men, from privileged families, hired strippers for a party and was accused of raping the African American woman, not in the same room, but in another location. And because there is no evidence(???)they were exonerated, received an apology and may be able to receive a settlement?
Hmmm…..interesting.

Good lord. We shouldn’t feel sorry for three young men who were falsely accused of rape because they have a SUPPORT SYSTEM? What. Ever. They could have gone to jail for years. Some people will always believe they are guilty, regardless of the fact that there is no evidence. They lost a year of their lives to this crap and likely piled up some impressive legal bills.
So no, I am not going to be feeling worse for the Rutgers team than I am for the Duke players, sorry. Don Imus said a stupid, prejudiced thing and got booted out on his butt in two weeks. I believe those women will be JUST FINE, thanks.

Moran, I am having a difficult time summoning words that sufficiently convey my contempt for you.

Terry, are you paid to say stupid things?

Here is what is most troubling…the fact that all of the “misconduct” you talk of is ok. I personally have been through what these guys have and did not have the money or publicity to get mine tossed out so easily. Fortunately I had a great attorney that was able to resolve the matter for me in a fair manner after the judge acknowledge the lack of investigation by the police AND the DA on the power trip. Mr Moran…what is troubling is that this is ok to you and others in the media…i think this truly shows our legal system is a JOKE and needs and overhaul as it is not about truth but a GAME to attorneys playing with peoples lives!!!! Get a clue…I hope some day for your sake some money hungry girl does not come after you with a false story…then maybe your outlook may change??

I can’t understand the severe emotional distress the girls have supposedly gone through. Watching 5-10 minutes of MTV is more degrading to young women than anything Imus said. If the comments of a talk radio guy none of them had ever heard of before was enough to ruin their season, then they’re in for a rude awakening when they leave school. The gnashing of teeth and wailing is totally out of proportion here.
I don’t care how privileged the Duke guys are, not many people can get stuck with millions in legal fees and brush it off. “Just sell some Halliburton shares, daddy, and get me another margarita while you’re at it”. Good lord, Moran, are you that hungry for class warfare?

You’re not much, are you, Terry.

i agree, just because these men had their parents’ resources to endure all this, does not mean that they deserve all this attention nor sympathy, much worse happens to those of us less fortunate socioeconomically but no one really pays attention…it’s life! By paying attention and wasting our time on these losers who do not even know how to take care of their personal lives, you continue to fuel this childish, discriminative culture within our country
on the other hand, what kind of future leaders are these elite schools helping to bring up anyway? think about it…racial slurs, demeaning women, what is on the minds of the elite? already in colleges where moral values are supposedly strongly upheld and still have not reached at least some level of maturity, truth be told they do not even seems mature enough to build meaningful relationships, seeking fake(bought) attention from strippers …when do you think that is going to happen? when they become presidents…like Bush…I highly doubt it!!!

Does ‘The View’ have an opening or something? You are starting to sound as ignorant as Rosie O. Are you now the morality police for the rest of us. Did you just so happen to overlook the evidence, or rather lack of ANY, before youimplied that these boys somehow DESERVED what happened to them based on actions YOU see improper(ie drinking in college, having parties etc..). Also, if your such a stickler for past cases involving the innocent wouldn’t it make sense that you would also champion these kids as survivors of the legal misconduct of those elected officials involved? I’ve wasted enough of my time with a idiot like yourself and a “NEWS”, ha now that’s funny, a news source like ABC. God forbid something like this happens to someone you love, you might just chcange your stance. Until then I can only hope.

There is a good chance that these three Dukies may have been “scared straight” by their unhappy run-in with the law. If so, then it will have been one of the most beneficial experiences of their lives. Painful, yes, but not nearly as painful as the awful times suffered by other wild young people who actually spent years in prison for crimes of which they were or were not guilty. Their parents were not able or willing to discipline them and set a good example for them, so the legal system attempted to fulfill it’s mandate by doing what little it could (by nefarious means, as it turns out) to fill-in for the parent’s glaring inadequacies. If they take it as the blessing in disguise that it truly was, these young fellows will one day look back on this experience as the fearful trauma that turned them around and set them on the right path in life. If not, then they might easily become bitter and sulk the rest of their lives away in miserable self-pity. We hope for the former, but, given the obviously poor level of parenting, one fears the latter is more likely.

In fact Terry, this would me a much more appropriate statement to make, after your profession’s performance on this case.

Most of you people are crazy! Not only were these guys cleared (and rightfully so), but they will be far, far better off than they were before, or would have been had this not happened! I sense book and movie deals coming, along with even more and better job offers than they would have had before because everyone feels so sorry for them. The accuser has actually done them a huge favor and set them up for untold wealth and success. Save your tears for those who can’t afford a “dream team” and end up doing time for crimes they didn’t commit. Oh, wait, I forgot; those people are usually poor and/or minorities; they don’t matter!

Terry, the three young men said all this…already. They apologized for the party. They stated their understanding that their parents’ hard work afforded them the ability to defend themselves against these charges…legal charges and pitiful efforts by the media to have them hung based on no evidence whatsoever. They also stated a vow to work to help others less fortunate when faced with similar situations. They wrote your article. Go back to sleep.

Terry did you think before you wrote this?
Maybe we should only feel sorry for poor people who are subject to injustice. After all if you are falsely accused of rape and tried in the media across the country you can go to the mall and buy some nice stuff to make up for it.
Very thoughtless column.

Well said, sir. It’s much easier to side with the accused, because all they ask you to do is do nothing. Believing the rape survivor requires challenging our belief in a just world, and denying that 1 out of every 4 women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime.

What a joke. The only reason they had the “special treatment” and expensive lawers was becasue the media prosecuted them and declared them guilty. How funny that ABC practically declares them guilty and then finds out that tey are totally innocent, but still insists tht they are being treated with special gloves. ABC is just covering their butt for the horrible injustice that they did by attempting to show that prosecutorial misconduct isnt something that one should worry about if you have a fancy lawyer to prove your case…

You should be fired like Imus.

You are a complete idiot! Have you heard of innocent until proven guilty? Funny, the liberal media is always so quick to convict on the sole basis of an accusation from a minority. Al not-so “sharp” Sharpton, the “not-so” and “cheater” Rev. Jackson and you should apologize to the Duke players. Similar, to what you and the aforementioned clowns demanded from Imus. Don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth. Again, you are a liberal moron.

You, sir, should be ashamed of yourself for these comments.
And, please don’t tell me that there exists no liberal bias in the mainstream media. Shame on you, sir.

you are a complete moron; another shining example of the liberal bias maintained by the mainstream press-how someone as you can gain employment says it all about the motives of firms such as ABC

This is why I turn ABC, CBS, and NBC off.
They are 100% in the tank with the lunatics.

Wow. We aren’t going anywhere as a culture, are we? This whole column boils down to, “They’re rich white boys. They deserve it.”

This is the kind of drivel that makes the majority of Americans hate and distrust the “main stream” press. These guys are just lazy and stupid.

Moran is a moron! You should be fired, not unlike Imus!! Wow, this is truely amazing to see such absurd support for injustice as a whole. Moran = Imus; name him and shame him.

Is that Moran or MORON?

Way to throw those stones. Wow. This is how disconnected with reality reporters are these days. What a loser.

What is the matter with requesting at least one white stripper? Would you be equally offended if they had requested at least one blonde stripper? What if they had insisted on having two redheads? There is nothing wrong with requesting that specific parameters be met when you are paying for a good or service. In fact, if their preference was for white strippers, it seems to me that asking for “At least one white stripper” is likely a concession designed to avoid the assumption that they were racist.
Hiring strippers is a seamy sort of endeavor. Let’s not pretend that it is also a hateful one.

That is just an absurd point of view, in every way.

You’re an idiot. Seriously Terry, go back into your hole.

Wow – Saint Terry. If things had gone the other way for these three I doubt that Moran would be trying to paint them as have a good side.

Will Terry have the nerve to defend himself? I doubt it

All I have to say this is why the media is not to be trusted. I take everthing the media reports on with a HUGE grain of salt.

So Terry Moran, liberal journalist, thinks he has something to say by way of injecting class envy into a story. Let’s dredge up some of his rushes to judgment from the early days of the case. Wonder whether Moran had offered to sign that “statement of the 88″ from Duke. I’m sure he was with them in spirit. Libs know the “higher ground,” which always involves meeting out justice according to their own formula.

This trite little column sounds a lot like sour grapes. Sorry, you tried to make news (again), instead of reporting it, and it didn’t work out.

I think you misspelled your last name.

I’m sure you feel like this gives you some credibility with your elitist cliques, but you are really just a TOOL to be used and discarded when it’s convenient.

You ARE kidding, right? These guys were maliciously prosecuted by an out of control DA, their reputations are permanently marred as the words “Duke Lacrosse team” will always have connotations of rape, the coach was unjustly fired and the media had a feeding frenzy on them and we’re not supposed to feel any sympathy for them. Perhaps what you meant to say was, “This should lead us to make sure no one is ever dragged through the mud like this, never imprisoned falsely, never accused and charged to get a slimy attorney reelected to public office, never given horrible legal representation no matter their circumstances.” I’m sure that is what you meant.

Some of what this guy said was never proven. They never called her names. It was all a lie.

Unbelievable article. The race baiting that Mr. Moran does is just incredible.
Hey Terry, how does it feel to fully expose your race baiting liberal bias. Definitely not surprising coming from ABC news. Hope you never have a son falsely accused of rape.
I too was going to write a big long response but why even bother.
This has got to be one of the most ridiculous posts I have ever read.

I want to know when Sharpton & Jackson will hold a press conference apologizing to the three young white men who were wrongly & intentionally accused of crimes they did not commit. Sharpton and Jackson both came out with arms flying about this incident… and yet, I am sure we will NEVER hear an apology from them. Even though “ONE OF THEIR OWN” was the false accuser.

Well, one shouldn’t be too suprised by this post from Mr. Moron, sorry Moran. All you would have to do is read some of his previous posts and his news commentary to catch his personal views and political leanings.
It seems to me his view is that they deserved to be prosecuted just because they were from Upper middle class, white families.
This is the type of reporting and commentary this guy is all about, and will continue to supply and I’ve already wasted more time on this than I should have.

Once upon a time right was right and wrong was wrong. Now it’s blurred when race or wealth are involved. Rich and white beware, you don’t count because of all your “privileges.”

I had to stop reading about half way through your post Terry because you are so way off base it’s not even funny. They should be happy they got ‘high-priced legal representation’? And who paid for that representation stupid? I’m assuming their parents and I bet the price tag is more than you make in 10 years. So, yea they should be really happy.
You are stupid. I don’t see how ABC News would employ someone so ignorant.

I think it’s important not to lose sight of the difference between “innocent” and “not guilty”. Courts find people “guilty” or “not guilty”.
I don’t think any court in the land can actually find these stripper purchasing, racial epithet hurling, over-priviledged frat boys….”innocent”.

As a high-profile reporter for a national media syndicate, I am sure that Mr. Moran’s salary is quite high and comparable to that of the Duke lacrosse players’ parents income. Does that make him “rich?” I wonder how he would feel if his son was in the same situation?
I think now is the time for forgiveness and reconciliation — starting with sincere apologies from Nifong, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, the gang of 88, and the president of Duke University.

This so called ABC News Journalist’s name is one letter off. Instead of his name being Terry Moran it should be Terry MORON!

Typlical liberal bellywash!

The media is full of double-standards. I believe Mr. Terry should be fired immediately just like Don Imus. I also propose organizing a boycott and march outside ABC News headquarters in NYC. What evidence does Mr. Terry have that there are many, many cases of prosecutorial misconduct every year? Sounds like he took a page out of Mr. Nifong’s book. If being wrongly accused of rape is special treatment, I sure don’t want any.

Our guys and gals in the military are dying right at this moment in Iraq and yet this nation’s concerns continue to be anything but that fact. Duke and Rutgers and all of such college nonsense is BS. Move on people. Support our troops. Join the military and see life for real.

So, when can these guys expect THEIR formal apologies from our beloved racialy biased reverends, who were so quick to jump to the aid of this poor black woman that was, in their minds, wronged so viciously???

What a load of crap…it’s ok to have sympathy for EVERYONE that gets screwed, including rich white guys.

Shame on you!!! Just completely lost any respect I had for you! Your as bad as Nifong the rogue prosecutor.

Maybe you should talk to Don Imus about utterering stupid things.

i agree with Kris, the attitude displayed in this article by Mr. Moran is exactly the PC attitude that Nifong was able to manipulate into a case.

I sincerely hope Terry Moran one day is maneuvered into the crosshairs of a politically-motivated prosecutor. Then we’ll see how sorry he feels about it.
This column is really embarassing. It’s basically, “They’re well-to-do, so they deserve any injustice that is visited upon them.” Typical liberal MSM thinking. Wonder why your ratings are dropping?

You truly are a “moran”.

So it’s OK for this to happen to young white men? Because they are young white men they should be punished. Just being a young white man means you are guilty of something and should be taught a lesson. Young white men need to suffer because of the injustice done to young black men? That will show those young white men. So rather than fix the one problem you would rather make things even by destroying everyones lives.

Before you start complaining about how the press these young men got, remember that Jackson and Sharpton helped keep them in the spotlight with their instigating.

What a joke, it’s such a double edge sword. This is reverse racism here and I dont see Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton screaming to the media to have vindication…some priorities are completely distorted here…

The thing this so called journalist is missing the point on is the fact that even though they hired these strippers, they were not doing anything illegal. HOWEVER, this accuser and Nifong both committed illegal acts over and over and over. Because of that the City of Durham and the District Attorney’s office should not only pay for their legal expenses but also compensate those three enough money to make this past year just a bad memory without any lingering effects.

In these comments I see people who are jealous of success and hate white people and more than that, hate successful white people. I have not read all the comments as I don’t have hours to waste,but, I haven’t read one yet that places blame on the woman who yelled rape or the friend who wanted to make money from the issue. I think they should be held out as very BAD people.

Please tell me you are joking ? Should we feel a “little sorry ” isn’t your network preaching “victims rights ” ?…Oh .. I get it that only counts for people whose net worth meets ABc’s quota. These kids have handled themselves with dignity and class…unlike you and the likes of Nancy Grace.

A privileged limosine liberal journalist denigrates three young men because they come from successful families. Nothing new here. Just another shot fired in the fraudulent culture war against American life.

If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. All I see here is advocation of revenge. We all know how that works out.

Incredible! Perhaps one day YOU will get to live through being wrong accused of something and dragged through such a nightmare as these students. I doubt, then, that any of your readers will have any sympathy at all for you in your priviledged state of being. What a naive attitude. You must have a plastic heart ~ or none at all.

Is this a joke? You can’t be serious. False accusations like this, I believe, are worse than the actual crime and should be punishable by extreme measures. The “Dukies” will be marred by this for quite a while.

Terry Moran is more offensive than Imus. He has claimed these kids have a privilege existence for being wrongly convicted by a lynch mob of liberals? Where does Terry Moran live? CBS is bending over backwards to offset Imus, but has gone too far. Hiring a stripper is not against the law in North Carolina. I want Terry Moran fired and I want him to make a public apology to the lacrosse players at the governor’s mansion. Why isn’t Terry Moran using his time demanding Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson apologize to the lacrosse players? Or asking where these lacrosse player’s senators were in defending their civil rights. Shame on CBS. Yes, the are racist. Racists against white men.

This is a self-serving attempt to justify the media’s own complicity in a racist extortion attempt, in order to profit from the news attention. Moran’s logic is effectively identical to Nifong’s.

Terry, you are an idiot. No wonder nobody watches network news anymore. Would you have us feel sympathy for Nifong now? The victims in this case are the young men who have had their lives turned upside down, and every woman who is actually assaulted and now has to endure having her credibility questioned thanks to this charade.

I have always thought Moran was a moron and he proved it with this nonsense.

Moran should be renamed Moron. He’s one of the many liberally biased drive-by media types.

You’re an idiot!

Mike said -
“To use that as some kind of justification for being boorish certainly lowers the bar for those who have never engaged in such low quality behavior. They may not have deserved the charges and ensuing controversy, but we are all locked into the consequences of our choices.”
Like the choice of being a stripper?

Terry Moran – “During the incident, racial epithets were hurled at the dancers”.
We demand that you provide one shred of evidence to support this claim.
Have you learned nothing, man? The Durham DA and PD and the False Accuser spread lies about what happened that night, and you willingly swallowed those lies whole.
Terry Moran, are you dumb.

Dude, you’re not worth the time of day…How pathetic

Your comments are completely rediculous. As far as I know it is legal to higher a stripper for a party. And what does a 2005 arrest for assault have to do with anything? These guys were wrongly accused by the alleged victim and then put through hell by a prosecutor who was out of control. Whether their parents had money or not is completly irrevelant – thank God that they did or most likely these guys would be in jail. Mr. Moran, I must say that you truly are a moron.

You may think you are a journalist, but you are a creep.

And you work for a major network. You should be ashamed of that attitue. Attitudes like that is exactly why there will be no social healing….ever.

Because it happens to others makes this case no less egregious and the reason that they deserved a very public apology is because the were villified by the media in a very public way. To pretend that by hiring a stripper, which I believe is wrong, they somehow deserve something like this is completely ridiculous. To call yourself a journalist is a joke…More like an apologist for Al Sharpton and this victim.

Your essay (?) is flawed. I guess you did not go to college, or if you did, then maybe you do not deserve the perks you get out of life. So if someone falsly accused you and you were imprisioned I guess it could be said that its ok because you are white and affulent and went to a good college.

Why do we vilify the rich in this country? What if these kids’ parents started out dirt poor and worked their butts off to earn their money? That makes them privileged? Hey Terry, where did you get your journalism degree? Columbia? UNC? NYU? Last I heard, those are expensive, elite schools too. By your logic, if accused of something, you should use a state-appointed attorney, despite having the means to afford one that can focus strictly on your case, beause it would be more fair? It would lessen the burden of having to look like you’ve made money in your life. I know, it’s the horror of the American Dream. I’m willing to bet you make more than six figures in your job, which is substantially more than I make. And, your’re white. Looks like you as privliged and connected as theese guys. So, if something bad happens to you, don’t expect sympathy from me. After all, you’re rich. One last thing, I bet you went to bed at nine every night in college, huh?

You say “They are very differently situated in life from, say, the young women of the Rutgers University women’s basketball team”. How do you know? Do you know these women’s back ground. Are they different because the Rutgers players are not men or because they are mostly black. That sounds very racist and or sexist to me.

I am a little surprised that Mr Moran took this view in his article. It does show insensitivity and ignorance, when I thought the MSM was practicing just the opposite. I guess the “love” and sympathy articles are reserved for people that generate more press. This view and others this week in other cases, demostrate that the very people who profess their hope that there will be no color bias in this country are in fact the ones that are fanning the flames of hate. Most people of different colors, religions and sometimes views, who live in a neighborhood will learn to get along. But the MSM and others who use the MSM are in fact creating more bias. Why not just present the facts, all the facts and let the rest of us take care of it, without your perception/slant of what you think is going on. We are alot smarter than you give us credit for.

Are you sure this guys name isnt MORON?

Wow, you’ve got to be kidding. It sounds like Terry Moran is saying they got what they deserved. How vicious can the liberal press be ? It sounds like Terry is saying, “Yeah, we called it wrong, but in essence the charges were in line with their activities and what their socio-economic class deserves”. Kinda makes Don Imus’s off the cuff remark to similar college athletes pale in comparison. Rosie O’Donnell posed the question, “Who’s next ?”. Maybe it should be Terry Moran.

What happened to Dr. King’s words that we should be judged by the content of our character, not by the color of our skin? These men, 1 of which of questionable character, were convicted in the media because of the color of their skin and because of the color of the alleged victim’s skin. The only crimes committed, as far as I can tell are on the part of the alleged victim for false charges and lying under oath and by Nifong for tampering with or at least withholding key evidence from the grand jury. Finally, that last paragraph could be directed at the media for their treatment of these 3 men, while not illegal, not entirely admirable either.

Well, Terry, if there are so many other victims of prosecutorial misconduct – and there are – since you’re a high profile member of the media, get busy digging and covering.
A glib swipe at the “privileged” Dukies is a nice easy way out for you, isn’t it? I mean, that way it’s not that you and your network are not doing your job. It’s all someone else’s fault.
But that isn’t true, and you know it. You just said so.
If you think prosecutorial misconduct is a problem then what is stopping you from doing something about it, like exposing it, which is what you are supposed to do? It’s your job, after all.
Honestly, your comments speak volumes about why prosecutors think they can do things like the Duke prosecution and get away with it. They know how pathetic you and your media bretheren are. They have nothing to fear.

OMG, don’t you people have jobs?

And you wonder why people think there is a liberal bias in the media?

You are dead wrong! I consider myself, at best, middle class and if my son were caught up in the same situation I would look for the “best” attorney available regardless of the cost.
The attorney and all that jumped on his bandwagon owe these guys an public apology!
Jim

Nice try at being provocative. Too bad you lack the candlepower to pull it off

This article is irresponsible and
confirms my decision made long ago never to watch ABC. What a crock!!!!!

Not to lessen the hiring of strippers and fighting, but lets keep in mind these kids are in college. What does assault, hiring strippers, or racial slurs have to do with rape?? NOTHING. Any case that a female falsely accuses rape, she should go to jail. Is is just me, or does this come off as being against the privileged upper class?

Blah, blah, blah, blah. How politically correct: white privilege as opposed to the victimized underclass. No sympathy for the oppressor. All from a privileged media elite. Blah, blah. What are you seeking a professorship among the 88 Dukie profs who pre-judged the young men in their infamous newspaper ad?

You are a journalist?
ABC pays you a salary?

Moran’s argument is so idiotic it could only have come from an elite whose members attempt to acquire greater social status by eating their own – to paraphrase Steve Sailer.
What in God’s name is wrong with specifying the preferred race of a stripper? It is no different than specifying her hair color or body shape. (Not that I have experience in making such selections)

Ah liberals, while it is true that the the Duke three are now getting over the top support, and that they put themselves in the situation that caused the issue there is moral relativism throughout Terry’s screed and some of the comments. Question: because there is one injustice do we excuse another? Is there such a thing as “he did it too” right and wrong – reminiscent of when one kid gets caught with his hands in the cookie jar then pointing to another?
Should we excuse what Imus said because others including some that villify him have said worse? Or is there such a thing as absolute right and wrong?

Seriously Terry you need to check the liberal handbook, it is becoming less cool to bash the white rich families right now. Well at least until your pal Hillary is done milking them for cash for her campaign.

Mr. Moran, Now you are picking on the Duke players because they are white..shame on you..ABC is really screwy to put this out there..

As a white, fairly affluent person I am DEEPLY OFFENDED by your comments Mr. Moran, and since offending people is the height of criminality in this country right now, you should be fired and charged with a hate crime!

it appears that the liberal media is disappointed they weren’t convicted. The media owes an appology to these 3 young men. Since when is it a crime to be successful

This is why I don’t watch ABC or any news broadcast. Yes, I disdain the whole stripper scene, as well as racial epithets. These students created an environment that breeds shady characters and they got burned. But what does a 2005 assult charge have to do with a bad DA and false accusations? Should be pity this situation less due to that? And for this reporter to mention these students as “privledged”. I thought justice was blind. And to compare the rutger women and all those who are poor to this situation smacks with reverse prejustice. Should we feel more sorry if this was a black woman falsely accused of rape by the DA? Of course not. Wrong is wrong in every circumstance, pitied equally. If anything, we need to make sure that justice is equal for all, poor and black or rich and white, and stop this rediculas class and race warfare.

Wow now I know why I don’t watch ABC News! How come it always comes down to race? You need to get a grip. How about all the “privilaged minority athletes” who commit crimes and are let loose because they have a god given talent to throw a ball or run fast?! Hmmmmnn… Let me think; O.J., Michael Irvine, Lawrence Taylor, Ricky Williams and the list goes on and on. Now if any of them would have been a middle class white man without incredible athleticism, where would they be?!!!!

Terry, when you are falsely accused of rape, then you can pass judgement. These boys lives are forever altered. As most college kids did, they partied. So what? Partying and drinking is not a crime. Nifong and the accuser commited a crime. To suggest that the boys are at fault because they were partying is sick. How dare you?

Terry you are just a clown. These kids have had their lives completely changed because of this mess, and all because some STRIPPER that i am suppose to feel bad for, lied because she needed money. Don’t blame the Duke families for having money. Blame the system for being so expensive that when someone unable to pay for top attorneys and extensive legal can’t fight the charge and are wrongfully put in jail. It’s the people who can’t pay that you are feeling so bad for. And Terry like you have never gone to the strip club or bought strippers cut me a break buddy.

Terry,
So you are saying that Rutgers Women don’t match up, and are a lower class citizens.
Thats offensive!

What I find interesting is that we have a media figure arguing that so much unreported and unremarked prosecutorial misconduct occurs, we shouldn’t afford this specific case much attention.
So who is remiss in not bringing to light this vast prosecutorial misconduct situation? How much reporting on prosecutorial misconduct has this guy done in the last five years?

When the government fears the people we have democracy.
When the people fear the government we have TYRANNY.
Ramos and Compean rot in prison.

Terry,
Ever take a course that emphasized Common Sense? I Didn’t think so!

Wow, that piece bordered on hate speech. That was one of the most bitter things I have ever read. Does ABC have editors?? That should have never seen the light of day. That was an embarrassment and thats saying something coming from Moran.

How self-indulgent of a media type to remind us plebes how good the Dukies have it so we shouldn’t feel sorry for their lives being destroyed by a prosecutor wanting to get re-elected when it was the media more than any other group that caused so much of the pain and loss they experienced by facilitating and amplifying the rush to judgement.

I guess what he is saying is they must be guilty of something.
As ABC’s news numbers continue to slide maybe this guy can beg a jog from Sharpton, Jackson et al.
This is why we do not watch ABC in our house.

There is no question there was travesty of justice. Stipper should go to jail.
However, these privileged white men are sick and twisted individuals to want to go see strippers. They organized an $800 collection; that should shed some light on their state of mind. Then they goto Duke to get education; is this the kind of sophisticated background you want your kids to be emulating.
The parents have raised faulty children – they share some blame too.

to not feel sorry for these three young men is not to feel at all…yes, there is injustice all throught the legal system and these individuals did have a legal team that not all could afford. the difference is that when most people are accused of something as haneous as rape it isn’t national news with al sharpton and jesse jackson spearheading a racially backed campaign to convict the accused in the court of public opinion…if the accused were black and the victim white there would have been outcry from these same community leaders that all were jumping to conclusinons before a proper trial…what happened to innocent until proven guilty or does it only apply to cases where sharpton and jacksons agendas match that of the accused…

Hey Terry, Don’t do the class envy thing. You probably have more in common with the Dukies than most of the people who have posted here. You don’t get a job with ABC unless you have clout. You don’t have the assignments you have unless you have clout. I’d love to interview you college friends about you behavior.

Imus was and is a “Shock Jock” and just as evil is you being a “Shock Blogger”………..Think about it

I want to know where are the “brave” media members that can stand up to the rich and mighty Duke lacrosse players but cower to every word cancers like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton utter and never report the continued racist tirades these people have made over the years? People like you are exibit A why normal people have absolutely no use for today’s media and its members.

One of these young men is the son of a Long Island Fireman-hardly a privileged background.
A critical point here is the treatment these young men received from the media. Gone was their constitutional presumption of innocence. They were found guilty in the most absolute of terms.
Guilty only because they were white men being accused by a black woman. This illustrates why we may never have improved race relations in this country-we can’t have honest dialogue.
Don Imus lost his job for things he said-when will Al Sharpton lose his job for things he said about these innocent youhg men? Oh wait I forgot, they’re white so injustice toward them doesn’t count.

Whether or not one feels sorry for the Dukies, we should all feel deep concern for the utter failure of the judicial system, and the rush to judgement by the press, so called black leaders, and most of all the contemptable conduct of an otherwise respected University.
DBH

Utterly stupid. They pay you?

So you’re upset because college guys wanted a stripper and had famalies that could afford a good attorney? They were paraded and slandered in front of the media and nation as rapists and horrible people. Not only should every news organization apologize to them, so should the DA, Al Sharpton, the stripper and anyone else who accused them.

So, wait…we should not feel sorry for these boys because they dared to ask for a white stripper and one of them ::gasp:: had an assault charge? Oh, and how dare they have the means to pay for a defense. My god, how awful of them. People like you LOVE to turn everything into a color issue. Grow up. Why is there still racism? Because we are blessed with men like Sharpton and obviously you, who won’t let it die.

Terry, this prissy article is a perfect example of class and race hatred. Grow up.

I can’t believe that someone actually got paid to write that idiodic article!

You are absolutely wrong in every way. These are young men with bright futures whose names will forever be shadowed by the accusations of a liar. They will be confronted with people who do not remember why they know their name, just that they think they did a bad thing. Most unfortunately, they will be confronted with people like you who believe a night of college debaughery makes them liable for a lifetime of blame, whether they did what they were accused of or not. That is almost worse than what they have already faced.

This is a typical biased news apology!

The Liberal press at work again.

Terry Moran is will never read one of your columns again. It was painful to read such a disturbing article! Wow! Disturbing on so many levels!!

drivel.
Go out there and cover prosecutorial misconduct. Whining about un reported cases of abuse serves no one.

Well now, Terry, how self-righteous of you. It is truly unfortunate that you, just because of the color of your skin, have to be associated with crude, rich white bullies like these men. I’m sure you’ve never been to a batchelor party where (gasp) drinking and female dancing were involved. Underage consumption of alcohol?! What is this world coming to? And I’m sure you’ve never had a friend who was accused (double gasp) of a crime or misdemeanor. It goes without saying that, ever since day one, you’ve never, ever made an off-color comment or remark, right?
Shame on these priviledged boys. Their parents should donate all of their millions (they must be rich after all, right Terry?) to the ACLU and send them to a good state school.

You are an idiot

another stupid comment from a stupid liberal journalist

You know, Terry, when it comes to bigotry, you make Imus look like a choir boy! Your attitude is sickening, and typical of a medium which always looks to tear down – something good has happened, oh no, how can I restore balance in the universe? There are not words to describe how out of touch you are with the rest of country, Terry, but your writing is very, very wrong.

Hey Terry,
I’ll bet if your son was accused of a crime he did not commit you would be on the phone with all of your social and work contacts and connections trying to get him off the hook. To suggest that these young men are less deserving of our sympathy because of their station in life is reprehensible on your part and hypocritical.

it appears that the liberal media is disappointed they weren’t convicted. The media owes an appology to these 3 young men. Since when is it a crime to be successful

Your column reflects an arrogance virtually beyond human comprehension. By your words, you have become the poster child of why the major media is facing an unabated crescendo of national shame, dishonor and worthlessness.

“had a rough year?” – are you serious? That fact of the matter is that these guys will always be stigmatized by the association with this rape case. What they were doing the night of the party (what guy hasn’t seen a stripper), who there parents are, etc, has absolutley no relevance.

Terry Moran could not have written a more uninformed essay if he tried. What a total lack of understanding of how the legal system is supposed to function compared to popular opinion.

I was by no means a college athlete, but I can say that my college career consisted of much worse things than these guys stripper party. I agree 100% with the person that says, either they did something illegal, or they didn’t. The fact of the matter is, it is legal to hire strippers, hurl racial slurs, or whatever. You may not agree with it, but that doesn’t make these guys criminals, and more so, rapists. The fact that the guy was arrested before has absolutely no bearing on this matter. Would you like everyone to bring up every mistake you ever made in your life every time you screwed up? He paid his dues via restitution, community service, and possibly jail time so leave this out of it. And while you are at it, see if you can find Al Sharpton to apologize for making false accusations against these guys. I hope these guys find a way to sue him for doing so.

MORAN = MORON

Wrong is wrong and innocent is innocent no matter what color or how wealthy the person is. The fact is if these guys hadn’t had the money to defend themselves they would’ve been convicted. Too many men with lesser means are in jail with false charges. That doesn’t mean the Duke guys should go to jail because they’re rich and white. The operative words are “false accusations.” We need to vigorously prosecute those who make false charges and do so with great publicity.

Typical from our Liberal Media. Don’t feel bad that 3 innocent men had to spend 3m for a crime they didn’t commit.
This is why ABC, NBC, CBS news are in the tank, because of stupid reporters like this one…

Moran’s another pompous ass.

pathetic. this is why i never went into journalism after i got the degree . . . too many envious socialists jealous of the rest of the world (aka those with real jobs, paying real money, living real lives).
alas, no one would likely see this drivel if it hadn’t been linked to on drudge. but always nice to remind ourselves what the rejects are thinking. wait, the rejects “feel” things, no “thinking” involved. thanks for nothing, bud.

Why do you assume that the women of the Rutgers basketball team are situated differently in life from the Duke lacrosse players?
Because most of them are black?
So there is no possibility that one or more of them could be “affluent” or have “connections”?
How racist!

Terry Moran is a jerk. Plain and simple. Another example of the bitter liberal MSM these days. I think everyone should contact ABC and express their outrage. Maybe they’ll give him the boot like CBS did with Imus.

This artical saddens me, down to the core. How can anyone’s comments above mine even remotely defend this awful message? Not feeling pitty for someone who has gone though something so awful, is wrong…

Leftist to the very end. No matter what the circumstances, the liberal media always finds a way to trash white America. I find this article disgusting!

Wow Terry, you’re a complete idiot. Don’t feel sorry for some young men falsely accused of rape? It’s amazing you actually work for ABC.

Sounds like Moran is offended by his ideology being caught out in the open. Instead of the wrongfully accused having to shell out two million dollars to defend themselves against the State, they are “fortunate” to do so.

Comforting to see that hatred and disparagement of people based on their race and social status is alive and well at ABC News.

At least I know the next person to get fired…you!

I am disgusted by the views of Terry Moran. We have college age children who play lacrosse and keep good grades. They work hard on and off the field. We work hard to support our family. If one of my sons had been accused of a crime for which there was no proof and had a prison sentence hanging over him, I would have been sick every day.
Now, it is a negative to be white, work hard and not be poor.

Terry Moran, Moron, whatever – this piece exemplifies what ails journalism today: a muddled outlook, confused, relativistic morality, and perhaps sour grapes that the “privileged students” didn’t take a greater beating than merely facing 20 years in prison. The falsely accused cannot be given adequate sympathy, nor can the false accuser receive adequate denouncement for her attempt at exploitation and her rabid racism. T. Moron’s desperation is revealed by his having to point up the Finnerty assault charges of 2005. So what? Note that he was unable to say “assault conviction.” That beedy-eyed journalist should desist from pointless articles such as these.

Gee Terry, a bit bitter today, are we?
By the way, I loved the brief comparison of these three guys to the Rutgers women’s basketball team. Clearly, being insulted by a grumpy old coot behind a radio mic is a much more serious and potentially damaging life event than, say, something as trivial as being wrongfully charged with rape and having an abusive prosecutor make it his life’s mission to put you behind bars for 20 years.

A grave injustice was done these young men. They deserve sympathy for the horrible ordeal they went through because of another’s lies.
Anybody, white, black, rich, poor, who suffers such injustice deserves sympathy.

Oops! If they didn’t have high priced lawyers they would probably be serving jail time. Oops! Didn’t they have to leave school, and their scholarships, behind? Oops! Being falsely accused in major newspapers and by scores of Duke professors, and the strain of these accusations on their families. . . nah, don’t feel bad for them at all. At least they have learned what a bunch of imbeciles the world is filled with.

The LIBERAL media at its best. I more reason the 3 networks are in big trouble.

Your article in your mind was politically correct, but missed the facts of life. These young men lived the lives of hell for as year because of the MSN and you polish it off as just another event to glorify. Maybe this would not have been such a big event in your life if it hasdn’t been a case of black and white!

Please… regardless of the circumstances it reverts back to the fact that a prosecutor can get a group of people without a life called a “grand jury” to “indict a ham sandwich” and that prosecutor has imunity for their actions if they are wrong. As soon as our system requires the loser to pay in both civil and criminal actions then we will see fairness or something like it. Only cases with actual merit will come before the bar. But as the old country philosopher would say: “if everyone did the right thing, then there would be no need for cops, lawyers, judges, and priests” Just hope that a prosecutor somewhere doesnt’ decide to bring you before the grand jury one day. Unless you have lots of cash.

Nifong is an idiot. The players were idiots. So were the parents who allow their kids to act like morons with their money. So it cost them a few hundred thou to get the charges dismissed? So what! If they were poor they’d be rotting in jail. Just like for the rest of their lives, daddy’s deep pockets will save them. Consider the money spent a down payment on the rest of their lives.

Just read this twice. Then remember exactly what Mr. Moran idea is about facts and truths when you watch ABC news and who victims are. This is just an attempt to excuse his reporting on this case over the last year.
Remember this article everytime you watch ABC now with Mr. Moran reporting, because it shows exactly what his idea is on the facts and truths and how he reports them.

Are you sure your name isn’t Terry Moron?

I loved Terry’s comment that “the team specifically requested atleast one white stripper” – I don’t really see how that is wrong. Even if you apply affirmative action formulas, these guys are okay – since I’d imagine probably 50% of the population in their area is white? Or would Terry suggest that they have gotten someone of mixed ethnicity so that all races were represented and some insightful reporter didn’t have to smugly point out their audacity. Its almost funny except for the fact that this is ABCNEWS’ frontline reporter.

NEWS FLASH!…. Duke lacrosse players violently raped by the liberal press corp! Victims photos splashed all over news! Personal character publically defamed! Living through emotional hell!
UPDATE… uh, nevermind. Hey, c’mon–they’re all rich, white kids–they’ll get over it. No big deal.

Terry Moron, you really are a putz.

You abuse your power with this column. Don’t feel too sorry for the dukies? Is this the best you can do? The story is almost over- except for any future lawsuits against the DA and with columns like this one, the media. You would serve america far better by redirecting your righteousness towards simply reporting on the next story instead of casting judgement on your subject.
Truly dissappointing. Columns like this are why we stop reading.

What planet are you living on?It was a pandering for the black vote that was the catalyst for this incredible injustice to begin with, and it is contemp by publication by people like you that encourages this outrageous double standerd. Martin Luther King wanted a “color blind” society. Guys like Sharpton, Jackson and you look to division as a way of life.Shame on you and your ilk.

Yes, let us not feel sorry for them because they come from a family with resources (meaning they got an education and worked hard, contributing to society all their lives) and are able to send their kids to a descent school. They do not deserve pity because they have more money than me (or maybe they just worked harder in life than me…could that be it?) Yeah, screw the rich – they probably deserve it.

Terry, I think the message from the above respondants is clear: Think before you write.

This post just goes to show how out of touch with america the modern media is. You can stop a GIANT CORPORATION like this one from spreading lies.

I always suspected that this is the kind of twisted logic that goes on inside reporters heads.

What kind of a fool are you Moran? One of those families lost their entire life savings trying to defend their son. Arrogant uninformed people like you are the reasons the networks are losing their viewers. Judging by your post, I am sure you enjoyed the whole process as you watched these people suffer. I guess in your eyes it is wrong for kids to excell and get into Duke. Have parents who have done well and can afford lawyers. I am waiting for your post about the 80 Duke Profs who proclaimed their guilt and your condemnation of Sharpton, Ja ckson and the other race baiters. I am sure I will never see that on your blog or a report on the networks. Why do you hate people that have done well?

While there are many other cases prosecutorial misconduct every year, just because the Duke players are well-to-do white kids does not invalidate the fact that they went through a hellish experience. Tackling the issue of racial inequality in any facet by heaping the responsibility on the shoulders of these kids is incredibly ignorant.

Small wonder why he major media were able to find the truth behind this case. With bias as strong as yours, one can see how easy it was for you to swallow Nifong’s story hook, line, and sinker.
I managed to work my way from poverty to a succesful life, and by your reasoning my son would deserve to be falsely accused of rape only because of my success.

Terry:
What a jerk! These guys were accused of rape. They may not make the same decisions that a 40 something reporter would make but their behavior here was not that different from thos emade on college campuses all the time. But for a crazy stripper and an unscruplous DA, their conduct would not have been under this cloud, FOREVER.

why are you concerned with their privileged lives? i’m sure their parents work for a living. earned what they have. that is no concern to you. if they can afford the best, then that’s anyone would do. i didn’t know it was a “privilege” to be born.

Typical liberal ABC arrogance – you wrongly accuse someone of a horrible crime, are proven wrong beyond a shadow of a doubt, and still will not let it go nor will you apologize.
Shame on ABC, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and the rest of the race baiting liberal bomb throwers – you are hypocritical haters and hopefully the general public has learned not to listen to the litany of lies you print daily.

Is this a joke? After the news media tried and convicted these three gentlemen, Mr. Moran writes this tripe. ABC must have pretty low standards.

glad someone has said it.

Thank God there is FOX. Your attitude is as insulting as Don Imus’ remarks.

If Terry Moran’s son found himself in a similar situation, would Terry (who I assume makes a decent living) do everything he could, financially and otherwise, to clear his son’s name? I think we all know the answer.

Your last name should be Moron. You looking for a job at CBS?

woah jaybird “but we must also remember that these are not upstanding individuals. They are priveleged rich men”
so according to jaybird a rich person cannot be an upstanding citizen. I guess jaybird would prefer if everyone was destitute and desperate? Is that how we define a good citizen?

When a rich white girl gets raped it’s not as bad as when a poor black girl gets raped, because…uh…the rich girl has a “cushion”…uh…hmm. Mr. Moron needs to be fired. He’s white! He has a cushion! Plenty of black people have been fired in this country, and for less than making unbelievably idiotic comments! unreal.

Wow. Truly frightening take on this situation.

well Terry, since you are in the media, perhaps your career should be now motivated to expose those who have been cheated by the justice system……
..Oh, that’s not a good career move? Then shut up.
I don’t believe some of the crap I’m reading here. If this is truly the thoughts of the country, it’s over folks… we’re done.

Liberal do-gooder

You are full of it buddy. There is no excuse for your article. Pathetic!!!

Don’t feel sorry for them because they are rich? Are you kidding me? Nobody needs to be falsley accused of rape, their names have been tarnished despite the fact the charges have been dropped.
This class envy has got to stop. What Nifong did was horrible, he should lose his job.

Yes, I do feel sorry for these fine young men.But Mr. Moran I feel more sorrow for you. What kind of objective journalist are you? Just report and leave the subjective nonsence out.

Don’t hate the Rich Admire them

Mr. Moran,
It sounds like your real problem with these young men is that they were “rich.” Since when is saving money so that your children can go to the college of their choice a crime? Perhaps some of the parents had to take out loans to pay for the legal fees. Don’t assume you know so much about the families and their personal finances, and then judge them. Lets not forget that many people work for what they have, and spending it on their childrens’ education is not wrong.

Terry’s article is precisely the reason that I no longer watch network TV news. Moron! What will it take to rid us of these MSM news clowns?
If this had not been posted on the Drudge Report it would have gone without notice, as it deserves.

You are a complete whackjob. You say don’t feel sorry for people who got wrongly accused of rape, but do feel sorry for some basketball players that got called a stupid name? Get a grip on reality. This exact article is why people don’t watch the mainstream news anymore.

So, by your logic we should not have sympathy for white males as long as there is injustice in the world…Are you evil or stupid? There can be no other explanation.

Mr. Moran, you are helping to make television newscasting irrelevant. If your bosses read this post and still keep you employed, they are either idealogical allies of yours or they are delusional to think that you are in any way objective. Either way, your comments reinforce my conviction that TV news is simply the white noise that the elderly listen to as they prepare for their 8 pm bed time.

The media rushed to convict these men before there was any evidence. What difference does their race, gender, social class, or Terry’s opinion of their character make. These men were falsely accused of a very serious crime.

Dear Sir,
Are we living on the same planet? Have you no shame whatsoever? The Duke students were innocent and did nothing illegal. They were wrongly accused and then subjected to an out of control DA trying to make political points. For you to say that the Duke lacrosse players are at fault for this miscarriage of justice is bordering on insanity. Nifong should be disbarred and then sued to recover the costs of their defense. Unfortunately, the reputation of each of these kids can never be recovered. Shame on you and your inane, leftist, collectivist, sock it to the rich, mentality.

Mr. Moran,
You posting such drivel says a lot about mainstream media and your knowledge of ordinary informed Americans.

If not for DRUDGE, I wouldn’t have found your inane blog. Hopefully, it and you disappear! Glad to see the outpouring of sensible responses to your dribble.

I knew the liberal press would get its pound of flesh and that their being cleared would be the cause for more media lies, slander, and insult. It is their rotten little way of trying to “smooth over” all their previous l;ies and hysteria about the case.

What I see are young men engaging in high risk behavior. A stripper lies to make money…are we shocked?
And a young woman engaging in high risk behavior…(if it were true)…the men who hire you and ask you to come to a private home with dozens of drunken men…MIGHT be dangerous.
Well, what a surprise. Trouble. Didn’t anyone learn ANYTHING from Kobe Bryant.

Everyone should contact ABC and start a campaign to get Terry Moran fired. We’re all so sick and tired of the double standards and selective outrage in the media. This to me is a much bigger deal than the Imus controversy. Fire Moran now!!!

What in the world is wrong with you? How could you sit there and say don’t feel sorry for them because they had the financial wherewithal to fight off an unjust accusation? How are they ever going to shake off the fact that their names were dragged through the mud by the college they attended, the residents of the city, the media and a great deal of the country for something they never did?
There is no amount of money that will restore to them their academic and athletic careers in college. And what does having money have to do with justice? It actually seems to have been a prejudice such as yours (i.e. against rich white college kids) that helped fuel the unjustified anger and nationwide outrage against these victims of an unfair accusation.

I must have missed the part where the Duke players asked for the media attention.
Or was it that the media saw an opportunity to exploit race and sex for a big story, resulting in their names being in the headlines almost every day last year? The players deserve the media’s apology right now, no matter how immature they may have been acting.

ABCNEWS should fire Terry Moran for this hate-filled, classist diatribe! Why Terry hates these three young men is something that he should explain. Did Terry have to go to a public university or did his parents have to struggle to pay for his education? Where does the basis of Terry Moran’s hate for white, private school educated people come from?

For those who feel that the Duke students contributed to the situation by engaging in unacceptable behavior, remember not all of the accused were even at the event in question.

Do you really think that drinking and partying with strippers is uncommon at college parties? The Lacrose team behaved in the same manner that most college students have for decades. They got screwed plan and simple. drnking beer and watching strippers isn’t against the law and is completely irrelevant.

You just gave me another reason not to read or believe anything you say or write. Bye, bye.

It’s comments like Terry’s that perpetuate race and class differences in this country. The facts are that the woman lied and the DA indicted unjustly. What does it matter if they are rich and white? Is justice only for the middle class, the poor, or the minorities of this country? If you reverse his comments and apply them to a generic poor black man Terry sounds awfully racist. He may as well have said, “I don’t feel sorry for the black man because he had a child out of wedlock and a prior marijuana posssesion charge. So even if he was falsely accused and indicted I have no empathy for him.” In today’s world of “free speech” [read Don Imus] it’s amazing what some people can get away with saying and others get fired for.

You are such a bleeding heart liberal!

As an afluent white American I am personally affronted by your thoughtless article. You know why I worked hard to become affluent? So I can take care of my family, just as these young mens family have. So they hired a stripper, are you telling me that means they have whatever is coming to them? I guess you’ve never put a dollar in a G string? Give me a break. No one buys your sorry article and that is why , and the main stream media continues to dive in ratings. Good luck with your style of reporting, you’ll need it!! LOL!!

Terry, your comments regarding the Duke Lacrosse players has to be among the most moronic that I’ve ever heard. An injustice is an injustice, REGARDLESS of someone’s wealth or social status. Your lame attempt at class warfare is pathetic.

Hey Terry your last name is almost spelled right. What your liberal thinking mind does not get is that it sometimes takes people with resources to overcome an injustice and in so doing draw attention to other cases where there were injustices. This is a great day and we should make as much out of it as possible.

So it is ok to put people in jail because they have money.
That is what it comes down to.
You take run people off their jobs or out of school. They do not have to be convicted you just have to not like them.
Hope people turn on reports next.

Terry
Is there any room in your Ivory Tower? I’d like to live the perfect life you’ve obviously had…

This is a ridiculous article. These players would never have been in the spotlight to begin with were it not for the sensationalist media. I blame reporters such as yourself just as much as Mr. Nifong. I think you should be taking yours as much as anyone.

Have we all gone completely mad? NO ONE get’s a pass for making false accusations. NO ONE is deserving of being falsly accused.
I’m just guessing, but do you really pronounce your name MORON?

You last name should be MORON. What an idiot.

They ought to call you Terry MORON!

Okay—- new law!
For every convicted black man or woman, lets throw in jail a white man or woman (any will do) that will make life fair and just.
The pity is Al and Jesse have set back race relations once again.
Barb

And if we’re not supposed to feel sorry for them because they paid to hire strippers, does that mean we shouldn’t feel sorry for the stripper because she’s a stripper? We’re not supposed to feel sorry for one of them because he had an assault charge a few years ago, but what about the stripper’s arrest record? Again: unbelievable.

Terry, Are you sure that’s how your last name is really spelled?
The fact that you call yourself a journalist is a joke.

don’t look now terry your racism and socialistic class warfare is showing

This is an example of why a federal shield for journalists law is a bad idea.If people like Terry Moran had their way, conservatives would face incessant slandering in the media and have no recourse at all. Moran’s comm ents are an embarrassment.The idea that the “privileged” can be treated more unfairly than others is absurd.

Terry you sound like a real punk! These guys were investigated and found innocent period! Boy I would like to check out your college past. Did you not ever do anything a little over the top? Or were you just a little nerd that collected gym towels for the debate team??

Talk about encouraging racial and class warfare. Why limit this to the rich, why not include the middle class, they have better access to legal help. Everyone who is not poor deserve to be falsie accused. Everyone who is not black should get a dose of false accusation too. Parent that have struggled to make a better life for their children SHOULD see their lives of those children destroyed. You are an embarrassment

Just like Imus give Moran his walking papers!

I do not feel sorry for this bunch of Dukies. There is no doubt in my mind that something happened. It’s too bad that the story that needed to be told through the victim and prosecutor’s office never got anywhere because of misconduct. These men are not innocent.

Terry, why is it if they’re rich white folk they’re always the enemy? Only by the liberal elitist media, who according to them, are intellectually superior to everyone. They’ll always need victims so they have injustices report and gain viewers (MONEY) and feel good about themselves, and rich white folks are their targets. (Terry, have you ever turned down a pay raise? Hypocrite!)

What is wrong with hiring a stripper? This girl worked as a stripper. This girl was a single mother who worked as a stripper to get by. How dare you insult her profession. Stripping is completely legal and a much better alternative than turning to illegal forms of income such as drugs or prostitution.

Huh? The story wouldn’t have been a story if they were not “RICH” kids at an elite school. How much coverage would ABC have given the story, if it was the Wrestling team at Cleveland State University? No Matter, wrong is wrong no matter the size of the bank account! But you must not learn that in Journalism School!

Jeez, Terry, what does the Rutgers basketball team have to do with this? Ok, so you say they were jerks. You’re probably right. I think you’re wrong, though, in believing that America has embraced them as heroes. The interest that we (if I may speak for the country) have shown in this case and the ensuing hurrah that went out after the recent ruling comes from our innate distaste for injustice. They represent right over wrong, regardless of who they are personally. Sure, this case was high-profile while many others were not. Why? Well, you’re the newscaster, not me.
And now that I think about it, maybe the Rutgers basketball team does have something to do with it; like in the way you seem to lionized them as the fellas’ opposites. Are you really sure that they are better people than the Duke boys? Does their background make them any better? Just what the hell are you talking about, Terry?

“During the incident, racial epithets were hurled at the strippers.”
During the “incident”? What incident? There was no incident. No laws were broken. Your use of the word incident clearly shows you are in denial, and can’t come to grips with the fact that these young men did nothing wrong.

Mr. Moran’s article is an example of what happens when a talking head departs from his/her script or earpiece and shows us his/her reasoning powers.

You’re an arrogant bitter man. Go away.

Duke Lacrosse players:
Falsely accused of rape, railroaded by a DA, suspended from school, accrued $3,000,000 in legal fees. Names tarnished forever.
vs.
Rutgers womens hoops players:
Being called a bad name by a radio DJ
Nice perspective!

Management of ABC, Terry Moran should be reprimanded for his incredibly insensitive remarks minimizing the effects of the framing of the Duke students.
His remarks promoting a double standard of outrage about prosecutorial misconduct on the basis of priviledge is blatently classist and more-than-subliminally racist — against white people. I do not excuse black racism against blacks, nor should you excuse Mr. Moran’s clearly racist remarks against the white defendants. I say his remarks and unfair accusations are racist because he would not be making them if the wrongly accused were these not privileged white men.
And shame on you, Terry Moran, for publishing this kind of hateful opinion that blames the victims because they were not perfect in every way, in your eyes.

Don’t feel too sorry for the Dukies? You must be crazy to write such tripe. No matter what your political persuasion, the injustices committed to these families were horrific. The behavior/ethics of Mike Nifong should expose him to disbarment and civil suits from the families.
Yes, I have sympathy for the “Dukies” and absolute contempt for their accuser. IMHO, Terry you couldn’t be more wrong on this issue.

I think Terry Moran is aptly named.
Apparently Moran doesn’t really care about justice. They were innocent – Period. Why do I believe that had these players been black and wrongly accused, your little blog entry would be a lot different? You clearly have some issues and writing about them publicly might not be in your best interest – better to hide this weirdness going on in your head.

You’re an idiot!

As previously noted, injustice is injustice is injustice and must be condemned in all its forms. Let’s also remember that our justice system, like all human endeavor, is fallible.
While it is true that these kids were behaving badly and should be ashamed of their behavior, they were not behaving criminally. Once (wrongly) accused, they were not professionally handled by the justice system, but were upon by the baying hounds of race hucksters and the feckless Duke faculty.
Next time anyone behaves shamefully, reflect on how one would like that misbehavior to be splashed over the media and into the workplace.
The men were victimized by cowards who should, themselves, be ashamed.

Terry,
You are part of the problem. The reason they “deserve” a high-profile apology is because they were given a premature high-profile conviction. All of these other thousands of wrongly accused people you are talking about were not convicted on global media. These guys were unfairly prosecuted by both the prosecuter and the media. They deserve apologies from both and the more public the better. Otherwise, the billions of people who saw them get unfairly convicted, can now see them get exonerated.
Also, like everyone else, I’m waiting for Rev. Jackson and Al Sharpton to also apologise for rushing to judgement and conficting these individuals before due process. They help to inflame racism as opposed to eliminate racism.

No don’t feel sorry for the Dukies. You should feel sorry for woman maaking the allegations, after all she must have a hard life if it causes her to make up these stories. Feel sorry for Nifong, his career has been damaged by these boys. Feel sorry for the Duke 88 since their rush to judgement turned out to be wrong. It’s hard to be wrong. Feel sorry for Brodhead because he stepped out in front early and picked the wrong horse. That must be emabarassing. Feel sorry for Sharpton and Jackson because once again they are wrong. Feel sorry for the media and people like Moran who have to deal with the way this turned out instead of the boys being guilty. No, whatever you do, don’t feel sorry for the boys and their families because they haven’t really been put through very much here at all.

I think Terry is working to distract our attention. He doesnt want us to think about how quickly he and all his blind, arrogant, agenda driven colleagues jumped on the bandwagon and became judge, jury and executioner for these kids when this all started.

They are very differently situated in life from, say, the young women of the Rutgers University women’s basketball team
based on what? the color of their skin? Private school vs. public school? Talk about pre-existing racist ideas!!

Terry: Your heart is bleeding all over my screen. I guess being white and succesfull should be a crime.

I cannot believe what I have just read. Even for ABC news this is pretty disgusting and troubling to say the very least. Terry where did you go to school? What was your family’s net worth growing up? I would bet that you can idendify more with these young INNOCENT men then you can the LIAR who targeted them. I feel that all you are doing is race baiting and towing the company line by this ridiculios blatther you call journalism.

Webster’s Dictionary now has an outstanding example for “sanctimonious”- Terry Moran

Just another elite, liberal journalist!

Terry, so I’m guessing your the only man in America to have never been to a strip show!! These are college kids, they didn’t do anything worse than 99% of all kids of that age regardless of income. This piece is a poorly conceived effort to deflect from your rushing to judgement just to sell papers and ad time.. You are a idiot Terry. Its almost like your condoning the fact that they where wrongly accussed because they have wealth.

Reading this article, clearly shows how wacked the education system is… I’m talking about Moran’s impersonation of a reporter!

This author is a fool. Being falsely accused of rape is one of my worst nightmares. How do you keep your job with such garbage?

The North Carolina Attorney General said “We believe that these cases were the result of a tragic rush to accuse and a failure to verify serious allegations.” But Terry wants to blame the team members from Duke. Mr. Moran I can not believe your logic. The Coach lost his job. The season was cancelled. These guys got at a minimum of one year stolen from their lives. Terry take another look you are dead wrong.

Outrageous comments by this guy. He should be fired.

Terry, thanks so much for showing all of us the idiocy of the leftwing liberal media mindset. Good job.

Your posting is absolutely amazing. You fault the young men who are innocent victims, and say that there are many cases which are unreported. Exactly. The racist behaviour here is clearly yours and the news media and is a principal contributor to the ongoing racial problems in america. You are right there are many other cases that are never reported – because the media couldn’t play a race card. You disgust me.

Wasn’t one of these three “rich kids” on a lacrosse scholarship and not from a weathly family?
Be careful which brush you paint with while you are intergecting your class envy.

I have always thought Terry Moran to be a condescending, foolish liberal … today he proved me right again. Absolute drivel. Holy cow! I am almost embarrassed for him.

Terry Moran is a left-wing fool.

Rich, white guys must be guilty of something, so they don’t deserve the same justice as the oppressed minority.
My grandfather came here from Mexico to have freedom and a better life. People like you want everyone to feel guilty when they attain it.
I am totally amazed that ANYONE could find something negative about three innocent young men being spared a life of undeserved guilt and prison.
What’s wrong with you?

When will Oprah have these boys on?

Wow! Don’t feel sorry for these guys because it happens to other (less fortunate) people too? Don’t feel sorry for these guys because they were doing something legal (like getting strippers) that you don’t like? Don’t feel sorry because one of the guys had a separate and completely different incident in DC?
Are you being blackmailed by Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton?

Do NOT feel sorry for them! Life could be worse– they could be a blithering MORON writing inane articles for ABC News, showing their face, name, and utter stupidity to the world.
I had so much I wanted to write but people who write articles like this are a lost cause. You can never win an argument with an innocent “man”.

Although innocent of all charges, am I to understand then it was fine to put them through this because they happen to be white, rowdy jocks, and from affluent families? What about equal protection of the law for ALL Americans? By the way, your prosperity envy is showing.

Terry, let’s throw out all skin color, ethnic background, education and financial status… How do you judge this now?
Are you biased towards these three gentlemen because they come from succesful families and are white?
If you say no to that question, then what’s your real swing here?

Terry,
Its long overdue. You really need to go back to Court TV covering OJ, the Mendendez brothers, or some other freak of the week.
Your commentary is just below the journalistic standards expected at a high school newspaper.

I think that ABC should fire you.

This ranks among the most despicable pieces of journalistic opinion ever written. Youthful indiscretion and boorishness is common among the rich and the poor. Such actions seldom rise to the level of criminality. In the end, the families got the simple justice that everyone deserves but many do not get. I hate that it cost them $5,000,000. Nobody seems to recall that these are athletes on scholarship. That they are filthy rich is not necessarily true.

As the mother of two boys, thank god my husband is a criminal attorney!With people like you Tery Moron and Nifong who think nothing of ruining someone’s life, there will always be someone else there to fight for people’s rights!

Injustice is injustice. It is reprehensible regardless of race, class or creed. You either sympathize with people wrongly accused of crimes or you don’t. Clearly Mr. Moron feels that injustice is OK for some, but not others.

BingoFuel is right. Why is there such different treatment between the Rutgers and Duke incidents? It is because these people have a double standard. Is this guy saying that the Rutgers b-ball players are poor? That is what it sounds like. Remember, Rutgers plays D-1 b-ball. They are not paying for their schooling. There is no difference between these incidents. But because one group is white and goes to a prestiges school and the other group is black, they are treat completely different. A huge double-standard.

Is anyone surprised that an ABC reporter would be so biased and nonsensical?

Moran is an MORON. These kids’ families are out millions on the legal defense for these false charges. Nifong was wrong.

Wow, you’re an idiot. Wrongly accused is wrongly accused. Rather than lamenting the fact they could afford lawyers to exonerate these students, you should be thankful that only one year of their life was wasted as opposed to 15 years. You’re way off base on this one.

Dear Terry Moron, Your comments are sincerely too incredibly stupid to waste much of my time commenting on except that you should be fired today after you have apologized to those innocent boys and their families.

wow, you’re too insane to even take seriously.
/not unlike imus’ “offensive” comments.

Mr. Moran’s comments are almost unbelievable to me! He has been so brainwashed against white people of financial means that he seeks to totally minimize the horrible nightmare that these three young men were unrighteously forced to endure for 395 days. If it were three black men falsely accused by a white woman he and others of his closed-minded ilk would be screaming about the injustice from the top of their lungs. I long ago quit watching the grossly left-slanted news reports of the three major networks and CNN. Moran’s blog is a vivid example of why myself and millions of others have deserted the “main scream” media.

What a ridiculous and offensive argument. The players were wronged and have and will pay the price for years to come. Minimizing this because of their race and economic status is just as racist and deplorable as if it they were minorities. Would you apply your same standards if we looked into the lives of the Rutgers women’s basketball team and see if they should have any sympathy as well? Injustice is injustice no matter who you are. Network news just doesn’t get it.

I did see what the big deal is about requesting “one white stipper” It would be different if they requested all white strippers. So people are attracted to their own race, big deal. All races would do the same…

I love articles like this! Always after the fact! Now the ones that were wrong with their analysis from the very beginning feel that they have to tell the ones that have been right all along how to think. Hey wipe the egg off of your faces the truth is out and whatever good comes out of this for the Lacrosse players they deserve.

You feel guilty because you and dozens of professors at Duke came down hard, wrongly, on those boys. Innocent is innocent, you and your ilk condemned them because they come from money. Get over it. Get over yourselves.

Boy, what kind of reasoning do you go through to come up with this article? Talk about class warfare. If you have resouces, are white and go to Duke and get charged with a crime you did not commit, don’t feel sorry for them. Let us hope you never have your life ruined as these boys did!

You deserve the same fate as Imus.
As a middle class teacher who had to scrounge to raise $130,000 to send my son to Duke, I feel insulted that you denigrated all of the students of Duke over an incident that never happened.

You arrogant idiot. How many parties have you been to that worse things have gone on? Shall we investigate your bad behavior and air it out for everyone to see. Maybe we should just start making things up and not following proper protocol in our legal system.

Fire Terry Moran!

You’re an idiot, good thing they limit you to blogging.

What a moron! Maye the President of ABCNews should decide if you are credible enough to continue working for the company!

Sounds like you’re covering your tracks after the mainstream media had all but convicted and sentenced these guys. I’m aware of the raciat epitats and the bad behaviour, but that does not give cover for all the bad behaviour by the media.

You jerk!
- Matt in Detroit

I live near Durham and remember the huge rallies against the young men. Awful posters on Duke Campus maligning these men before they were even charged. Threats against them and their families abounded. These men displayed poor judgement in their actions that night but that should not be something that should cost them a year of their life much less the potential to spend thirty years in jail. This should be a cautinary tale for young people and anyone sending their child to Duke. As I have always advised my son, if you lie down with dogs you get up with fleas.

Terry do you think Rev Sharpton and Rev Jackson should apologize to these young men?Or for the foolish statements they’ve made in the past.
These young men did what goes on at
every college campus.Is it right no
but get your head out of the sand.
I hope they file civil suits and take Nifong,Durham,North Carolina,and Duke for Millions.

ABC: says it all, doesn’t it?

Wow. How about sticking to reporting some news and leave the marxist revolutionary speak out. Getting down on the 3 guys because they have a nice “cushion” underneath them. This article is pathetic.

And you wonder why people are turning away from the MSM in droves? To paraphrase-”Don’t feel bad for these guys, in one way or another they deserve it because they’re white and well off”. The term “journalist” is being applied way too broadly these days.

I can’t believe this reporter had the audacity to say anything other than the fact that the original story was made up and the legal system let the three people down in their “pursuit of the truth!” The background of the students was not the issue at any time. The behavior of the students was: the legality of their actions. For anyone to paint a picture due to the financial position of the parents is an injustice to all people charged with a crime. All defendants are required to be considered equal in the eye of the law, but, not in the eye of a reporter who has made a cheap attempt to paint these Duke students as less than deserving of fairness. This person shows a distinct “class envy” syndrome.

What an odd bigoted attitude you express. ‘Don’t feel sorry for these victims of media and prosecutorial misconduct because there are others’
You great professionals at ABC camped out at Duke with your Nightline crew, raising the stakes and the heat – and the opportunity for misconduct – on Durham and those falsely accused.
I wonder what happened to the concept of hanging together or hanging seperately? If one of us is persecuted, we all are, used to be a very ethical position. The contortions imposed by your PC mentality really tell us a great deal about you, and trust me: it is not a sympathetic, ethical, or professional image.

The media feels so sorry for the Rutgers basketball team because of a few words and you say don’t feel sorry for guys falsely accused of rape. Do you think that it is ok to be falsely accused of rape just because you can afford to pay an attorney?
I generally enjoy most of your reporting, but you just showed your complete ignorance.

I am appalled at your attitude. Using your logic, class is the determining factor as to whether we, the uninformed public, should decide how we should respond to injustice. I don’t think you really mean that. Although the media, at the beginning stressed the class issue, it is now taking it on the chin for convicting these students in the public’s eyes before the facts were ascertained. This not the first time nor will it be the last.

Mr. Moron,
Based on this article you should never feel sorry for anyone who’s parents are well off, because I guess that’s the real crime here. Let’s look back on our college days and can any among us say we never had a moment or two of bad judgement? Mr. Moron apparently hasn’t. The mere fact that these fellows requested one white stripper is brought up so Mr. Moron can infer racism but in actuality the are properly conforming to affirmative action. Oh and how dare they have $800 dollars. Can anyone say Tawana Brawley?

This is the most outrageous column I’ve seen in a long time. It takes issue against three young men who did not commit a crime, but almost went to prison. Don’t you know enough to understand the facts of the situation. Someone lied about the incident! Your bias should be towards truth and honesty. It should not be swayed by the financial backgrounds of the families involved. Shame on you. Read the constitution again, and again and again. Then fight for justice for all, but don’t slam these three boys who were the victims in this ugly incident. Use your energy to work towards a color blind society – and stop showing your own bias towards a “certain class of people”. Stop trying to make points and make sense for a change

Moran, everything you listed is irrelvant in the real world.
You mess with the bull, you get the horns.
I hope the three players extract every penny their high priced lawyers can squeeze out of Dook, Durham, and NC. Then prosecute the two women to the fullest extent of the law. Examples need to be made here.

You are an absolute idiot.

Left leaning liberals have never gone to “elite universities” and only come from underpriviliged families. Yeah right. I demand a face-to-face apology to the Duke 3 and then we still fire you. Who’s even heard of you before? Imus gets fired but since you’re so far under the radar, ABC News doesn’t care about you. Congratulations.

This is nuts. People are parsing right and wrong. It was wrong whether or not they hired a stripper or muttered racial epithets. It is wrong whether they were rich or poor, white or black, attending Duke or a local JC.
I feel badly that they suffered at the hands of the accuser, the police, the prosecuter, the Press (particularly the Press) and Duke.
It really is that simple.

That is completely ridiculous. To suggest that we shouldn’t feel sorry for them because Blacks have had similar treatment is ridiculous. We should use this opportunity to deal with and speak about those injustices as well. Your column sounds like something Al Sharpton would write.

This is a profoundly disturbing post that only a true elitist could make. It strikes me that it bothers you that the innocence of these falsely accused young men interferes with the great storyline that was unfolding, until their innocence messed that up.
I agree with other posters. If this were ever to happen to you, you’d feel differently.

You are supposed to b a reporter. If there are “many other victims of prosecutorial misconduct in this country,” why don’t you report on them?

I consider myself to be liberal on many issues and am offended at the people who accuse liberals just because of what this “reporter” says. Whether or not he’s a liberal is not important. What is important is the fact that he’s a bloody moron if he actually believes that the Rutgers girls who got racially abused by Imus are worse off than three kids who lost so much in their life just because some whore stripper thought “Hey, payday! I’m going to accuse these guys of raping me so I can gain from it.”

Wow! I am speechless after reading your take on this story. Moran you are a true Moron.

I disagree vehemently with Mr. Moran’s exhortation to withhold my pity for the “Dukies”, as he puts it. That private citizens were subjected to reckless, unfounded charges in order to further a political career is the worst kind of corruption imaginable. Moreover, it is absolute idiocy to even hint that their [admittedly reprehensible] behavior in hiring a stripper somehow justified a year of baseless vilification and a million dollar legal bill.

Thank God my son didn’t grow up to act and think like this idiot Moran. I would be so embarrassed. I’m saddened by his belief system and by his twisted intellectual capacity. Looks like our decision to block ABCnews from our TV was a good one. In the future, who comes to Moran’s defense when he’s wrongly accused? No-one perhaps.

What a poorly drafted and reasoned article. Other than the inability of the article to concisely make the point it is trying to get to, the justification for having no sympathy for the defendants because of their own flaws is morally reprehensible. Should we have no sympathy for the victims in Darfur? Some of these victims weren’t perfect people, and in history there have been many other groups that have been equally mistreated. Your article reveals a prejudice that is just as strong as the ones you wish to condemn. For a country that values market success, it is a shame that writers such as yourself are allowed to so openly feed the flames of class prejudice. The editors at ABC should be ashamed for letting this drivel pass as journalism.

Moran, I think Moron..

Your thoroughly despicable post is a perfect illustration of why viewers are leaving “mainstream” news in droves. I’m insulted every time I hear one of your colleagues prattle on about objectivity as if their audience has no intelligence or memory.

This reporter and ABC should lose their jobs of “reporting” to us for posting such pathetic propaganda. If they think that there is any possible justification for such abuse of the legal system by government against our fellow citizens, then by choice, we each individually should fire their sorry behinds by not volunteering to be their audience. Let’s boycott ABC, Disney and their programming until they respect the freedom from government tyranny that so many have purchased for us with great and ultimate sacrafices.

The idea that one ought not sympathize with the Duke Players because they are children of privilege is absurd on it’s face. A wrong is not made less so dependiong on the race or economic status of the victim.
The remainder of that screed amounts to the cousin to the idea that two wrongs make a right.

Since when is being rich a justification for scorn? Shouldn’t prosecutorial misconduct be equally bad for the rich and poor? If prosecutorial misconduct is such a huge problem for poor defendants, shouldn’t Terry Moran, as a responsible member of the press, bring this scourge to light? The hypocrisy here is amazing.

Terry, what’s the matter, did a locrosse player steal your girl at Lawrence?

“Suppose that Crystal Mangum really had been raped by the “Dukies”, and they had been found guilty. Would Moran have written a column afterwards saying we shouldn’t feel too sorry for her, because her conduct (stipping) was “not entirely admirable”? I think not.”
That is the best post yet.

Wow, what a sad sad commentary. We should absolutely fee sorry for these individuals. They did nothing to deserve this at all. I don’t care what their background is, how much money their parents have or anything of the such.
No wonder our country has decided not to even watch ABC news…

What the players did before this nightmare occured is moot! Their was no evidence of rape kidnapping or assault. The prosecution new this. The prosecution chose the young men to be his personal political football into another term as the Durham district attorney.
The real culprits are the clowns that worked along with Mike Nifong and trumpt up or hid evidence that would have cleared the Duke players. Having strippers at a frat party is not a a high crime, Stupid, but not a crime. The accuser should be called up and charged for making false accusations, Mike Nifong should go to jail for his flagrant misuse of power and his staff should be fired for allowing such a travesty to go on.

You are without a doubt a complete idiot. Change your last name to Moron, please. These kids lives were ruined so Nifong could get re-elected, and we’re not supposed to feel sorry for them???? If Imus gets fired for making a comment, then Nifong and the accuser should be punished much more severely. You must be planning on running for office or something Terry, you waste of space.

Your commentary is just another reason why I get my TV news from FOX and not ABC.

Mr. Moran, you went to Lawrence University, a private university, I have a question: Did you manage to do that because you are rich and white? I demand to see your and your parent’s tax returns since you were born as well as court records, including juvenile court, to see if you have ever committed a crime before.

It’s a double edged sword…yes, there are a lot of examples of prosecuter misconduct across ths US, and they don’t get the attention that this case did
However, most people falsely accused of a crime aren’t subjected to thousands and thousands of news stories being posted with their names, pictures, etc judging them as rich white kids who got away with a heinous crime

Don’t feel sorry for rich white boys wrongfully accused of rape. Save that anger for attacking rich white radio hosts who use terms similar to what’s heard on Rap and Urban music stations on a daily basis.
ABC your bias is showing (again).

Terry, you’re right about only one thing – these boys got top-flight representation, and that probably made the difference for them. But to say that their lives will be wonderful just because they are “privileged” or went to Duke is crazy. For some reason, you think that because they come from wealthy families, they’re immune from the barbs and thorns of life? I wonder, as a highly-paid reporter for ABC News, aren’t you in the same boat? Hello kettle, I’m the pot. You’re black.

You can’t possibly beleive the things you’ve written here, so I’ll just chalk this one up to you grandstanding.

fool.

A most outrageous column. I hope Moran is never falsely accused of a felony. And wonder what his decorum was at age 21 in college—if he attended college.

Saying that because these young men hired strippers made them deserving of rape charges is just as repugnant as saying that being a stripper made her deserving of being raped. I am not condoning either’s choice but both were participating in an action that is legal, though morally distasteful. The woman had no right to make a false accusation, regardless of her “mental state”. The DA had no right to file charges until he investigated the facts. The DA had absolutely no right to withhold evidence from the defense and the grand jury. This woman has done great harm to real victims of sexual crimes by crying rape when she was caught being publicly intoxicated.
This woman and the DA should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law now for their crimes.

You will forever be dubbed “Terry Moron” from here on in. Your imbecilic logic is way out there, the only person that might agree with you is fellow whack job media talking head Rachel Marsden.

you are an idiot

This is truly one of the most unbelievably ridiculous pieces of “journalism” I have ever read. Nice job of brining irrelevant “facts” into your meaningless rant. I guess the fact that the team requested a white stripper justifies the hell that these three young men have gone through. I commend you on failing to mention that the accuser and Nifong are the real criminals here. I guess you don’t feel sorry for the lacrosse coach that lost his job or the families of these three young men that had their lives turned upside down. Congrats Terry. You’ve outdone yourself this time.

You sicken me Terry. That this piece of anti-capitalist, racist, propaganda would be published by ABC is a national shame.

Your quote: “MOST IMPORTANT, there are many, many cases of prosecutorial misconduct across our country every year. The media covers few, if any, of these cases.” – Aren’t you the media??? So, do your job…cover these many, many cases.
You describe the three as “well-heeled, well-connected, well-publicized young men.” – Is this the type of publicity you would want? How much time have you spent with these three men, and their families? Imus met with the Rutgers basketball team and their parents. I challenge you to do the same with these young men.

Congratulations. You’ve just para-phrased the statement of one of the “Dukies” during HIS press conference when he thanked his parents for providing the resources to fight the charges, and mentioned concern about those who might NOT have those resources. Imus got the axe for making a stupid racist comment – but at least he wasn’t vapid.

TERRY MORON!!!! GET A REAL JOB !!!!

I can’t believe anyone is falling for this. It is obvious that this article was written to draw attention to it’s author. This is another example of the media being outrageous for the sake of creating a frenzy. If it were not on the drudge report I would have never heard of this idiot.

Crystal Gail–She is the one that began this whole awful incident. She should be prosecuted.

Hehehe!
Responses to your “column” are runnging a good 5:1 (or more) against.
It’s also a good example of why ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, the NYT, et al. are experiencing financially devestating declines in viewership/readership.

Thanks for reminding me I abandoned the liberal slanted newcasts of the major networks.
The absudity of this “blog” is amazing.

What a stretch for someone who has writer’s bloc. Either get more creative or find another career.

What other position would you expect from ABC. Only Liberal elites (celebrity wealthy, judges, professors and Liberal party members) are free from their criticisim.

Thanks for reminding me why I abandoned the liberal slanted newcasts of the major networks.
The absudity of this “blog” is amazing.

what a stretch of twisted thought. I hope you are never falsely accussed of any crimes and then dragged through the mud of a political campaign.
Your comment is a testcase for everything wrong with the media.

I call on ABC News to fire Mr. Moran for his callous and insensitive comments. There is no place in the public discourse for someone who seems pleased about what happened to these your men. He is mostly upset because he is losing, what to him, was such a great story.
Mr. Moran should lose his job.

So rich white guys are the only ones who hire/pay for strippers? The only ones who request white strippers?
Who is the racist now? What a pathetic bigoted article. You should be fired for your insensitivity.

Moran Exposed: The readers comments in this blog illustrate why Drudge is the most influential media outlet in the world.

Terry, you are totally missing the point! As usual, people such as yourself in the liberal media are playing the race card and focusing on their background. Who they are, what they did, and where they came from is inconsequential! The real issue is that a reckless prosecutor broke the law and conducted himself in an unethical manner by falsely accused these young men of something they didn’t do. It is scarey that one would have to spend millions in this country to protect oneself again a corrupt prosecutor, who should be removed from office and disbarred!

What is wrong with you? No wonder this country is where it is. And I will add that the state of affairs at ABSC is totally disgraceful. The network is allowing disgraceful and untruthful comments by Rosie o’Donnell. Yes, we all have freedom of speech but not to lie and misguide the public. I just cannot believe you wrote the article on the Duke players. Shame on you.

What a perfectly foolish thing to say. Mr. Moran should be embarassed to have written this. ABC should be embarassed to have Mr. Moran on its payroll.
And these are the folks one is supposed to trust for even-handed news?

Are you kidding me? So you are bring ing up race in this issue again huh? Because the FALSE rape charge was against whites who’s parents have done well, it doesn’t sting as bad as blacks that don’t have as much money? Give me a break…. You’re a moron.

Terry seems to be using the same logic that a number of (ignorant) people used against the accusor in this case – basically “you brought it upon yourself.” This is one of the most ridiculous pieces I’ve read in quite a while. These young men DO desreve our sympahty. They were treated very harshly for something they didn’t do. Why even bring the Rutgers women’s basketball team in to this? The only parallel I can see is another journalist who doesn’t deserve his job….

The reason they recieved the media attention in the first place was because they were affluent white kids who had supposedly brutally raped a black woman. The attention they recieved afterwards was incidental. So yes, prosecutorial misconduct is very common, but this was not originally a scandal of prosecutorial misconduct. You’d think a journalist would know that.

This article and some of these comments here at outrageous!!! So what if they attend Duke? Do you really think it’s only because of their money? I am curious how many of you know how difficult is to attend Duke and play a sport there! Most of you have no idea. I have seen the kids attending Duke and 99% of them are very smart kids. So what if they are rich?! Let’s accuse Bill Gates of rape and don’t feel sorry for him … he is the richest guy on the planet. Zero logic in your article!

Reason has left the building.
W :(

Your attitude and the attitude of the other so called journalist on ABC is the reason I no longer watch ABC or support its advertisers.

Wow, its nice to see that the media can stay impartial. You and all of your fellow broadcasters should apologize to the Duke Players. The stigma of being accused will follow you for all your life. I really hope you never get accused because you will have to eat your words.

why do liberals think it is a crime to be successful in this country. let’s not forget that the fact that these kids came from “privilege”, more than likely only means that their parents worked very hard to be successful. now you deride them for achieving the american dream and somehow, by your logic, we shouldn’t feel bad for them, that an overzealous and politically ambitious prosecutor, used them as a springboard to reelection. this kind of thinking is what led to the outrage in the first place –everyone so eager to convict them, just because they were “privileged”, including 85 Duke professors who signed that letter and who are eating crow

WOW, you must be a saint who has never in your life done something that others might not approve of. Way to show your ignorence and lack of social scope!

Time to have your moral compass adjusted, Mr. Moran. These young men suffered for a year under threat of serious jail time for something they didn’t do. I would think that clowns like you would applaud the vindication of the accused. Like you do when convicted murderes whine about getting another chance, another swing at the justice system.

“Feeling sorry” for these guys has nothing to do with the situation – nor does my approval or disapproval of their choice of “entertainment” have anything pertinent to do with the situation. However, I am outraged by the fact that this young woman, a self-designated “victim-for-life”, thought it was just fine to go after these guys (their parents, really) for money she’s too damned lazy to earn honestly. It’s equally outrageous that Mr. Moran thinks it’s okay. The ‘comfy world’ they are entering into does NOT condone rape (and it’s morally and socially distorted to claim this false accusation can be shrugged off). Terry Moran suffers a delusion if he believes the justice system will be strengthened by further misuse. That thinking is regressive and plain wrong.

I cannot believe I read what you wrote!! Ohmigod! Well I guess you work for ABC so that explains some of it!

Leave it to ABC News to slam the people who suffered the most in this case, the wrongly accused. Instead of dumping on the three guys whose lives were turned upside down, ABC should instead have used it to bring about reform of the system that indeed can be hard on those without means. I don’t recall ABC making the same judgment when OJ went free. What a biased report!

Man…oh…man…are you some kind of special stupid! ABC’s talent scouts let this one slip through the cracks….ouch

Idiot!

You are a moron, Terry Moran. Priveleged or not, this is an injustice to them, their families and their school. Just because they come from a different background than the accuser does not warrant minimalizing their rights in correlation to how connected or privileged they are perceived to be. The problems with are justice system lies not with these boys. It lies with the justice system. The media – yourself included- is also part of the problem.

Terry,
You are nuts and another one who deserves to get the boot just like Imus. What an elite comfortable place you must be writing from to have no compassion for 3 young people falsely accused of a crime they could have gone to prison for 30 years over.
Its not a contrast with the Imus story, its a confirmation: Our media elites are insulated from real life.

The best way I can respond to your contemptable position is to say that you and your fellow journalists will soon justify the implementation of restrictions to the first amendment. Restrictions similar to those in in UK should be imposed and you and your ilk should be sanctioned.

Terry — it is truly a sad day when a college student can’t throw a ripper with strippers and not expect some sort of repercussions… like losing their place on the lacrosse team or getting a bad reputation, maybe your employer isn’t so thrilled that you’re on the news for screwing around with strippers in a morally reprehensible setting… But hey! Nothing was illegal, so bravo! What ever happened to personal accountability? Excuse me for not weeping for these guys. They deserve to be exonerated in the court, but it doesn’t mean they are upright citizens.

it sure is easy for you to sit on your high horse and criticize we shouldn’t feel sorry. 2 kids won’t get to graduate, and the other barely did. These kid’s lives are forever tainted.

What a despicable post! So according to Terry, crime victims (in this case victims of prosecutorial misconduct) don’t “deserve” sympathy if they do bad things and/or are affluent. So let’s see… according to Terry’s logic an underage rich white girl gets raped at a frat party, and we shouldn’t feel to bad for her because she shouldn’t have been drinking and she can afford top notch health care, and besides there are thousands of other victims too. I can’t believe ABC News devalues their brand by publishing this kind of vile nonsense.

If the accused happened to be black, would Mr. Moran care if they requested one white stripper and hurled racial slurs? Of course not!

The editorial is a way to distract from the possibility that the media may owe these young men an apology for the way they were treated. Don’t forget that it was the media that made such a big deal of it anyway, so they are to blame for the attention, deserved or not.
At any rate, this is another example of the public not getting objective news, but really being told what to think instead.

QUESTION: How can a reporter
get some extra attention on this
Duke case?
ANSWER: By posting an obnoxious
contrarian screed like this one.
Any attention is good attention.

These young men’s lives will never be the same. And now we know why we have sterotypes. If this woman doesn’t fit the bill, I don’t know who does! By the way, where is the apology from Al Sharpton?

Wow are you struggling to be a relevant reporter. This blabber is a sure sign you have nothing to offer the public. Get a job as a sous chef or something.

Terry Moran, you are a coward. You refer to the high number of wrongfully prosecuted persons, and criticize the media for failing to cover them. If I’m not mistaken, you are a member of the media. You could have covered some of these wrongful prosecutions, yet you chose to jump on the media bandwagon to accuse these students, without having all the facts. You chose to cover a story which was made to fit your ideological agenda – rich, white athletes abusing and violating a poor black woman. Only it wasn’t true.
And who is heaping praise on these guys? And who are you to unilaterally decide the social standing of the Rutgers basketball team as compared to these Duke players?

“This further explains why the credibility of the mainstream media in this country continues to decline. They too jumped on the ‘guilty’ bandwagon like the DA with total disregard for the facts. Dan Rather and forged documents anyone? Maybe some good will come out of this. Maybe everyone will immediately question what they read and hear as far as the mainstream media is concerned instead of accepting it as gospel. Hopefully the boys will sue the heck out of Nifong, and the next prosecuter with an agenda will think before acting. Maybe white boys will stop inviting black women to their partys. Maybe black women will stop dancing nude for white boys.
I for one have a lot of sympathy for the boys. They will probably own businesses one day and hire a lot of people. If Nifong and the stripper would have had there way, we would be destine to slip further into the Welfare state mentioned above.”

ABC’s anti-white male bigotry is astounding.

According To Terry Moran, The Dukies Got special treatment

Moran claims that Reade Seligman, Collin Finnerty and David Evans received special treatment because:
They were part of a team that collected $800 to purchase the time of two strippers.
Their team specifically requested at least one white stripper.
Dur…

“well-heeled, well-connected, well-publicized”
You have GOT to be kidding. Their reputations are scarred for life. I hope they include you in their slander and defamation lawsuit.

You’re working off a false premise trying to compare this to someone of limited means or the Rutger’s women’s basketball team.
Everyone knows their names. They can no longer define themselves. They are defined by this incident. Twenty years from now, no one will remember the team, much less the names of the individuals Imus mocked. But whenever a high-profile rape charge is brought up, they will have to relive this over and over and over again with their names being dragged through the mud each time. Their 15 minutes will never pass.

Wow. What insight in to the author’s thinking. Notice the blatant racism in his statements. He assumes the Rutgers women are not “privileged.” How the heck does he know that? In addition, what if the players asked for only black strippers???

I can’t believe that ABC tolerates this hate speech by one of their employees. This reporter needs to be terminated.
I am joking but were are not too far away from this.

Hey Terrance … just hope I’m free to watch what I want to, when I want to when you are goose stepped up the courthouse steps by an out of control prosecutor.

Terry, you cannot be this ignorant. When you write “And, MOST IMPORTANT, there are many, many cases of prosecutorial misconduct across our country every year. The media covers few, if any, of these cases.”, don’t forget that the reason you and the rest of the media enthusiastically began covering this case was that the accuser was a minority, and perpetrators were not. Now that the true victims turned out to be not what you were rooting for, you spew out this nonsense. Grow up.

Riiigght. Even though they were completely innocent, they still have to be guilty of something because they’re from rich, white families, right? We can all assume from this article that Terry Moran has never been to a strip club in his life and has never done anything less than admirable (like still find guilt where there is none). Pathetic. Mr. Moran probably grew up exactly the same as these young men, but he finds guilt in them.

Terry,
You are a race-baiter, pure and simple. You, and people like you, are the problem in this country. We will never get color-blind justice when people like you use race as a justification for different treatment. The honorable thing for you to do is resign now – before the sensible people in this country demand you be fired.

Riiigght. Even though they were completely innocent, they still have to be guilty of something because they’re from rich, white families, right? We can all assume from this article that Terry Moran has never been to a strip club in his life and has never done anything less than admirable (like still find guilt where there is none). Pathetic. Mr. Moran probably grew up exactly the same as these young men, but he finds guilt in them.

the world according to terry moran, pretty high minded of you.wow you are an elitist. how high is that ivory tower you live in?

Sympathy shouldn’t be a consideration here. The fact that the three Duke players had adequate resources to obtain legal representation is external to the case. The truth of the situation is that they were falsely accused, and the accuser faces no consequences for her actions. Lack of accountability seems to be a theme in racial relationships where caucasians are fair game to any minority or interest group, but if a caucasian responds to defend herself, or expresses an opinion about a minority, then she’s a racist.

By your logic, we shouldn’t feel too bad for the young gentleman in New York and his friends who were shot 50 times by the police because after all, they were visiting a strip club.

At last we see that moralistic attitudes are not the monopoly of the religious right, but are alive and well with our very enlightened class of journalists. Puritanical repulsion to strippers? But I thought you guys loved Lawrence v Texas which said all such matters are expressions of liberty?!

First of all I will feel sorry for whomever I choose. Second what in the world would possess someone to write something as awful as this is? Hate those rich college boys do you Moran? Your rough upbringing must be the cause of your angst.

So your point is that it’s ok that these guys were falsely charged because other people have been too? Your point is that if someone does something stupid in college they deserve to be accused of a crime they did not commit? Your point is that since the family is upper middle class it is ok that they were wrongly subjected to millions of dollars of legal fees? And your point is that since they are spoiled white boys that the agony they endured these last 13 months is acceptable? You really have lost all sense of yourself. Your article has nothing to do with this case, or justice. It has to do with promoting race and class warfare, which is part of what drove this misguided prosection from the get-go.

You should be ashamed of yourself! These 3 were accused of a horrific crime and pre-convicted in the court of public opinion, despite lack of evidence. A year later, all charges dropped and they’ve been declared ‘innocent.’ Not just ‘not guilty,’ but ‘innocent.’ Yes they were able to afford quality legal representation, but they were still wronged and deserve many apologies. Just because they are wealthy white boys does not make what was done to them any less hurtful.

So I guess you’ve never been to a party of any kind at which a stripper performed. And I guess you have no preference whatsoever when it comes to the race of women you’re attracted to. You, sir, are a saint!

These are 3 young men who were ostrasized from society for over a year for a crime they never did. Who cares that they partied and ordered stippers; most college guys do. who cares they asked for a white stripper; we all have sexual preferences. they had nothing to do with other prosecutorial misconduct cases, so feel bad for them because that is the fair and compassionate thing to do!

This was such a foolish blog. You state there are other cases never covered by the media. The only reason this case was covered by the media was because they were three rich white boys. If it had been three poor hispanics accused of this with a black stripper we would have never heard about this outside of a possible local media outlet. The three rich white boys from Duke deserve the same justice as anyone else. Poor or rich. Just because the stripper was poor doesn’t mean she can accuse falsely anyone she chooses.

Not every student that goes to Duke is rich. Some of them actually worked their butts off and got scholarships. Some are working two or three part time jobs to help pay for their tuition. As for these boys, I didn’t know that they were “rich”. I am guessing that their parents may have money to help get them there, but that also doesn’t mean that the parents are rich either. I have a brother with three kids in college and he works 16 hour days and his wife works 10 hour days. They have a nice house and nice things but they are far from rich!
I also don’t undertand why we shouldn’t feel badly for these kids. Is it that we are not allowed to feel for injustice unless the person is black? This is going to follow these young men forever. No matter what they do in life, or where they go. Who knows what damage this will do to any of them down the road, rich parents or not!

Hey Terry,
Why dont you pay the families legal bills?

Terry Moran should get Imused for writing trash like this.

Another typical liberal article condeming people because they have money!
What an idiot you are……

it couldn’t be more obvious that you had nothing to say, you just churned a story out because you saw that there was an opportunity for counterpoint. you have no idea what you are talking about. you are an idiot terry morgan, just a cog in the machine that is today’s worthless “journalism”.

Finally someone said exactly what I was thinking. Terry Moran is right. These three young men were wronged by the legal system (and a false accuser), and that is horrible and should be recompensed in whatever way possible (and the false accuser should be held accountable). However, these three young men are NOT morally admirable people in my view. They are not to be emulated, praised, heroized, or valorized. I went to college in a similar environment, and it can breed a callous, above-it-all carelessness on issues of race, privilege, class, the proper treatment of women, etc. I would never want any son of mine to grow up to be like them.

amazing that you get paid to put your thoughts on paper.

This is typical main stream media garbage. I feel bad for anyone who is wrongly accused. You sir are an idiot.

Terry Moran’s observations are so myopic and reflect an underdeveloped intellect. He should not be provided a platform which would provide any validity to his statements. Stunning that ABC News would maintain an association with him.

You have no sympathy towards young men wrongfully accused of rape then humiliated in front of the world! have you lost your mind. Last time I checked, stipping was legal. If you have a problem with that you have a problem with the accuser, men who go to legal strip clubs and woman who go to legal strip clubs. Its sounds to me that you are envious of the quality of life your parents provided for you! And no, these young men will ot be able to “just” go on with life after this. They now have a stimgma and a permanent mark in public history.

This just sounds like ABC. No wonder you are loosing to FOX and the internet. No wonder Matt Drudge beats ABCNEWS in the online ratings. No wonder traditional media is dying- you don’t have a clue. And just like Ford and GMC, you are too stupid to open your eyes to change.

Don’t you people get it!!!??? forget the story because there’s a bigger story here… I’ve just spent the last hour reading these comments and made an astute observation.
ABC news (and CBS-NBC)is so out of touch with mainstream America it hurts. About 95% or so of the comments here are anti ABC. Don’t these idiots get it?? People are fed up with BIASED reporting. No wonder the internet is fast becoming the next un-biased and MAJOR news source.

I will say one thing for you Terry. You sure did get a rise out of people. Wow!

I will say one thing for you Terry. You sure did get a rise out of people. Wow!

Terry Moran – another absolute IDIOTIC, SELF-RIGHTEOUS, ARROGANT “journalist” on the left. What a bozo.
ABC should be EMBARRASSED to have you on their payroll!
Oh… now I get it…, you’re a shock-jock trying to get attention for stupidity – that’s what ABC News has become.

Why shouldn’t the young lady who reported a crime that didn’t happen be charged? Who cares about the financial well being of these families. THERE WAS NEVER A CRIME COMMITTED!

Unbelievable that so many people think this is no big deal. The reckless behavior was calculated ONLY because they were white and presumably well to do. And, to say what happened to them was partially their own fault because of their legal behavior, is like saying a girl deserved to be raped because she went into a bar with a very short dress.

This article was the most inane thing i have ever read…dont feel sorry for the guys who have been dragged through the mud, slandered, caused to incur millions in legal fees and forever tarnished in the public eye because of a lie? Ludicrous…this is more offensive than Imus

this guys an idiot. That doesn’t change the fact the we need to find a solution to the pervasive problem of reckless prosecution that the lower and middle classes can have access to. If those kids had been poor, regardless of race they’d be in jail right now. think about that for a second.

Curious to know if in the reporting of this story Mr. Moran you described the “strippers” as strippers or “exotic dancers” when referring to their profession. Not sure about you , but many in the media made sure to note the distinction when referring to the accuser.
But now you are sure to point out that “They were part of a team that collected $800 to purchase the time of two strippers.”
I’m not sure the point of your blog here, but it seems a bit distatefull.

Terry Morgan displays ignorance and makes some assumptions here that just might not be true. Is this the kind of journalism that ABC can be proud of?

The really sad thing about Morgan’s pitiful excuse for a commentary and the obviously impassioned responses on both sides of the issue is that virtually all of the age-old prejudices in this country were evoked by the situation. Let’s face it, we cannot “just all get along.” It’s part of the human condition, black or white, privileged or not, politically aspirant or not. For heaven’s sake, look at the many examples down through history of humankind. As Kurt Vonnegut so aptly said, “So it goes.”

Terry,
As long as you are so concerned that Colin Finnerty was previousy arrested for assault, why didn’t you mention that this accusser also falsely accused three other men of rape back in the 90′s?
If you’re so concerned about the lack of morality in these men in hiring a stripper, please remember that this accusser was pregnant by one man while married to another.
And if these weren’t rich white boys attending an ivy league school, they most likely wouldn’t have been accussed of this crime to begin with, and tried and convicted in the media and by the rest of Duke University before their case even went to trial.

You’re an Idiot!

This kind of journalism makes me absolutely sick. Terry Moran and those like him are part of the problem in America media today. These kind of pathetic people believe it’s acceptable to put the blame on anyone of priviledge whether they deserve it or not.
I agree that these Duke players put themselves in a bad situation based on their actions and choices that night. But does that mean it’s still OK to place blame on them simply because they can afford the legal defense?

Never once did I hear that the players took responsiblity for their actions. Afterall, it is the defendants that put themselves in a position for this to happen. They owe an apology to their family, friends and school for putting everyone in this situation. This does not ‘justify’ the wrongful accusations but how about some self accountablity.

You sir, are truly a moron. You ought to be ashamed.

Wow, there goes any respect I ever had for the “journalism” on Nightline. You’re basically saying that since people without privileges don’t get justice, the Duke lacrosse players shouldn’t. And that we shouldn’t feel bad that their lives were ruined when their names were splashed across the national news. And apparently the less privileged don’t hire strippers? You know, the basic message that these guys were relatively better off than many others who are falsely accused of crimes is true, but that has nothing to do with the justice in this situation.

Thats it for ABC news. You folks
make Fox look good.

I’ve been falsely accused. It’s no picnic, even though I retained my job.

Wow – don’t feel too sorry for guys wrongly accused of rape because a.) there are other people wrong accused of stuff, too b.) they have money c.) they got strippers and asked for at least one white one…
You’ve really got a perverted sense of justice – sick. Just because someone has money and privilege doesn’t mean they deserve the kind of hell these guys went through.

We shouldn’t feel to sorry for them because they were able hire good lawyers?
So we shouldn’t feel sorry for the Edwards and the cancer diagnosis because they can afford a good doctor?
Wrong is wrong. It was a hellish year for them. They have my sympathies as does anybody who’s been falsly accused.

I am dumb founded. We live in strange times. On the one hand, Don Imus is appropriately drummed out of his profession for his completely inappropriate and distasteful remarks. Are Imus’ comments that different in impact because he used street language or is it the demeaning message these words signal. (Imus could have said, euphemistically, that these young ladies played like a bunch of hardened inner city gang members – still inappropriate and distasteful and wrong.) Mr. Moran’s comments, in my opinion, fit this same category of being inappropriate and in incredibly bad taste. The three Duke players at this point deserve either a no comment or to be used as an example of why it is important for the justice system to deliver justice to the accused. Moran’s article is a cheap shot designed in part to shock – just like Don Imus. ABC should consider taking a look at the appropriatenesss of Mr. Moran’s article.

I can’t hire a stripper and I can’t hire one that is white? What a bunch of self serving garbage. I suppose we all deserve to be paraded in front of prosecutors and have our lives threatened with destruction for living a normal American male life. That is what this is all really about. Isn’t it. An elite agenda, bent on destroying young males and their culture at any cost. Especially white ones that go to college,join fraternities, drink beer and try to have a fun time doing it. You are a sourpuss.

Memo to Moran: You, sir, are an idiot who clearly is showing bigotry against a particular racial and socio-economic class.
Time for you to join Imus on the unemployment line. Racial and class hatred should not and must not be tolerated and I call on every citizen to boycott Disney-run businesses until you are terminated.

I really don’t believe what I just read. Three men and their families lives were turned upside down due to lies, false accusations and an overzealous prosecutor with a selfish immoral agenda. Then I read a comment about not feeling sorry for them because they are white. I can’t put a color on justice or injustice and I must say that I feel sorry for every man or women that has been sent to prison that was innocent regardless of their color.

All of you who post comments about the fact that these boys come from wealthy families….you sure sound sour and I’d hate to be in your bitter shoes!!! What miserable lives you must all lead. If all of you would get over your bitterness and stop feeling sorry for yourselves, you might make something out of your own lives. It is this mindset that puts America’s greatness at risk and is rolling out the red carpet to SOCIALISM!!!!!!!

Terry you are a complete MORON…you need to be beside Rosie on the view…we will call it dumb and dumber…no more ABC for me.

What goes wrong with someones moral compass too the point that everything is viewed through a racial prism? Terry, I hope you aren’t this morally vanquished?

Once again, a member of the elistist media shows his true colors. You are an ass and another reason I don’t watch you and ABC.

SAY WHAT? I get it, because they are white they don’t deserve any sympathy. Thats what this article is all about deep down. Because they are white they deserve to be falsly accused of rape, kidnapping and anything else the DA can come up with.I am so tired of the liberal hypocrisy in this country. Even when a white guy is innocent, he is guilty.

You are worse than Imus. Thank God they had awesome lawyers or they might be headed to jail. You would be happy with that I am sure.
Hopefully someone with more class
and higher morals than Twana Sharpton
will be asking ABC for you to be fired soon!

Just a matter of time before the main stream media takes another shot at these kids. Haven’t you had your way with them for 2 years? Way to go ABC! Your liberalism shines bright.

Don’t blame Terry, blame political correctness. It has formed his opinions and governs his behavior. Forget about a career in the media if you ever stray from its straight and narrow.

SAY WHAT? I get it, because they are white they don’t deserve any sympathy. Thats what this article is all about deep down. Because they are white they deserve to be falsly accused of rape, kidnapping and anything else the DA can come up with.I am so tired of the liberal hypocrisy in this country. Even when a white guy is innocent, he is guilty.

Wow! What an amazingly cruel thing to say. I really hope that in your life time that you never have to experience what these three young men had to endure. Being accused of rape and the other charges. If convicted their lives would have been pretty much over. These young men could have faced decades languishing in prison. And this asshole tells us that we should not feel “Too sorry for them”? I say that you should be fired and ABC sucks.

You sir are complete idiot!

What is it Terry?
Class envy or attempt at incitement of class warfare?

Call out the national guard. College males hire strippers! Lets give them 30 yrs in the pen and rob them of thousands of dollars for defending themselves against something they didn’t do. Let’s not have any sympathy for them because other people have been wrongly accused. That horrible white privledged Reade Seligman said he is keenly aware of people without their families means. But he’s just a jerk. Let’s let these white guys ride it out and suffer because some suffered the same fate and they have to play the collective price. You sound like most of the faux intellectuals that missed the sixties and feel coollective guilt and envy for not being there. You have to make up for your absence by promulgating some addled ideas of fairness to assuage your collective guilt. Your an idiot

Talk about Friday the 13th… now this is scary!
Mr. Moran, this blog post is probably one of the least intelligent things an intelligent person has ever written.
Good luck trying to earn your credibility back with me.

I feel bad for anybody wrongly accused of anything. Moran goes too far, though, saying not to feel bad for these guys.
He does, however, make an excellent point that the media does not cover prosecutorial misconduct, which should be one of its number one priorities.
Prosecutorial misconduct causes great suffering. Therefore, this is a subject as worthy to be covered as the day-to-day actions of Congress or the President.

So, because they come from families who worked hard to achieve some measure of success and provide for their kids, they deserve to be wrongly accused of rape? Do you honestly think these families had millions just sitting around to hire the best attorneys to defend their children, who were wrongly accused of a crime? If one of my sons was accused by a liar of a crime that could ruin his life at such a young age, I would work as many jobs as I had to to hire the best attorneys to defend him.
Sorry, but I for one feel very sorry for these kids. Having money doesn’t mean you don’t deserve sympathy and compassion when something devastating occurs in your life. You sound like one bitter, angry man.

Is this opinion representative of ABC? I think it is? Is this opinion representative of the majority of the media? Apparently so. And FoxNews is called “right wing”? Then where is the middle ground? Jackson and Sharpton couldn’t find a better publicist than Terry Moran. ABC should be embarrassed by this column. If Imus should be fired, then Moran should at least be suspended for this premeditated (unlike the Imus comment) attack on innocent victims.

What an ass! I used to like Terry but I have no respect for him anymore.

Terry,
Man you are clueless.
Living in the insulated world with Ms. Couric, Rosie et. al. sure has warped your ability to use your noggin! The only thing the Dukies and the Rutger incident have in common is you and Imus don’t know how to formulate coherent thought.
Rock on dude!

Talk about elite. The only elite in this article is the elite liberal writer. What a loser.

Terry Moran should keep in mind that the media focus on this case began long before there was any indication of prosecutorial misconduct. This story was worldwide news from the outset, back when the media, along with the Duke faculty and many social activists, tried and convicted the three Duke students right out of the chute. Their glee in attacking three “privileged” (yet innocent) students was no better concealed than Terry Moran’s obvious disappointment in the eventual vindication of the students.

Did I read you right? “And, MOST IMPORTANT, there are many, many cases of prosecutorial misconduct across our country every year. The media covers few, if any, of these cases.” YOU are the media. What a hypocrite, you missed the entire point. What shoft cushion did you pen this from? No wonder people are miffed at the media.

This was, by far, the worst piece of journalism that I have ever come across. Simple as that. The incredibly long list of comments above show what an idiot you just made yourself look like.
A la Imus, I thing ABC should fire you.

They requested “at least one white stripper”? So what? Now the PC police are in my pants, and will castigate my sexual preference (which happens to be white women) too? Sheesh – what a moron. If they wanted a white stripper, they should receive a white stripper – period.

Wow – until this moment I never really understood what an idiot Terry Moron was.
Thanks for making it easy for me.

HEY! Last I checked, it’s not a CRIME to be be WHITE, and it’s not a CRIME to be rich. There sure are a lot of people in this country with a negative view of rich people, when they aspire to be rich themselves. Yeah there are rich lowlifes, but there are plenty of poor ones too. These men are innocent, and should be treated as such.

So, if I’m a rich musician who comes down with cancer I can use my affluence and position of privilege to “bring attention” to a problem and I’ll be branded a hero. But if I’m a rich white kid who stumbles into a fatal flaw in our legal system, and “bring attention” to it (not by choice, mind you) I’m not to be pitied.
Oh, I understand. You’re REAL problem is that because of Michael Nifong (D-NC) you are pretty much guaranteeing that these three will never vote Democrat for the rest of their privileged lives.

Moran is another example of the disgraceful driveby media. Does anyone wonder why they have diminishing numbers and credibiltiy? They have nothing positive to offer. Hopefully the next generation will have the character which Mr. Moran has apparently lost.

How could you have an agenda regarding the Duke boys. The DA lied and did eveything he could to hurt them when he know he was out of line. The Women lied and should be prosecuted. I hope Wilfong is barred from practising law, as well as you should be barred from being a writer. You sir, are so far to the left that you can’t see or speak the truth.

I am very happy I no longer watch ANY news from the old networks – most of these talking heads are mere idiots, others are deeply prejudiced against America, morality (and lack same) and work ethic (especially their own).

Now I understand! Racism is ok. Just so as it is the rich white that we all hate.

What male college student or future groom has not been to a party with a hooker? Isn’t that the male right of passage? And what difference does it make if they requested one of the hookers be white? That doesn’t make them racist – afterall, they’re white boys aren’t they? Why do you have a problem with that? So, Terry, you’re saying (from your high horse) that they don’t deserve our sympathy for being falsely accused or for the torture they and their families have endured this past year because they come from white parents who earn good money? Are you a socialist, Terry? I’m sure you make a good buck working at ABC News. Should we hold that against you?

i had this blog bookmarked and visited daily, looking forward to terry moran’s latest post. not anymore.

You sir are a fool. I am sorry you wasted your time writing this and I hope no one that you know is every accused of something THEY DIDN’t DO!! Thank you for contributing nothing.

I don’t see the problem in their request for a white stripper. After all, they were paying $800 for the service. If it were my money, I would have been very clear about all the details, right down to cup size, lipstick and eye color.
You can hate the fact that rich white people are in the media more than other races, but the MSM are the gatekeepers. You could stop spending all your time on Anna Nicole, Natalee Holloway (sp?), etc and cover real stories.
The facts of this incident are that 3 young people were falsely accused, maliciously prosecuted, and publicly slandered. That overshadows their race and their trust fund balances. Anyone focusing on racial is either a racist themself, or simply doesn’t give a damn about the rule of law.

Can you say O.J. Simson
Money and high price lawyers got him off two murder charges.

Terry, you are a complete tool.

Terry, your views are truly appalling. Not only were four young men falsely accused of rape, dragged through the mud by the national media (not to mention the Duke faculty, and self-appointed “leaders” like Al Sharpton), and threatened with decades-long prison sentences, but now, an individual like you with a public platform compounds the injustice by attempting to minimize the ordeal the young men have endured and by smearing them once again as “privileged,” “racist” (you imply this), spoiled brats. How dare you. The points you list have nothing to do with the gross miscarriage of justice these boys experienced. You want the public to view these young men with disgust. Why? They are the victims, remember? Why don’t you pick on the lying accuser and the prosecutor, a criminal who was willing to destroy four people and their families in order to get reelected??? I am stunned and sickened by your twisted “thinking.”

Your an idiot!

Wow.
Terry, What color is the sky in your world.

Wow.
Terry, What color is the sky in your world.

“The Dukies aren’t upstanding citizens”?
Says who?
The press?
And you believe the press because…?

As a retired journalist, I am astounded at your posting. I covered rape trials where the defendants wer3e guilty and where they were found inocent, but never in my career did I ever witness such a reckless prosecutor or such reckless journalism. Had it not been for cable TV shows like Greta and Hannity & Colmes, these guys would have been railroaded as you indicate blacks have been. What you are saying rates right up there with the irresponsibility of Sharpton, Jesse, and yes, Imus. You ought to be ashamed

Is your post supposed to represent intelligent thought?
Please don’t deceive yourself. Perhaps you are getting a great paycheck and people pretend to take you seriously but you are not a person to be taken seriously just patronized and pitied.

I can’t believe Terry Moran would write this. This is unbelieveable. I will never watch ABC news again.
Among many things in his article, I dont understand his logic in making the following statement:
“Their team specifically requested at least one white stripper.”
Is requesting a white stripper supposed to be racist?
If they had specifically requested a female stripper would they have been considered sexist or worse, homophobic?

You’re an ignorant elitist. Because they are white and rich means society should be harder on them? Your one sided slant is the reason racism still exists. Wake up and treat people equally.

Your remarks are utterly stunning in their stupidity.

Terry Moran is a racist!!!
Just because these boys are white, and he BELIEVES they are well off he thinks they don’t deserve sympathy. Also, just because most of the Rutgers team is Black, he GUESSES that they are not well off. He’s worse than Imus, and that’s pretty bad.

Mr. Moran
Your comments are truly very disgusting and reprehensible. What you are doing here is basically attacking these young men’s character using basically unsubstantiated rumors, outward appearances, and what apparently is YOUR belief in what is proper and unproper behavior. These comments, in fact, tell us more about YOUR character than theirs.

You have got to be kidding. They had to retain high priced attorneys because this woman lied when she accused them of rape. Did they make bad choices, yes. what college kid doesn’t.
They did not commit the crime they were falsely accused of. They had their names spread across the country by the national media who jumped to conclusions about their guilt. As far as criminal records, how about the accuser? What is her criminal record?
Because of people like you in the national media these young men had their names smeared for over a year. It’s people like you in the national media who should be ashamed of your actions.

what does this say about the character of elites on the nightly news? unbelievable sentiments from a used-to-be respected journalist.

Are you kidding me?!?! Because they requested a black stripper, because they hired strippers, who by the way were strippers for hire, the legal system worked. Here is what you are saying; they should be prosecuted or persecuted for being white men of privelege and acting boorishly by having strippers and getting drunk. My God haven’t you ever done anything that you aren’t proud of or at least been to a bachelor party. This whole thing disgusts me!!

Mr. Moran
Your comment is reprehensible an disgusting. Basically you are saying we shouldnt feel bad for these kids, and what they’ve given up and lost, because of their character. And you base your opinion of their character mostly on unsubstantiated rumors, outward appearances. This tells us more about your character than theirs.

This analysis is so wrong on so many levels that it drove me to do something I never do-respond in writing! Guilt by presence and association is a novel, but ridiculous concept. You owe use all an apology for having to read this.

its not often a member of the media takes the time to prove all the negatives about the people in the media actually exist. your post is nothing more than poorly played class warfare. Whats more important is that your views are reflected in your reporting (interview of the VP). Voice your opinion proudly, but dont ever disguise it, or affect your delivery of what is expected to be objective reporting.

At least lawyers have a professional bar and enforceable standards of ethic to adhere to in their profession or workplace. Terry Moran apparently has neither grace nor character, which is rather sad given his ability to infect others with his distateful commentary.

Terry. You are, simply put, a disgraceful human being.

Poor Terry. He must have went to a community college. Didn’t your mommy ever tell you that life is not fair?

Terry Moron!! Heh, bet you have never heard that one before.

I see why you are stuck doing two bit news stories….

Congratulations Terry. You have just caused an affluent consumer (me) to be sure that he never watches ABC News again. Your self-loathing attempt to indict the establishment from which you so willingly reap rewards is the height of hypocrisy.

Terry Moron,
It’s this kind of liberal drivle that led to the media piling on in the first place.
“Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.”
Your inability to get it right, even with hindsight, proves you should follow Imus out the door.
You don’t deserve to represent unbiased reporting, let alone ABC news.
You’d better hope Sharpton and Jackson agree with you.
Then again, there was never any doubt about allegiances.

Mr. Moron, err, Moran: in the last few days I have heard some amazingly stupid things from the press regarding Imus and the Duke case but you have topped them all. It is not the Duke boys fault that their parents have money. Or that they are good enough at lacrosse to get a scholarship. Sounds like you are genuinely jealous of them. The girl LIED and almost ruined their life. It doesnt matter how privileged they are. Are you telling us we should not feel sorry for rich people? They dont have feelings? This is truly the most moronic statement I have heard about this case yet.

Terry Moran is only trying to draw attention to himself. Typical for those in his profession.

I must say that this is the most disingenuous piece of garbage I have ever read from someone who calls himself a journalist. You should be fired for such race-baiting innuendo. How dare you say that you think the three boys from Duke came off easy because they come from affluent families. They deserved to be fairly treated in the justice system as any other person who enters our court rooms.

your article reeks of class envy and personal bias. Good for them that they were able to afford the lawyers necessary to establish a true sense of justice. I think the question to ask is why is that the legal system is set up to where large sums of money are necessary to be able to prove innocence. It’s also horribly sad that so many people presumed these boys’ guilt immediately, without hearing further evidence. The case brought out racial attitudes that obviously are permeating our society.

And, MOST IMPORTANT, there are many, many cases of prosecutorial misconduct across our country every year. The media covers few, if any, of these cases. Most of the victims in these cases are poor or minority Americans–or both. I would hate to say the color of their skin is one reason journalists do not focus on these victims of injustices perpetrated by police and prosecutors, but I am afraid if we ask ourselves the question honestly, we would likely find that it is.
Can you substantiate this at all or are you just pulling it from thin air?

Of all the bigotry and hate I have seen spouted in this entire case, this takes the cake. This mans class bating and hatred for these men who were wrongly accused is a insult to professional journalists everywhere. This man should be fired.

Shame on the reporter. Shame on the stripper, Nilfong, Sharpton, Jackson, and the media. All of them.
The only thread I perceive as valid is the characterization of the Duke community. It and other elite ivy towers are full of those (not all) who take privilege and use it. Birds of a feather flock together. I have never believed that a student/faculty member from same are any more equiped for life than he/she who learns at a junior college or lesser institution. Mention this outloud however, and only a sly knowing grin will surface. Many just believe they are more deserving. Whee!

Your logic is beyond belief. Because of injustices heaped upon others, that makes it totally acceptable to do what Nifong did.
Your moral equivalency is exactly what I would expect from the mainstream media.

TERRY
If you pretend this post never happened you will lose all credibility, as if you haven’t lost it already to all those who have read it.
I think you should meet with the three Duke individuals and offer them an apology.

Terry, the depth of your stupidity is astounding. I thought better of you, but as one journalist to another, you are a disgrace to your profession. As Mark Twain said, it is better to say nothing and let people think you are stupid, than open your mouth and prove them right. What made you spew that nonsense about college students who might have wealthy parents being less entitled to their constitutional rights than others? Who cares who their parents were or what infractions they might have committed in the past. These young men were indicted on false rape and imprisonment charges, they could have been sentenced to life in prison if convicted. Their faces and names were splashed across every TV screen and newspaper in the country, they were thrown out of school, their coach lost his job, their lacrosse team forfeited a whole season, and at least one lost a job offer over nothing. They could have been killed on the street by some crazed defender of the lying stripper. And hiring strippers for a college party is no crime. Lots of us have done it and there is nothing wrong with requesting blondes, brunettes or whatever. They were paying $800, after all.
By your skewed logic, the New York groom who was shot to death by police on the day of his wedding should not be mourned because he happened to be at a strip club the night before he got around to marrying the mother of his two children. But you wouldn’t have the guts to say that, would you? Hypocrite. But thank you for reminding me why I tune into the Colbert Report or the Simpsons rather than Nightline every night. I am not missing anything and I hope you get fired for your stupidity. You are as dumb the president, and that is saying a lot.

Oh my God. Terry Moran you should be fired immediately. You have always been filled with hate.

This column was TIC, right? The liberal cliches were too sterotypical for this to be real.

And, MOST IMPORTANT, there are many, many cases of prosecutorial misconduct across our country every year. The media covers few, if any, of these cases. Most of the victims in these cases are poor or minority Americans–or both.
LOL!
Terry, YOU’RE the media. Why don’t you do something about it, instead of whining about what you’re not doing?

ABC news is plummeting into the toilet because of liberal numbskulls like you. Why don’t you take a real assignment on the frontlines in Iraq.

I’ve saved this “blog” – which should be called “DRECK.”
Personal jealousy over the “lucky sperm club” should never taint a professional opinion.
ABCNEWS should remove this page immediately.
There’s no difference between this blog entry and what Imus said.
I hope that if there is a lawsuit against the media in this case (like the Olympic Bomber case) that “Terry Moran” is listed at the top.

Terry moronic moran should be named Tawana Moran the Moron who disgraces Nightline and Ted Koppel by posting class-war garbage.
This creepy lil degenerate should talk to his much smarter brother Rick and get a verbal spanking for being such a moron. Terry Moron is the right name for this little creep, who dares to shame the seat that Ted Koppel sat in with such honor.
This class-warrior should be fired by ABC, or at least date Nancy Grace for charm lessons! Terry and Nancy are in a class by themselves.
Mangum is clinically insane and should be locked in a room with Jesse Jackson to learn how to be completely crazy, yet make a good living with ridiculous rhymes and no thought-processes to speak of.

This article rebuts this ignorant collection of word vomit better than I ever could.

Injustice does not discriminate rich from poor. It has the same effect on everyone involved.
Your narrow minded view is astonishing.

More ‘enlightened’ liberal nonsense. One of the most smarmy and childish editorials ever written. Just another of the myriad of daily examples of elitist liberal bias.

If your parents are wealthy, you should be punished. If you legally hire an exotic dancer who shows up bleepfaced, you should be punished.
You should be judged by the color of your skin. So be thankful that you didn’t spend the rest of your life in prison. A lot of people would love to have their faces on posters all over town- even if they called for your arrest, and well, worse….

WOW! Nothing to say about the O.J. trial. Just another John Brown reporter.

I find it most disturbing to assume that simply because these charges were dropped that the men are innocent. No one knows what happened on the night in question, save the accusers and the accused. Assuming these boys are innocent just because the courts failed is just as ignorant as assuming OJ is innocent.

Why all this dumping on strippers?
I know some strippers. They are fine people. Like one stripper says: Strippers are just like everybody else, just better looking.
Now, like lawyers, some strippers are low life types, but most are good people.
Stripping is a legal and a closely regulated profession.

On the off chance I ever watch anything in the future that has Terry Moran as one of the reporters I will now assume that its validity is controlled by a theme for lynching instead of truth. ABCNews needs to fire this reporter and stop hiring drama queens.

He get’s paid for being a jerk. How do get a job like that unless you’re connected. Class hatred is what it’s all about.

It really doesn’t make any difference how much money these three men come from. The fact that they had to defend themselves against false charges by a prosecutor with dubious motives is wrong regardless of the tax bracket of the three accused. They deserve the same sympathy as anyone wrongly accused. No more and no less.

I find it very ironic that you are criticizing the moral judgement of their decision to hire a stripper.

Hiring a stripper is legal. It is not wrong or immoral. In fact, these young men should be praised for supporting the independent business woman. The request from the lacrosse team that at least one stripper be white simply demonstrates their tolerance and support of diversity. Isn’t that what’s it’s all about?
Nor is it a crime to be a stripper. It’s a perfectly respectable occupation. Do women do it for the money. Yes. Just like every other job. A woman has the right to make her own decisions. She has the right to do what she wants with her own body. Her body, her choice. No?
Terry Moran should keep his right-wing religious views to himself. His claim that the Duke three got what they deserved because they didn’t follow his stringent morality is repugnant, as is his desire to keep women from perfectly legal occupations.

What goes around, comes around, Terry.
One day you will wish you had never become a liberal drone.

WOW. When right and wrong is merely an associative comparison instead of a definition, you have no moral compass at all. Prosecutorial misconduct is wrong – whether the person is purple or orange, rich or poor, and should have NO ONE’s sympathy or justification. The answer is not to punish the misconduct that was found, but strive to find answers to see it doesn’t happen to those less able to fight it. Talk about misguided bitterness.