Who are you to judge?

As I was watching the ESPN 30 for 30 on the Duke Lacrosse team case of 2006, one theme kept running through my mind. No, not the events that transpired on that fateful March evening, or even the "he said, she said" rhetoric that was played out before our very eyes in the media. It was the fact that there were several lives affected and judgments were handed out before the actual trial began. A coach lost his job, players (innocent or not) had their reputations smeared, and journalistic integrity was put aside in the name of sensationalism.

However, think about this for a second: what if there wasn't such a rush to judgment? Would that have changed the perception of these young men. Again, the focus isn't about what happened or what didn't happen, but what premature decisions can lead to when left unchecked. Bad things happen, but what is even worse is when people are placed with a scarlet letter that isn't removed so easily. We often label the accused based upon our own prejudices. It divides locker rooms, splits organizations, and creates riffs that takes years to mend. Just look at the relationships that come to an end due to judgments (think Shaq-Kobe) to the point where fan bases are fractured.

It doesn't have to be that way, and this case was the perfect example. Unlike in professional sports, it hurts even more in colleges because there are communities and families who also have to deal with the brunt of the accusations, sometimes as much as the players themselves. We have to be responsible for keeping our emotions in check and not create a conclusion before all of the facts have been brought to light. It's because when we jump to conclusions too much, we may not like where we land.