RSS
UPDATED: Highly-ranked lacrosse squads to proceed with postseason runs to NCAAs
Programs intend to honor Yeardley Love with tourneys slated to begin within next two weeks
At a press conference Wednesday evening, Athletic Director Craig Littlepage reaffirmed the decisions of the No. 1 Virginia men's lacrosse team and No. 4 women's squad to continue their seasons and play in the NCAA Tournaments, after releasing an initial statement regarding the teams Tuesday evening.
The teams' futures have been uncertain recently because of a first degree murder charge made against senior midfielder George Huguely for the death of Yeardley Love, who was a senior defender on the women's team. Huguely scored four goals on the season and played in each of the team's 15 games but never started. Love played in 15 of the women's 18 games, starting in three contests.
Littlepage said he met with both teams Monday to discuss their options regarding the remainder of their seasons.
"It became clear over the course of that day that there was a certain amount of their attention that was on the future," Littlepage said. "And although they didn't speak about it and ask questions about it, certainly that was in the back of their minds. There was some uncertainty about whether this event would mean the suspension of the season or not. As far as conversation between the student-athletes and coaches, it was very clear to me that it was the desire of both the men's and women's lacrosse programs to continue playing."
But before the teams could resume play, Littlepage added that it was imperative the athletes' academic obligations were not hindered, particularly given the start of the final exam period.
"We felt very good about the possibility about both teams playing. We wanted to make sure before announcing anything that we had a clear idea of what accommodations would be made for the student-athletes - how they would handle their academic requirements. We are starting exams tomorrow, or Friday, and we wanted to make absolutely sure that any sort of resumption of formal activities - practices, etc. - was not going to in any way deter the academic requirements."
Perhaps the most important factor, though, was that the teams had the blessing of the Love family, Littlepage said.
"And then the final piece in terms of wanting to make absolutely sure that this was the right thing was the acknowledgment on the part of the Love family that they would be as well firmly behind a decision for the team to play," he said.
Littlepage was convinced that Love would have endorsed the decision to move forward and compete for a national championship.
"I had been told by our coach, Julie Myers, that Yeardley would have been PO'd with this kind of attention for anything other than this team continuing with its athletic goals and aspirations."
The men's team, which won the ACC Tournament for the first time since 2006 with a 10-6 defeat of Maryland April 25, concluded the regular season with an 18-9 victory against Robert Morris Saturday. The Cavaliers boast a 14-1 record and are expected to earn the top overall seed in the tournament.
Meanwhile, the No. 4-ranked women's team finished the regular season with a 12-4 record but lost during the semifinals of the ACC Tournament to the Terrapins.\nThe men's and women's tournaments are scheduled to begin May 15 and 16, respectively.
Littlepage said that multiple spring teams have expressed a desire to wear a patch or bear some sort of emblem to honor Love as they continue to play their respective sports. The details of the plan, however, have not been finalized.
Men's coach Dom Starsia, women's coach Julie Myers and players of both teams could not be reached for comment.
-compiled by Andrew Seidman
Editor's note: The Cavalier Daily finished its regular production for the academic year last Friday, and therefore no additional print editions of the paper will appear during the final exam period. The editors will continue to follow the Yeardley Love homicide as the story develops, however, and update The Cavalier Daily's website accordingly.
\n
Commentary
Add your $0.02, go to the comment form or follow the comment feed
Billy
(05/05/10 7:32am)Report
I’m sure there will be those who say both teams should stop playing because of the deaths. I for one applaud the decision to carry on, not for the sake of trying to win the NCAA championship but because we will all face similar heartbreak (if we have not already) in our lives. As an Iraq veteran who has lost close personal friends I can tell you that the last thing I or any of the other Marine would want to do following the loss of a fellow Marine was sit on the base and dwell on it. Does that mean I don’t think about them, every day? Certainly not, but I don’t dishonor them by letting it stop me from living a full life that they will never get the chance to live. You have to remember, but you can’t be incapacitated or frozen by the loss. I’m hoping we have a huge turnout for both teams in the upcoming tournament. Suit up UVA lacrosse and take it to ‘em!
Stephen Greene
(05/05/10 7:34am)Report
Hoping the mens team losses and the ladies team wins!\nDont understand why the mens team should go on!
Carrie
(05/05/10 7:59am)Report
@Stephen, the mens team should play because the rest of the team does not deserved to be punished for the actions of one member. May both teams have a successful postseason!
Stephen Greene
(05/05/10 8:55am)Report
What happen to teamates on and off the field. The mens team sure failed at that one.\nWhy was the killer allowed to be on the team after his arrest back in 2008 or 9?\nDoes not the university have a code for its athletes?
EP1017
(05/05/10 10:00am)Report
Athletes at UVA are a tight-knit group, and if I had to guess, I would think that the majority of the athletes on the men's lacrosse team are also coping with the terrible loss of a friend. To generalize about the character of the team and wish ill on them based upon the despicable actions of one player is not only unnecessary but also unfair. I hope that both teams finish out the season strong as a tribute to an outstanding individual whose life was cut tragically short.
Towson and Terps Fan
(05/05/10 10:36am)Report
I wish the best to both UVA's Lacorsse Teams, except if they play Towson or the Terps.
Joe
(05/06/10 1:00am)Report
I don't know all the facts, but here's what it looks like to me. A star player on the #1 team in the country has a history of violence, fighting, aggressive and threatening behavior, alcohol and drug abuse, and disrespect for women and authority; and the coach and team did nothing about it (and possibly covered it up). I am a former NCAA lacrosse player and I can assure you his teammates had to have known about his past actions. NCAA coaches also know when a player has this type of history and proclivity, and if they don't know that indicates they're not paying close enough attention or "don't want to know." Were there any consequences for his past behavior? Apparently not. By not administering public consequences, particularly when there is national attention to this team, the coaches and athletic department and university were complacent and sending a message that this behaviors are ok. They missed the opportunity to send the unequivocal message to the community and to George Huguely that this type of behavior is not acceptable no matter how talented or priveleged you are. Tragically, GH who apparently has lived a priveleged and entitled life, never got the message that he was "over the line" and needed to change his actions and attitudes.
I don't believe the coach and team are guilty of any crime or rule violations, but I'm afraid they are guilty of very poor judgement, complacency, cover up, and tolerating activities that should not be tolerated. That they are continuing with practices and games and tournaments as usual also can be seen as complacency. For all these reasons I believe it is in the best interest of the team, the University, and the sport of lacrosse that they suspend play for the rest of the season. These coaches and players should be focusing on their behaviors, what they could have done differently, and also on the legal interrogations and depositions that are coming, not on strategy for the next lacrosse game.
count
(05/06/10 1:08am)Report
ATTENTION STUDENTS: do not trust liberal law enforcement pretty boys in uniform and delusional dumb kunts with badges, especially the inferior redneck white trash officers targeting precocious tipsy university students. you are not a member of their society for mutual protection. corrupt sadistic sensative cops want to hunt you down, scalp, humiliate, and torture you like delaware and shawnee savages did to vulnerable 18th century virginians.
why are these expensive degenerate unfit sexually impotent and mentally ill cowards afraid to go to afghanistan?
vive le terror and send more ugly fulsome world police patrol retards into the very very dangerous and unforgiving land of allah because the great spirit has zero tolerance for homewreckers.
Debra Aaron
(05/06/10 9:11am)Report
I fully support allowing the women's team to compete in championship games.
I have serious concerns about whether the men's team should compete. The opportunity to compete for a national championship is a priviledge and an honor.
From information becoming available, it seems like the accused murdered is not the only individual on the men's team who has criminal issues, has acted in a way not acceptable to the university community while under the influence of alcohol, and suffers from overwhelming senses of entitlement. I do not belive that 2 weeks is enough time to fully review the behavior of the member's of the men's lacross team, the men's lacross coaches, or UVA's athletic director.
Out of respect for Ms. Love and all women at UVA, the University should not allow the men's lacross team to compete until there is time to fully review the actions of all associated with the men's lacross team.
jimbi
(05/06/10 10:14am)Report
Full agreement with Debra and Joe. For the sake of this discussion, imagine the men's team wins the championship. Then imagine that incontrovertible evidence emerges that several of the players were aware of threats made against the victim and did not report them. Imagine the firestorm of controversy that will cause the athletic department. For those reasons alone, the men's team should not be representing UVA at this time, regardless of the moral issues.
Violent threats are crimes. What do you say about those that witness or are have knowledge of criminal activity and do nothing to stop, report or prevent it? Are these truly the individuals to represent the University of Virginia on the national stage?
The women's team deserves our full support. Who can truly say that they feel this way about the men's team?
Rob
(05/06/10 11:12am)Report
You have to think just a little bit harder, and realize that everything you said holds true for the women's team as well.
Gene
(05/06/10 12:59pm)Report
Good point, Rob. If Huguely had been threatening Love before the murder, it may even be more likely that she had told her friends about it than that he had told his. We shouldn't jump to any conclusions about the culpability of an entire team just because one of their players is so despicable.
jimbi
(05/06/10 4:57pm)Report
The difference, Rob, would be the source of the knowledge of the threats.
If the perpetrator's friends heard him threatening someone and did nothing and later she turned up dead, their silence has a different motivation than that of the victim's friends' who heard her say that she's been threatened.
Yes, the threats should have been taken seriously. But the perpetrator's friends are protecting him out of loyalty to a violent man whereas the victim's friends' simply had a misguided notion as to how to help their friend.
It comes down to intent. WHY did they remain silent?
If I chose to, I could easily have started my post with "you have to think just a little bit harder", but such a smug statement displays an immature hubris that I shed long ago.
Stephen Greene
(05/07/10 6:48am)Report
So now they were out Sunday night. Almost a fight that was broken up. Why did not one of his freinds or teammates help him and calm him down. Instead they do nothing and a few hours later she\nis dead. Nope those that were with them Sunday night should not be playing at all. Imagine if they win. A fellow player kills a girl, who cares we won and I am going to Disney. What kind of message\nis that?
Hmm...
(05/07/10 9:38am)Report
I don't agree with the decision to allow the men's team to continue play this season. I would postpone men's lacrosse activities until the investigation of the crime has been completed, and I would even suggest a full inquiry and investigation into the program before moving forward with any team activities. I'm not sure if I would go so far as to say that the men's team doesn't DESERVE to continue playing, because the team has worked hard their whole lives to have a chance at a national title. But I do think that there are some unresolved issues at hand that are greater than the sport of lacrosse.
That being said, the decision has been made. UVA will more than likely receive a home game in at least the first round of the tournament. That means that those who don't support the team under these circumstances to either not go to the game or attend in support of the opponent. If an individual strongly feels that the team warrants his or her support, then by all means attend and do so.
I truly wish both teams all the best moving forward, but the administration and athletic departments should have thought this one through a bit more. I realize that there was not a lot of time between the tragedy and the tournament selection, but shouldn't that lack of time have warranted a decision NOT to play? It just seems like the decision was rushed without exploring all the angles. I agree with the above posters in questioning the message that UVA is sending, especially if the men's team were to win the title. A women's title, on the other hand, would be the stuff of legend.
Stephen Greene
(05/07/10 1:03pm)Report
Duke University suspended the lacrosse team for two games on March 28, 2006. On April 5, 2006, Duke lacrosse coach Mike Pressler was forced to resign and Duke President Richard Brodhead canceled the remainder of the 2006 season.\n---------------------------------------\nThe Duke team did not kill anybody. Yet a member of the Cavaliers did kill a fellow student.\nWhy should they still be playing? Duke did it right. UVA has done it wrong!
NYGraduate
(05/07/10 5:08pm)Report
I find it extremely distasteful that the men will continue to play this season.
Their season should be ended, and they should all have a long and hard think about their failures to prevent this horrible tragedy.
If you can't tell your teammate and drinking buddy is a violent monster, and no character to intervene, you have no business playing college sports.
Very disappointed in UVA Men's Lax.
defher
(05/07/10 5:55pm)Report
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/07/AR2010050704056.html?hpid=topnews
Considering this story is now out there, the season should be canceled. And the UVa administration should stop putting a gag order on the Lacrosse team. They should start talking and start talking now. All the facts should come out, and the reputation of the University should not be placed above the truth regarding who knew what.
Sean
(05/07/10 6:20pm)Report
Duke did not do it right. Their players were innocent. The race of their alleged victim was the only reason it made national news and they were suspended. She lied. But yeah, what the hell did college athletes have to hire a stripper for? Duh.
As some of you already know, the men's lacrosse team's father died this week.
I think the UVA mens lacrosse team should play. I am a UVA sports fan. None of the players or the coach are in the least bit implicated in this attack. Teams have internal fights all the time. I had to break one up on my little league team the first practice some weeks ago. It's 20/20 hindsight to say that they were harboring a killer. You can't expect every NCAA team in the country to throw every player off their team if they got into a punch up with somebody. And Huguely is in jail and won't be playing. You can't blame the entire team any more than you can blame the engineering school for one of their students getting arrested for murdering his father last winter.
Blame for a murder goes to the murderer. And it doesn't look like there are any accomplices. At least not now. But notice the gag order that none other than Mr. Casteen has put on all athletes here - even in a murder investigation.
The source of the cover ups is on Carr's Hill - not on the sidelines of the lacrosse field.
AllNews
(05/08/10 12:55pm)Report
I hope the UVA men's lacrosse team loses. They're all a bunch of immature thug enablers.
AD going down
(05/08/10 1:21pm)Report
It is pretty clear to me from the media that Coach Starsia must have known something was wrong with George, and that a pervasive culture of alcohol use and abuse has been a part of the fabric of UVA for decades ("I think I need another drink for the glory...."). AD Littlepage had a great B-ball career at Penn, but has clearly lost control, has become a stooge for the good ole boys, and made the most important decision of his career badly. He made a decision to play on prematurely and without getting all the facts, or even prudently waiting a few days for the truth to come out in the clearly predictable media frenzy that we are witnessing now. His premature assumption that it would be healing to let the teams play now seems pretty misguided since at the very least, under his watch a culture of silence and indifference evolved on both teams, since many, many of them witnessed or knew that George was a bad drunk, had attacked at least one other teammate while under the influence, and had to be restrained on at least another public occassion recently from attacking Yeardley, and essentially announced that he was going to confront Yeardley to those at the last party either of them will ever attend which was apparently also attended by many members of both teams. The student-athletes on both teams who decided not to get involved when George became billigerent and obviously dangerous are guilty because of their inaction. As is Coach Starsia, and Craig Littlepage. I have never before been ashamed of my two degrees from UVA. I think the whole lot of them needs to go. And grow a backbone and recant the decision to play now that its clear that lots of people on both teams witnessed the build-up of this and did nothing to intercede. I am not suggesting that anyone should have predicted that he would beat her to death, but everyone should have known that he was angry, that he was dangerous when drunk, and that he was headed over to Yeardley's apartment. The silence is deafening.
to Allnews
(05/08/10 4:00pm)Report
Nice generalizations there. If you were a member of anything that anybody gave a shit about I would hope you fail as well.
defher
(05/08/10 6:09pm)Report
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/07/AR2010050704895.html
J Marcy
(05/08/10 8:15pm)Report
The men's lacrosse team should withdraw from play. A full investigation is needed to find out who knew what, when, and how decisions might have been made differently. If Mr. Huguely was capable of attacking a sleeping male teammate out of perceived jealousy over Ms. Love, his teammates and his coach knew what he was capable of. That his drunken announcement (in the midst of breaking glass bottles) that he was going to "get her back" met with no intervention, no calls to authorities, speaks volumes. The spotlight is on UVA now. The men's team should withdraw out of respect for the life of Ms Love, and to do some soul searching as to how this egregious crime of one of its own could have been allowed to happen.
st augustine the minor
(05/09/10 2:55am)Report
Hey j marcy
most Lax kids come from families that allow them to ignore reality til after graduation. how would they know that one of them would actually commit a crime worthy of a lumpenproletariat?? all of their mistakes before were erasible.....
as a recent UVa grad i will say it is the prep school culture (concentrated among lax players) that gives uva a bad name. "arrogant" "cocky" "racist"
They dont get that from nothing. I hope they get rid of the program.