ESPN aired it's new 30 For 30, "Fantastic Lies" this past Sunday, ten years after the Duke lacrosse sexual assault case made national news. If you aren't familiar with it, read here. In a nutshell, three Duke lacrosse players were wrongfully accused of rape by a woman. But, that was not the story portrayed throughout the court case.
After watching this documentary, it really struck a nerve with me regarding the media's ability and tendency to portray any narrative it wants to. The media spoon-feeds the public whatever bullshit it wants. The public is conditioned to believe that narrative because let's face it, the public is a herd of sheep. Essentially, if you are in a position of power or influence, i.e., the media or someone in public office, you can pretty much pursue any agenda you want. People believe it, and then take it and run with it before hearing the actual facts.
For example, when the case starting gaining national attention, Newsweek slapped this on the front of their magazine:
Innocent until proven guilty, you say? Not anymore. This was printed before ANY facts came out about the case. At this point, it was guilty until proven innocent.
Even one of the lawyers defending one of the accused players was buying into the media frenzy:
Do you know why these three kids were so quickly presumed guilty? It was the perfect media storm.
At this point in time, who didn't want to see these rich, white jocks go down for this terrible crime? Everyone believed it. Combine the media's leverage on the story coinciding with the local prosecutor, Mike Nifong, seeking reelection and you have a stranglehold on some fantastic lies being portrayed as truth. Nifong was in a position of power, along with the media, and they fucking milked it. The agenda was clear, regardless of facts, and it was absolutely distorted. Why? Because they were in a position to control it. The obvious social discrepancies were jammed down the public's throat to drum up ratings for the Nancy Grace's of the world.
Duke University officials bought into the false narrative as well. They just wanted it to go away. Did anyone actually care about the truth? The team's coach was the only person to stand behind his players, and he ended up being the fall guy when Duke forced him to resign.
These guys could very well be in jail for a crime they did not commit if they couldn't afford the great lawyers that they had (Making a Murderer, anyone?) When they went to present their case to Nifong, he acted like a child. It blows my mind. This was the guy that everyone was believing.
The Duke lacrosse case occurred in 2006. This was before smart phones, before the 24 hour news cycle was really in full force and at everyone's finger tips at any given time. The scary thing is, nothing has changed 10 years later. It's unbelievable how knee-jerk reactions are driving our media and our world in general. It's really gotten worse with all the new platforms for people to gather and irrationally sound off on, regardless of facts. Now, everyone has a voice with social media. We live in a "protest culture" and I absolutely cannot stand it. I am not saying that you shouldn't stand up for what you believe in. I am saying, don't jump to conclusions before the truth comes out.
It seems that truth has become secondary to the media's agenda, plain and simple. Mike Nifong fucked those kids over, and the media dumped fuel on the fire. He was driving the car, but the press was navigating where it went. If this happened today, there is no doubt this would have ended up even worse. Take the University of Virginia fraternity case, for example. This happened less than two years ago. Think people jumped to conclusions? For sure. I mean, it was published in Rolling Stone, right? So it must have all been true? America is losing credibility on many levels, and fast.
I am in no way trying to desensitize the issue of sexual assault. It's an atrocious crime that should be punished as such. It is also a serious societal issue, especially on college campuses. The people that actually lose out the most from the Duke case are the ones who are actual victims of sexual assault. Let's not forget that a woman lied and completely made up her story. She, along with Nifong and the media made it much more difficult for victims today given the way the Duke case was handled. It just proves how damaging and dangerous people and institutions can be when they have an ax to grind.
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