BU Hockey Player Pleads Not Guilty to Rape

There are 12 comments on BU Hockey Player Pleads Not Guilty to Rape

1. Is anyone actually surprised?

   I for one am not. I mean, these Varsity Hockey players attend BU with a sense of entitlement just because they can skate around a rink and sink a few pucks… Congratulations? Rules are bent and even broken for them all of the time. So when a girl says no, of course she means yes.

   Never in my life had I seen a group of people treated with so much undeserved attention, respect, and rewards. Well I’m lying; I’ve seen Jersey Shore. But anyhow, the point is this when you put people on a pedestal, above all others they will act that way. Boston University is responsible for the culture that they created for these young men. No other varsity team has offenses like this, even teams that are more successful.

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   1. Chelsea, maybe you have access to the investigation, statements and forensic evidence. However, I do not. I do not know if he is guilty but maybe judgment should be reserved until all of the facts come out. Duke University lacrosse brings back bad memories of false accusations. Strauss-Kahn charges in NY were false. Was the outcry timely? Was there evidence of force or were weapons recovered? Were there signs of forced entry? Do the persons involved know each other? Witnesses? Alcohol? Drugs? There are more questions than answers right now. If he is guilty, then he should face justice. But if he is not guilty, this young man is ruined. His hockey career at the team is over before he can answer the charges. You can’t get that back. If he committed a crime, he doesn’t deserve it back. Pronouncing judgment without the facts is not right either.

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      1. Maybe it should be. However, I’ve seen them at parties and on the weekends.

         The questions you ask are 100% irrelevant ( assuming the incident occurred). It doesn’t matter if the victim waited 5 years to report the incident, it’s still rape. Even if there was no forced entry or weapons, it’s still rape. Most rapists know their victim before the sexual assault occurs. Rape generally is not witnessed. If alcohol/drugs were involved, it’s still rape. The second someone is incapable of consent, it’s rape.

         If you read the article clearly, you would note that he has been suspended, which implies that it is temporary until more information emerges. Additionally, SEVERAL interviews were conducted before Nicastro was arrested.

         I never said he did it. I’m just not surprised by the allegations and I’ll be less surprised if they’re true. The majority of my commentary is on the Ice Hockey team as a whole. If you ask most BU students and perhaps even the faculty, they will have comparable conclusions about how the Ice Hockey team is treated.

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2. Don’t know the facts in this case. It is true that assaults happened years ago when I was at West Campus. They went unreported. Can’t really blame the coach. He doesn’t live in the dorm and can’t know anything if it’s unreported. Also true, not just some BU problem. It would be very helpful if the university didn’t house the athletes all together – spread them around campus and have them live with the diverse student population. They really ruined my freshman year experience with their obnoxious behavior, their sense of entitlement, rudeness, disrespect for others, etc.

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   1. The Athletics Department only houses student athletes together during their Freshman year, even then not always. Afterwards, they ELECT to stay with each other. Regardless, athletes on the same team would still hang out together. Chances are, it would simply be a greater inconvenience for a non-athlete roommate.

      Please don’t generalize all BU athletes. Most of them are fine or even great to live around. Also, your freshman experience had the same chance of being ruined by Frat boys or any other students.

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      1. Doubt it. Back then there were no frats. Frankly, pretty much everyone else I met knew how to behave like a normal, socialized human being. Sure we had a few people with their issues. But overall it was the national champion hockey team with the bad attitude that made the scene pretty unhappy. The RAs looked the other way. The living situation was, and I suspect still is, a matter of geographical convenience.

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         1. I’m a varsity athlete… I know the process. Freshman year, you’re paired with another student athlete. From then on, it’s up to you. I currently live with a non-athlete.

            Of course it’s geographic convenience. With the exception of Stuvi, that’s how most students choose…. BU has loads of crazy and it’s not just athletes. Drunk girls were the norm on my floor freshman year. They were loud, guys were always lurking around. The bathrooms were AWFUL. So like I said, your freshman experience could have been bad anywhere, with any variety of people.

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            1. I definitely agree.. hockey players are given wayyyy too much attention. They are treated like celebrities on campus, leading to them thinking they are above everyone else. I know there have been rapes committed by other male BU students as well. However, women constantly throw themselves at hockey players all the time so its no surprise that if one just so happen to say “no” a personality without restrain could be incline to take matters into his own hands. I am not blaming anyone, especially not the coach, who I’m sure has no understanding as to their social happenings. But the players themselves can be blamed somewhat for not seeming to have a humble bone in their body and the environment for feeding them such attention. Its hard though to avoid this, being that they are so admired by the BU community for their accomplishments. It would be hard or even impossible to regulate their activity.

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3. So are there any updates in this case? It is interesting that in cases like this the accused is always guilty until proven innocent. That can be risky for all parties involved. While the student certainly deserves punishment if he is guilty, what if he is not? In my experience alot of athletes are arrogant, that does not make them guilty. This student has already been kicked out of school and is tagged as a rapist, his life and future is essentially ruined. All I am saying is that maybe we should let the facts come out before we ruin someones life with a witch hunt. I think about the Duke Lacrosse case and the Hofstra case as examples. What if this is a case like at Hofstra where it was consensual, but the accuser was embarrassed and cried rape after the fact? This is detrimental to the school, the community and people that are actually raped. There are some studies that put the rate of false rape claims at 2% to 95%, recent more scientific studies put the rate at 8-10% which is still high. Legally this is a disaster, just look at the Duke case…still not settled and cost millions. Also everyone keeps talking about the ‘rape culture’, if we lived in such a culture would there not be more acceptance of this behavior? Regardless of the culture at BU it is still statistically a very safe school.

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4. As long as it was non-consensual sex, that is all that matters. IT DOES NOT MATTER AT ALL if she knew the victim, if she had consensual sex with him previously, if she was drunk, if she did not resist or scream, if she has many sexual partners, if she was dressed a certain way, etc. What matters is that she said “no” and he refused to listen and that he VIOLATED HER.

   I’m a very disappointed—but not surprised at all—that Dean Elmore is not taking this more seriously and believing the victim. This is rape culture at it’s finest: powerful male figure who other males need for hyper-masculine and lucrative sport’s victories. And all the men in the upper echelons of the university are going to defend him from the sidelines and publicly and say what a good kid he is, because hockey means business, and who cares about a female rape victim? She’s worthless and he’s worth money. And we all know that BU is a business masquerading as a university.

   And seriously, people: “WHATABOUTTEHMAN???” sentiments all over this comment section? Your concern should not what about he is feeling, but about her. HER. Stop perpetuating destructive male privilege, please. Because I guarantee once this goes to trial, nothing is going to come of it, especially because of his stature as an athlete, and she’s the one that’s going to be vilified for being a “lying slut” when, in actuality, only two percent of rape cases are misreported or found false, which is in line with all other reported crimes, sexual in nature or not. Only 13% of rapists actually go to trial and only 6% are ever charged with their crimes. And that’s because this world consistently distrusts female-identified persons and consistently finds rape nothing serious. It’s just boys being boys and women should just know that and too bad. And he’s a hockey player!

   Barf. I can’t stand this frakking rape culture anymore. And if you don’t know what that is, get your privileged heads out of your behinds and look it up and see how the kyriarchy really works.

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   1. as a man, this is probably the best reaction i have read to this entire fiasco. there is a difference between chauvinism and masculinism, and boston university has a major problem with this. being a man should be about respecting others, protecting others – man or woman. there is absolutely no reason anyone should be defending a rapist or not taking the situation under more investigation. dean elm ore’s careful navigation of words when speaking to nicastro’s return seem to only prove your point further that BU is much less an “educational institute” than a business perpetuating chauvinism. and that’s embarrassing.

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5. Is anyone at this school reasonable? Melissa the points you made are valid about the the school and topic in general, but do not forget that we are talking about a specific person and case here. The problem is that we do not know the facts, all we have are allegations as of right now. You cannot just assume that someone is guilty because they are accused, that goes for anything, not just rape. It looks like a witch hunt when people do that. In response to Melissa saying ” Because I guarantee once this goes to trial, nothing is going to come of it, especially because of his stature as an athlete, and she’s the one that’s going to be vilified for being a “lying slut” when, in actuality, only two percent of rape cases are misreported or found false, which is in line with all other reported crimes, sexual in nature or not”,What does him being an athlete have to do with the court system? NOTHING, or they will be harder on him to make a point! Believe me the court does not care that he is an athlete. And as far as the school not taking any action, I disagree with you. He was immediately off the team and suspended from class. What else is to be done? should they execute him? cut the whole hockey team? maybe just get rid of all sports because everyone that is an athlete is also a rapist.

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