Bad news for Albany

[ASU Kep]

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Two freshman football players for Albany were charged with raping a female student in a dorm.



Lorenzo Ashbourne of Smyrna, Ga., and Julius Harris of Riviera Beach, Fla., both 18 years old, were arrested Monday in connection with the attack early Sunday, and arraigned on a felony charge of first-degree rape, according to university police.



They were being held at the Albany County jail and suspended from the team, university provost Susan Herbst said.



The woman was an acquaintance of Ashbourne and Harris, Herbst said, adding that university police are investigating with the district attorney's office. Rachel McEneny, a spokeswoman for the district attorney, said the office's sexual assault team was sent to a campus dorm Sunday night.



Albany plays in Division I-AA of the Northeast Conference and is scheduled to play St. Francis this weekend in its homecoming game. Ashbourne is a cornerback and Harris a receiver

[Pards Rule]

Once again...I dont ever remember this sort of constant stream of news regarding boorish and illegal behavior

[ASU Kep]

At least "the U" isn't I-AA. We'd have no time to talk football with all the garbage coming from down there.

[Dane96]

Horrible news and an embarrasment for a classy coach. The recruits were highly regarded....what a stupid act if they did the alleged crime.

[blukeys]

Let's give these guys the benefit of the legal system. They are innocent until proven guilty. After last night's 60 Minutes episode on the Duke rape case, I think it is fair to allow all the facts to come out and then make judgements.

Even if these guys are guilty, Albany's coach runs a good program and it should not reflect on him or the program.

[Dane96]

Exactly...I just got finished explaining that on another board. I cannot think of one incident in Ford's tenure that has been bad (other than college fights...not that I condone them).

Ford is a respected coach who runs at tight ship.

[rmutv]

Completely agree, Dane. It's part of why Albany is consistently a contender, even during off years. This is rather shocking to occur at any of the NEC schools, because the NEC is blessed with rather disciplined coaching staffs, even if they're not necessarily the best strategy wise.

[PantherRob82]

We had this happen a year or two ago. Players never touched the field again. They were recruits from Texas I believe.

[SDFan]

It's tough. Two kids have just blown their futures, and not only football wise.

While more highly publicized when it is athletes, for the most part we should be proud because it is a statistic that is lower among athletes. I'm sure at the 1-AA level it is even lower.

[rmutv]

This is definitely a situation where, if the students are found guilty, they obviously won't touch a football field again. I'd even be so bold as to suggest that they shouldn't touch it again even if they are innocent.

Rule #1 of sports: Don't put yourself in a position where you can embarass yourself, your team, or your school. These kids obviously did for this to become something.

[Dane96]

I agree and disagree. If it comes out that there was some bad stuff here...e.g. they acted unbecoming of a student at UA (forget football player for a second) and they are aqcuitted...yes...they should be gone.

However until the evidence is known and trial occurs...we dont know the answers.

I remember our old school basketball coach, Doc Sauers, telling us once: "DON'T BE IN A BAR THE NIGHT BEFORE A GAME." When asked why he replied "You score 2 points and play a terrible game...they say you have an off night...You score 2 points and play a terrible game...and there are pics of you or stories about you in the bar the night before a game...the story will be much different....don't give them something to write about, dont give me a reason to cut you."

I remember it like it was yesterday. THOSE ARE WORDS TO LIVE BY FOR THESE KIDS!

[rmutv]

Absolutely right, Dane, and you made a crucial point in all of this. We don't know all of the details yet, we haven't had a trial yet, and we don't know the answers.

Let's be good fans and not make assumptions as to what happened! The world doesn't need a bunch of people acting like ESPN...

[PantherRob82]

I've never understood some athletes. If you're a division I athlete, should you really be completely wasted the night before the game. I've seen a few Panthers around town at times over the years and have not been proud to say the least. I know they're young, but you gotta take care of yourself and perform your best.

[TexasTerror]

This paragraph caught my attention when I was reading an article about this subject that came out today...


This is the sixth rape reported at UAlbany since students arrived on campus this semester. In every case but one, the student declined to pursue criminal charges. The exception is the case surrounding the three football players. All of the reported incidents occurred in dorm rooms.

So, the exception was made when football players were involved. I'm not saying there is anything fishy about this, but when there are six cases and the only one that the individual pursued charges involved football players, it definitely raises eyebrows...

http://oracle.newpaltz.edu/article.cfm?id=2664

[TexasTerror]

Update...

UAlbany Football Players Admit Raping Classmate
Posted on Wednesday, 13 of June , 2007 at 7:02 pm

ALBANY—Two of the three former University at Albany football players who were charged last October with the first degree rape in the alleged sexual assault of a female student have pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of third degree rape.

Lorenzo Asbourne of Smyrna, Ga., a cornerback, and Julius Harris of Riviera Beach, Fla., a receiver, both 19, admitted they had raped a freshman classmate in their dorm room last fall.

They will likely be sentenced to serve six months in the Albany County Jail and then face 10 years of probation when they are sentenced on Aug. 8. They will be required to register as sex offenders.

They could have faced up to 25 years in prison. They pleaded to a prosecutor’s information, avoid a grand jury indictment by pleading guilty to the reduced charge which spared the victim from having to testify.

http://www.northcountrygazette.org/news/2007/06/13/football_rape/

[Seawolf97]

Hopefully this will be the end of it. Rough for Albany.

[danefan]

xsmhxxsmhxxsmhxxsmhxxsmhx

Terrible situation for everyone involved. Let's hope something can be learned from this by all.

[Seahawks Fan]

The coach at Albany is highly respected and runs a clean program. The Danes will get over this sad situation.

Times certainly have changed.