Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Duke swings and misses again!

For the second straight day Duke University has suffered a courtroom defeat. This time it was former Duke Lacrosse Coach Mike Pressler who prevailed in his attempt to pursue his slander and libel claims against the university and their university spokesman, John Burness.

Judge Howard Manning agreed with Pressler’s lawyers that he is not bound by the terms of past contracts. This means that Coach Pressler can pursue his claims in the courtroom. For Pamela Bernard, vice president and general counsel for Duke it means back to the drawing board as she will have unenviable task of defending Burness's remarks. Earlier John M. Simpson, a lawyer from the Washington offices of Fulbright & Jaworski, representing Duke, had argued that Pressler had to go through arbitration first. N & O

Pressler has alleged that John Burness, Duke's senior vice president of public affairs and government relations, made slanderous and defamatory remarks about him to the media. According to the documents filed this week, an April 9, 2007, article in the New York newspaper Newsday quoted Burness as saying the difference between Pressler and current lacrosse coach John Danowski was "night and day."

The second comment came in June 2007, when Burness reportedly told The Associated Press, "It was essential for the team to have a change of leadership in order to move forward." N & O

Duke University should look to remarks of Jess Williard when he fought Jack Dempsey.

“In the first round when Dempsey hit me with a left hook, I tried hard to continue, but I was rapidly losing my strength. My eye closed at that end of the third round and I realized that it would be useless for me to continue, as I could hardly see. It was hard to admit defeat, but Dempsey is the hardest puncher I ever faced.” Jess Willard

It's about the Truth Now!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

It has always been about the truth.

Perhaps, a few more at Duke are now understanding this concept?

(Sadly, there are some who are unable to understand. Shall we even hope they will depart soon?)

Mandelbrot's Chaos said...

I think those "Castrate" signs actually referred to what would later happen to Duke's "defense". Two major defeats. Two days. One HELL of a lot of bad press and anger. I recall a 1965 cult classic whose title is perfect to describe the advice the plaintiffs' attorneys are taking: Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Anonymous said...

Strike two.

Anonymous said...

Sadly it often isn't about the truth, when a woman criminal chooses to defraud the legal system. And Crystal Mangum is no worse for wear. Nifong goes down, Duke take the hit, but like the Energizer Bunny, she just keeps going and going. When is someone in the legal system going to punish her for her disgusting crimes?