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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 14, 1997)
m.lllil.l.UJI Is the EMU’sfuture renovation, includ ing new vendors and wider corri dors, necessary? Let us know. editorials, letters, commentary and perspective Mmmwm BY MAIL: P.O. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403 BY PHONE: (541)346-5511 BY E-MAIL: ode@oregon. uoregon. edu IN PERSON: Suite 300, EMU Recent lies hurt future victims ■ OUR OPINION: A former strippers claims of rape further tip the scales of sexual assault n the wake of accusations by a 23 year-old woman that Dallas Cow boy Erik Williams raped her while JL teammate Michael Irvin held a gun to her head, it’s easy to jump to conclu sions. Many columnists and sportswriters across the country determined the foot ball players guilt before any charges had been filed. And as far as making conclusions, the Emerald was no differ ent. An editorial was originally planned discussing, in no small part, how pro fessional and collegiate athletes need to recognize their “mortality." The Irvin/Williams situation was to be used as an example in the argument. And while we still believe athletes (and the people who watch them) need to be conscious of their role in society, the fact that we wanted to incorporate an incident in which no charges had even been filed proves we were caught up in the same web of deceit that many oth ers tell victim to. The accuser, former topless dancer Nina Shahravan, irreversibly damaged a variety of people with her false claims. After police cleared Irvin and Williams on Jan. 10, Irvin's lawyer, Royce West, told the Associated Press that Shahravan’s precedent may stir other women to make "some fast mon ey” by capitalizing on celebrities’ fame. But Shahravan hurt a lot more than just athletes’ reputations and future safety against criminal accusers. In fact, she may have strengthened the safety net that athletes and those in the public eye already have. Most damaging and most important is Shahravan’s effect on the credibility of future victims of sexual assault. As we have said before, accusing someone of rape or assault is always difficult, no matter how legitimate the claim. Gen uine victims of sexual assault often be come additional victims — of public scrutiny or shame — when it is their as sailants who rightfully should be faced with these problems. Shahravan’s cruel hoax skewed a playing field that was already hopeless ly out of balance. Serious questions will appear whenever a famous person is accused of sexual assault, and to a lesser degree, when anyone is accused. As West said, the accusers may be look ing for “fast money" but more impor tantly, they may be telling the truth. In the case of athletes vs. their ac cusers, athletes can handle the criti cism and the doubts behind their inno cence. With money and power on their side, athletes (if falsely accused) can surely uncover the truth. The accusers, on the other hand, cannot afford such serious questions about their legitima cy. Of course, athletes do bad things — sometimes, terrible things. On July 15 of last year, Irvin himself pleaded no contest to second-degree felony cocaine possession in exchange for four years deferred probation. Indeed, Irvin’s his tory was the main reason why the accu sations against him were so overblown. But Irvin didn’t deserve the treat ment he received from the media, pub * / iiu aiiu onamavaii nerseii. 11 was umur tunate Dallas police felt the need to hold a press conference to announce the accusations and in turn, fan the flames of Shahravan’s story. Shahravan’s accusations, like all po tential sexual assault, deserved to be in vestigated — but not in the public eye. Because of the treatment her story was given, she was given credibility with out earning it. And when her accusa tions were deemed false, the damage was already done. The public and the media are to blame for accepting Shahravan’s story, but she is guilty of creating it. And be cause of her duplicity, everyone from athletes to accusers will feel the hurt for years to come. But after weaving through the truth and the lies, it is the victims who are punished the most — and deserve it the least. This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial board. CHRIS HUTCHINSON/EmeraJd iywt ...I (ANT CONPONE aaafouana, EV6N FOP AAEDICAL REASONS !/f / DohV n INmMC.7 i . 4 t The Oregon Daily Emerald is published daily Monday through Friday during the school year and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co. Inc., at the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. A member of the Associated Press, the Emer ald operates independently of the University with offices at Suite 300 of the Erb Memorial Union. The Emerald is private property. The unlawful removal or use of pa pers is prosecutable by law. Editor-in-Chief: Steven Asbury Managing Editor: Thom Schoenborn Night Editor Mark McTyre Community: Jennifer Schmitt, editor. Eric Collins Entertainment: Nicole Kreuger, editor. Jesse Stephenson Higher Education: Laura Cadiz, editor. Benjamin Kwasney Opinion: Ashley Bach, Brain Diamond, editors. Chris Hutchinson, illustrator. Student Activities: Angie Suchy, editor. Autumn DePoe, Dana Williamson Sports: Mark McTyre. editor. Andrea DeYoung, assistant editor. Chris Hansen, Ryan Frank, Ryan Halvorsen Copy Desk: Sarah Kickler, copy chief. Mike Schmierbach, Kendra Smith Presentation: Dennis Bolt, editor. Matt Garton Photography: Mathew Stiffler, editor. Joe Bunik, Amanda Erickson. Shannon Kilduff, Chad Patteson Freelance: Carl Yeh, editor. On-Line: Nicholas Stiffler, director. General Manager Judy Riedl Advertising: Becky Merchant, director. Anne Amador, Lee Yen Beh, Yujin Chi, Matt Johnson, Andrew Lakefish. Anne Miller, Trina Shanaman. Rose Soli, Matt Solomon. 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