the fallout from the duke lacrosse scandal will be lost in the upcoming weeks.  in just a few days, as the legal proceedings wrap up, the names of the accused, the accusor, and all those involved in this situation will evaporate into the warm summer air. 

after all, with the nhl playoffs underway, the nba playoffs about to begin, the nfl draft in two weeks, and the baseball season just getting underway, sports networks will focus their attention on these events.

likewise, racist comments made by don imus, paternity tests for anna nicole's baby, and the inevitable paris hilton #### shot (aren't we due) will hinder the news networks' ability to continue coverage on the duke case.

this is an inescapable truth.  with new 24-hour networks dedicated to news, and augmented by internet sites and  cell phone and blackberry updates of the same ilk, there will enough news created in the next few days (however insignificant) to hide the consequences form the duke lacrosse scandal.

knowing full well this will be the case, i say: let's not allow that to happen.

as sports bloggers, we would all consider ourselves fans, and most of us write about social themes derived from sports.  we have, and will continue to, comment upon the racial, political, and personal undertones in the world of sports.  we give our opinions as to how these events and their consequences affect teams, players, and fans in both on- and off-field situations.  in short, we as bloggers and fans run the gamut of opinion making and sharing on a daily basis.

not to say that we have the power to sway the opinions of so many casual fans, but we do have a propensity for (or at least an interest in) writing about these issues.  those who read the site, as well as our families, friends, and colleagues, are influenced by our opinions, and we should do our best to keep the duke case within the crosshairs of public opinion.

you may ask why...why should we drag this on any further?  why should we continue to focus on something that only hurt those involved?  why should we contribute to the thousands who have already shared their opinion in a public venue, be it television, written page, or the internet?

because, as jemele hill of espn.com wrote so well today, "we're sorry" just doesn't cut it.

just because no one was killed, ####, assaulted, or otherwise physically harmed does not equate to the common schoolyard epitaph "no harm, no foul."  i don't believe the national public understands the consequences for these three young men. 

they were smart enough to attend duke university, and well-rounded and athletically gifted enough to play a division 1 sport while there.  this is not a slouch of a division 1 school, nor is it a case of their athletic prowess pushing them through classes on their way to fame and fortune at the next level.  despite their talent in this area, nike sponsorships and games on national networks aren't in their future.  although their status as athletes affords them scholarship money, training gear, and notoriety amongst their peers, it does not ensure (or, in many cases, even offer) them a career.

this is not to say that these three student-athletes were angels..in fact, they were blue devils by trade.  i have no idea as to how these students were perceived, and i have never met a single one of them.  i have no authority to comment on their personalities, both individually and as a group.  in fact, no one seemed to have an opinion about them - until they were accused of henous and unspeakable crimes.  it's funny to see public perception change in these instances; in the blink of an eye, it becomes posh to kick them while they are down.  after all, it puts people in the majority, for what it seems are all the right reasons.

however, when the tides turn, those who let unwarranted criticism flow forth unabated from their tongues clam up.  in the same instant it took for them to join the public bashing, they join the new public humility, awkwardly (but privately) swallowing their words of hate.  one of these students' most outspoken critics, espn's hill, publicly ate her words, and while her original comments remain irresponsibly hurtful, she deserves respect for her ability to open up and admit wrongdoing, all while ackowledging the inconsequential nature of the apology.

while i will say that i never assumed these three young men were guilty of anything, i will not dwell on it, because that isn't the purpose of this post.  i will say that after all they have been through, they are guilty of the following thing: as a team, they hired a stripper, under her own freewill and for monetary compensation, to perform and entertain their team at a function.  that's it.  period.  something that i, as a conservative, college-educated, american male, have done several times, spiraled into a lifetime of ill repute for them.

the funny thing about these accusations - these words - is that they hurt without truth.  its like taking caution to never trip up, never fall - and yet receiving scars, as if you had, that mangle you for the rest of your life.  there will never be a time when their names or a recollection of the incident do not evoke memories of the house, and all the false reports we heard for months while these boys, their families, their teammates, and their school stewed in public humiliation.  think about anyone you know who was falsely accused of something terrible, even though it was later found to be untrue.  i bet you still associate that person with the event, instead of freeing him/her from it following their proof of innocence.  

that will be the case for these young men for the rest of their lives, which is precisely why i have refrained from using their names in this post.  not to say that the readers don't already have these monikers ingrained in their heads, but rather that i don't wish to contribute to this process.  think of it like vegetarians...they know that they aren't going to save a cow by not eating a steak - its too late in the process - but its the principle of the matter.

these three students will be marked with this event for the rest of their lives, as will all those who are related to, or associated with, them.  it will hinder them from getting jobs, engaging in social functions, establishing relationships, and functioning as they grow up and continue to mature.  the book signings, talk show appearances, and straight-to-tv drama movies based on the event will only go so far to build back what was irretrievably lost.  this incident will affect them in all aspects of life, and it exists only as a creation of an over-zealous district attorney and a malicious young woman.

i won't hesitate to mention their names - mike nifong and crystal gail mangum.  we all need to know who they are, as it is vitally important to remember those two names as we move forward.  it would be easy to retaliate against these individuals  in a venue such as this, but it would be just as egregious an offense as was committed by those who unfairly criticized the accused in the first place.  to assign these two a myriad of harmful labels (of which i have plenty), and relegate their fate in the future would be a contradiction of my argument against those who did just this when the charges were originally filed. 

we do not know which one of these two lied and which one chose to keep going, turning the knife into these young mens' backs with each press conference and public appearance.  both could be equally at fault, only one could be mostly responsible, or this could be the work of both these two, as well as other forces of which were are currently unaware. 

the bottom line is: beyond the role of  these two, we don't know.  we may never know what each exactly contributed to this disaster.  we may never know who else was directly involved in ruining three innocent young mens' lives.  what we do know is that all those who came out in support of ms. mangum and d.a. nifong without a proper conscious and with an ideal that stretched beyond the facts should taste as much of the same hurt that they placed upon these young men as possible. 

jesse jackson, rev. al sharpton, and all others who blindly took up the fictitious cause of a cunning young woman should not be permitted to end their penance with an apology.  more accountability is needed if one is willing to spout off unfounded accusations without due diligence.  this is precisely why, despite the neverending onslaught of news from around the world, we must not allow this event to fade from our minds.  it is certainly not on the same level as other widespread human indecencies throughout history, but just as the remembrance of them contributes to prevention of the same in the future, hopefully the same process will work for this scandal.  

this may affect the aformentioned detractors inasmuch as harming their pride, political ambitions, or personal agendas for a few days.  it devastated these three young men for the rest of their lives.