Month: March 2016

  • Fantastic Lies

    "Fantastic Lies" is an important documentary film that airs at 9 p.m. Sunday on ESPN.  An excellent review of the film can be read at http://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/tv/article64745877.html

    I've always been sensitive to, and sympathetic to, tales of false accusations that lead to destroyed lives.  Personally, I've been fortunate.  And grateful for that fact.

    The film is about the supposed rape of a stripper who was hired for a party 10 years ago by the Duke University lacrosse team.  Her accusation was bogus, but just about every news outlet in the country ran with the story, and it took a year for the three accused lacrosse players to have their names cleared.

    I learned about the film this morning during drive time.  Marina Zenovich, the film's director, was interviewed by David Greene and what jarred me most was what she said at the end of the interview.  It was something like

    -- But we mustn't lose sight of the fact that most accusations of sexual assault are true, and to use this case as an example of the larger issue (of false accusations) would be a profound injustice to the victims of actual crimes who have had the courage to come forward --

    I used -- -- instead of quotation marks because I'm paraphrasing from memory.

    I'm not at all disagreeing with the lady, but it's still true that I view the Duke lacrosse case through my own personal lens -- as do we all -- and false accusations always get my attention.