Gibbons expelled for alleged sexual assault

for besmirching a student without specifiying the allegation, without providing one shred of evidence for the allegation, and doing so while maintaining a vail of mandatory quasi-secrecy.

comment just became a lot more creepy.

Or what information, beyond what is web available went into this decision.

I understand the standard of proof may have changed, but I looked into all that information thoroughly when that website put this all out there, and it just did not seem to go beyond he said, she said.

My initial reaction was skepticism because the author at that website played fast and loose with certain crucial details. It appears that perhaps I turned my attention in the wrong direction by focusing on the web author. That guy (Doug Smith) may or may not be a wanker, but, at least in the university's opinion, the alleged victim's version is more likely to be true than not true.

I also had a conversation during the preseason with someone I trust and who has more access (read: less than my zero) to the program than I do - it was his strong opinion that Gibbons had done what he was accused of. This colored my enthusiasm for the upcoming season - as the season started to unfold, enjoyment was irrelevant, anyway, so there it was.

But there wasn't anything solid to go on that suggested anything but competing claims. At best, there was Joe Reynolds support for the alleged victim's version, which seemed compromising, with him being a teammate and all. From all the material in the website, nothing suggested any proof regarding the results of the rape kit, for example, only that there were claims by the victim regarding the results of that rape examination. And one would think that Doug Smith wanted to present everything he had. But there must be more to the story than what is publicly available.

This is certainly a snowflake, but I'm deeply troubled that this guy was allowed to kick for a whole career here. There were rumblings all season that Gibbons and Lewan were terrible teammates and that this was part of the disintegration of the primary group that made the season so awful. I'd like to know how, at this late date, they were able to determine that a preponderance of evidence favored the alleged victim. And by "I'd like to know how," I mean that I wonder what evidence was out there, not that I doubt their ability to draw a conclusion. There's got to be more than what was in those publicly available documents. Apparently, there is. There still seems to be a lot about this story that we don't know, but this looks about as bad as it gets at present.

I'd also be interested to know what, if anything, Joe Reynolds will say about this, now that events have reached this point.

...the reality of this situation taking basically his entire collegiate career is either due to individually, or a combination of some sort of interference from the athletic department or a sickly obstructed bureaucracy.

Other than that, the only way I can see this making sense would be if additional developments in the criminal case were going to soon come to light and the University is making a ham-handed attempt to get out in front of it.

Regardless, this is just an awful situation for everyone involved.

Yeah, UM wouldn't exercise its harshest internal punishment, one rarely used, without a hell of a lot of proof, especially against a student with a high profile like this. And it's not like they did it as a reaction to media pressure, it was in total secrecy. 

The idea that they would have done this unless they were very satisfied with the evidence is ridiculous. This isn't Duke Lacrosse. We're looking at the aftermath here, not the beginning.

...not to weigh in on this topic on principle alone.

If Gibbons is guilty (arguably yet to be proven), then he should face the consequences to the full extent of the law -- including prison.

Hoke should face the scrutiny of the press on this, too. (What did he know and when did he know it?)

I personally know a lady now in her 50's who was raped at 18. She still carries the scars and the baggage from this event that occurred over 35 years ago.

I am not going to comment on Gibbons or Hoke or Brandon, but as a woman, I have to say that a lot of comments on this thread and on the post on the main board are very disturbing to me.

A sexual predator on the team. Who would have thought it?