After allegations of rape and racism have left the Duke lacrosse program indefinitely suspended and in utter disarray, several of Duke's players and recruits have expressed interest in transferring to other schools with top-notch lacrosse teams, including Hopkins, in an effort to save their careers.
In order for the players to be eligible to play in next year's season, the University would have to make a special exception and admit them after both the 2006 admissions cycle as well as recruiting for next year's team have ended.
Officials in the Office of Admissions were unavailable for comment.
According to President William Brody, the lacrosse team's Head Coach Dave Pietramala has the final say on whether to admit the Duke players onto the team. "It appears that not all the players who were on the team were involved in this event. So there are many players who shouldn't be labeled as being a part of it and should be allowed to do as they please," Brody said.
He added, "Pietramala will have to decide based on the facts he's given and what he knows relative to each individual whether or not to accept a kid who is willing to come here."
Brody spoke on Tuesday with all of the University's student-athletes in a mandatory meeting, during which he discussed
how the students, as athletes, should be responsible for their own behavior, which will be monitored more carefully because they are athletes.
On whether he would consider recruiting potential transfer students from Duke, Pietramala said, "We have not responded to or contacted anyone on the matter of admittance. My first concern is what is best for Johns Hopkins University, then for our lacrosse program. Additionally, we have loyalties to our current players and incoming recruits."
"Our new boys have already signed letters of intent, and we are just as obligated to them as they are to us. They are coming to Hopkins because they expect to play the positions they have been recruited for," he added.
Like Brody, Pietramala was unwilling to condemn any one member of the Duke lacrosse team, saying that he believes that it is too difficult from an outsider's perspective to evaluate fairly.
"I'm not going to judge one way or the other because no program is perfect. Our program isn't perfect. No lacrosse team is a group of choirboys, but here at Hopkins we have a good group of guys. They go to class. They get good grades. They know that no means no."
Brody took the same tact in his remarks to the student-athletes, saying, "We do not know for certain whether or not any member of the Duke lacrosse team is guilty of criminal action. This could all stem from the fact that a zealous D.A. was looking for an event to attack the issue of Duke's relationship with its neighboring community during election time. It could also come from the fact that something terrible actually occurred that night. We don't know, so we shouldn't assume."
Two players from Duke were indicted on charges of rape and kidnapping on Tuesday, just hours before Brody's meeting with the athletes, in which he did not ignore the enormous amount of negative media coverage associated with the criminal charges. "The scandal that has surrounded the Duke campus is certainly a media frenzy," he said. "The Duke team is the root of a lot of anger."
Hopkins players, meanwhile, are putting their faith in Pietramala, who will ultimately make the final decision on whether or not accept a potential recruit.
Team Captain and senior Greg Peyser said, "If the coach decides that someone is a good fit for our program, then it works for us. And there will be no stigmas towards the Duke players or recruits. The guys on the squad know Duke players, we are friends with them and some have brothers on the team. We all want to be believe innocence until proven guilty for these guys."
Some Hopkins students believe that the players who have not been charged, and especially the ones who weren't even on the team yet, should not be discredited based on the actions of others.
Freshman Michael Tanenbaum said, "We should trust the justice system. If they are not being charged with any crime then they should be treated as innocents. If they are convicted then they can be treated like any other applicant with a felony. They absolutely should be given special consideration because lacrosse is so important here at Hopkins."
Sophomore Brendan O'Connor disagreed, saying that the players should not receive special treatment.
"It's inappropriate that they are not going through the normal admissions process because you usually need a very compelling reason to be admitted outside of University guidelines -- not just making poor choices about with whom you associate yourself," he said.
Freshman Ana Johnson echoed O'Connor's sentiment, saying, "The scandal that these kids are inevitably associated with is unfortunate, but Hopkins needs to think about how accepting these kids will look for the University as a whole. I mean, I know that lacrosse is important here, but it's not the only thing the University should be considering."
According to Pietramala, Hopkins' well-established lacrosse legacy and the sport itself are already suffering as a result of the Duke scandal: "The talk is out there, and it has given lacrosse as a sport, as an institution, a bad name. And this just doesn't harm our athletes, it harms all athletes and reinforces any preexisting negative stereotypes about the community we've created."
