04/20/24
February 19, 2011
Wittels' Hitting Streak Ends at 56 Games: Florida International shortstop Garrett Wittels saw his hitting streak end at 56 games Friday night. Wittels went 0-for-4 against Southeastern Louisiana, ending the streak two games short of Robin Ventura's 58-game Division I record. "I know I'm second place in this, but I plan on playing baseball for a lot more years. And I'll break history another time," said Wittels, who has bigger troubles. He's currently out on bond, accused with two friends of raping two 17-year-olds in the Bahamas last December. His father Michael told the Miami Herald that his son is innocent of the charge.
Whenever rape allegations come against an athlete, I remember three words: Duke Lacrosse Team. Our legal system is still founded on the principal of 'innocent until PROVEN guilty.' You want to rush to judgment, go ahead. I'll wait until the evidence is in...
posted by MeatSaber at 10:06 AM on February 19, 2011
roberts: Since he's a hot-shot athlete, the rape charges against him will probably go away and he, the school and the MLB team that drafts him will all be happy.
What is this, Metafilter? Look, maybe the reason the rape charges will go away- and they haven't, yet- is because he and the other guys are innocent. Did you even read the article?
A source close to the investigation said that blood samples for DNA testing were taken from all five men.The source, who asked to remain anonymous, said surveillance cameras in public areas of the hotel captured interaction between the suspects and alleged victims.
According to the source, the videos show the girls sitting at a bar in the Atlantis Hotel and Resort, drinking, and kissing one another, before gesturing to the suspects to join them.
"They drank too much. They went to the guys' room. The girls were together. The girls are saying they can't remember anything,'' the source said.
One of the girls threw up on herself, and was given a T-shirt to wear by one of the young men, the source said.
The father of one of the girls called police after his daughter and her companion returned to their hotel room, the source said.
In the Bahamas, the age of legal consent for sex is 16. But the drinking age is 18.
So the evidence we have is apparently (depending on the reliability of the source):
- Surveillance footage of the two girls freely and willingly breaking the law by drinking despite being 17
- Surveillance footage of the two girls inviting the boys over to their area in the bar
- The girls apparently willingly went back to the boy's hotel room
- The girls don't remember anything
- If sex occured, it was completely legal in the Bahamas as all participants were over the age of consent (16)
- The father of the girls called the police
At least from the allegations given above, it sounds like a couple of girls on vacation got drunk, partied with some cute boys, went back to their hotel room and an over protective father decided his precious sweet baby doll couldn't possibly have willingly engaged in drinking and sex, so clearly she was raped... right?
Unless other facts come to light, the only reason this should even go to trial in the Bahamas is because of an overzealous prosecution wishing to stick it to some American athletes simply because of who they are and where they're from. Which... I guess is the mindset of roberts, actually.
posted by hincandenza at 02:03 PM on February 19, 2011
If sex occured, it was completely legal ...
Unless the girl said no at some point, and the man continued.
posted by tommybiden at 02:12 PM on February 19, 2011
Oh for christ's sake, tommytrump- unless you're a complete simpleton you know perfectly well that I was implying that, that if the sex was consensual it's not statutory rape in the Bahamas despite a U.S. audience tut-tuting at the ages being 17... And since the signs point to consent, it's clearly not rape even in a "She was only 17" sort of way.
Of course, seeing as you said "girl" and "man", Tommy, it's clear you've internalized the age as some huge deal- even though AGAIN they were all of age, and she was what, only 1-2 years younger?
posted by hincandenza at 03:30 PM on February 19, 2011
Imply all you want, including the posssibility that I am a complete simpleton. I will consider the source when deciding how much weight to give your observation.
A 20 year old male is a man, a 17 year old female is a girl, in my simpleton corner of the world.
The girls were 3 years younger, not 1 or 2.
I do think it is creepy when college upperclassmen involve themselves sexually with girls (moreso if the girls are drunk) of high school age (grade 11 or 12 at 17).
It strikes me as predatory.
posted by tommybiden at 04:20 PM on February 19, 2011
This falls under the heading of reasonable expectations. The men in question had to know the drinking age was 18, and, after seeing these girls drinking in the bar, had a reasonable expectation that they were, by default, 18. Why are they vilified, when it was the bar's responsibility to ensure they were of age?
posted by MeatSaber at 04:36 PM on February 19, 2011
Imply all you want, including the posssibility that I am a complete simpleton.
No, he was implying that you willfully missed his point. And you're doing it again.
posted by tron7 at 06:18 PM on February 19, 2011
Imply all you want, including the posssibility that I am a complete simpleton. I will consider the source when deciding how much weight to give your observation.
A 20 year old male is a man, a 17 year old female is a girl, in my simpleton corner of the world.
Clearly, you have not met all 17 y/o females. Meeting 17 y/o females who look over 21 is not as difficult as your simpleton corner might appear.
posted by jmd82 at 08:19 PM on February 19, 2011
While some might look on it poorly, a 20 year old guy dating a 17 year old girl doesn't raise that many eyebrows.
Girls that are still in high school have dated college boys since the beginning of time, well, at least since there were college boys. To use "Man" vs "Girl" is a bit much as in the eyes of law, both are able to consent to sex. Keeping in mind that they could only be 25 months apart (could also be 47 months apart). As stated, since Wittels and his friends met the girls in a bar, they easily, and naturally, could have thought they were at least 18.
Do rapists normally give their victims clean clothes to wear home?
Wittels does appear to be a fairly religious young man, not that being religious precludes one from committing rape.
posted by dviking at 01:01 AM on February 20, 2011
Wittels does appear to be a fairly religious young man, not that being religious precludes one from committing rape.
If he was legitimately "religious", I don't think he would have gone home with those young women in in the first place.
posted by grum@work at 10:44 PM on February 20, 2011
If he was legitimately "religious", I don't think he would have gone home with those young women in in the first place.
There's nothing worth less to me than someone claiming to be religious as a defense of anything.
Do rapists normally give their victims clean clothes to wear home?
Only if they want people to say "Do rapists normally give their victims clean clothes to wear home?".
Honestly, rapists often offer their victims rides home, call them later for another 'date'... not rare.
posted by justgary at 01:29 AM on February 21, 2011
For the record gary, no one, and especially not Wittels, has used his religion as any sort of defense.
posted by dviking at 01:52 AM on February 21, 2011
Since he's a hot-shot athlete, the rape charges against him will probably go away and he, the school and the MLB team that drafts him will all be happy.