Yes, I would be cutting this guy this much slack.

Lets be honest, there are plenty of false rape accusations every month... There is a very serious rape problem in Athens.  The cops and Mayor Wiehl are too busy dealing with the Noise Ordinance to worry about the serial rapist on Playground Street.  I'm much less concerned about a black recruit who happened to get with the wrong white girl than I am with what is going on parallel to my house on Mill Street.

Seriously?  Two times? That is BS.  This sounds like a jealous ex to me...

After clicking the link to that yahoo story, I was reminded of why I really do hate the comment section, for articles.

Speaking clearly from hearsay, this story definitely does sound odd.  The mere fact that there are two counts of rape with the same individual is one thing.  Reading here on the messageboard that he was pulled over driving the "alleged" victims car while she was in it, really makes it an eyebrow raiser.  Rape w/o question is a very serious offense and any and all claims should be investigated to the fullest.  But here is my issue... if (and I'm not picking sides), but IF you are accused of rape by an individual, and it is a totally bogus claim (clearly hypothetical)...

WHY IN THE HELL WOULD YOU PUT YOURSELF IN THE POSITION TO BE ACCUSED AGAIN BY THE SAME INDIVIDUAL?!?

By no means am I downplaying the alleged rape, but another issue here not to be ignored is one of simple decision making.  I mean we're talking, "the pot is hot, don't touch the pot" type of stuff. 

That being said, on the scholly situation, I'm all for holding one.  I mean if the kid is potentially a difference-maker and it turns out that the claims are totally baseless-- and his history is clean otherwise, why walk away from him.  The potential PR hit could be nothing nice and understandably so.  I mean I don't want to see OU reach the next level, at the expense of our name and credibility.  IF, all of this does turn out in his favor however and he's extended a scholly/walk-on oppty., I would get this kid a group of mentors POST-HASTE!!!  

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disclaimer:  I am so anti-blaming the victim it isn't funny.  However with the few sparse details I've been afforded here in this thread (validated or not), I'm definitely not one for hasty judgement.  As others have said, a definite slippery slope here for a number of reasons.

The facts will come out....he has been in some sort of "relationship" with the girl since they where freshmen..the media has not reported this tidbit..also he was never accused of anything prior to getting pulled over on Jan 6th in her car with her in the car with him on the way to pick up a friend. Remaining in contact with him even after she made the accusations...facebook friends w/him...to this day, tweeting happily before and after..and finally making a couple of threatening tweets 3 days before his arrest a day before signing day. What I think happened or what everyone on this board thinks happened really doesnt mean crap...he has been judged in the eyes of the public as most men accused of any sexually deviant crimes are especially athletes of his skin tone. The only thing that matters is justice will be served and he will get his day in court , will all more than likely get confirmation whether something occured or if it was all a major setup. Coach Solich being the type of man that he is will wait until there is a judgement in the case I'm sure and if there where any questionable activities then Lewis obviously has bigger things to worry about. If he is found not guilty or the charges are dropped with out prejudice then Roger will sign his letter or intent to Ohio.

Didn't I read somewhere that he has had other run-ins with the law, perhaps speeding tickets and driving without a license? Not to mention that he may or may not be academically eligible.

Also, don't you clowns know that most women that are sexually assaulted are assaulted by steady dating partners? The lack of empathy on here is staggering, even for a football recruiting message board.

The only way they hold a scholarship for Roger is if he came to Frank and Co. and told them about this situation ahead of time and our coaches feel confident that Roger is a good kid and that he will be fully vindicated. Then, and only then, would it be reasonable to hold the scholarship and show loyalty to someone going through a tough time. That would be the right thing to do regardless of his talent or how many stars Rivals gives him. 

But, lets not forget, he came to us at the 11'th hour when no one else wanted him. Outside of the scenario described above, we have no obligation to show him "loyalty".

Your statements are off point quite a bit....he has a 3.2 gpa but bombed the ACT the one time he took the thing. Secondly 8 D-1 schools visited his high school personally in 2 days with Ohio being the 1st and securing that weekend official. One of his coaches stated that Toledo offered to come and pick him up  in the middle of his official visit  in Athens and Roger said heck no and hung up the phone(pretty dirty recruiting if you ask me Toledo) Keep it Classy!
Regardless none of that matters now to say the least.

Exactly!!

I'm always going to come down on the side of "innocent until proven guilty. It doesn't matter if the person accused is someone I like, dislike, or whatever. I am shocked and appalled that so many people judge people guilty as soon as they are accused. We have a legal system for a reason - let it work. If he's found guilty, he should be punished accordingly, and that means no football. If he's found innocent, then he should be the same rights as any other person, and that includes being allowed to sign a LOI, and get a scholarship, if he is academically eligible.

Clowns? That's ironic. Clearly no one, outside of a very few, know what's going on here. We can't realistically be empathetic to either Lewis or his girlfriend, can we? We can't be empathetic AND we can't judge them, can we?

L.C. Glad you kept working the focus.  The above process just makes sense.  The initial impression from "holding" a ship for him was that one would be reserved for him, not used by another.  Thanks,

Bcat2

Right, but just to clarify, I wasn't saying the police certainly had enough of a case to prove his guilt, only that there must be some kind of reason for them to believe her story. There's bound to be something other than just her saying she was raped, which is basically the only evidence that is presented.

Well Robert, the reason that I spoke about empathy was the following statements....

"Looks like someone has put out her name and statues updates from her social media and judging from the looks of her public statements on the days these "rapes" happened I have to say I am inclined to side with Roger..(I'm sorry you just dont make happy statements after something like that happens do you?")"

"The case doesnt sound very solid I'm not sure how you charge rape weeks after the fact...."

"Seriously?  Two times? That is BS.  This sounds like a jealous ex to me..."

"The mere fact that there are two counts of rape with the same individual is one thing."


All of these statements showcase a fundamental misunderstanding of what rape and sexual assault are and how women deal with the events and the aftermath. I'm not sure why I would expect a more nuanced viewpoint on a football message board, but still, I guess I am slightly shocked at how quick people were to blame the accuser. 

Its fine to withhold judgment from the accused, I'm right there with you. But questioning the validity of the accusations simply because the alleged victim was seen with Lewis or that he was driving her car, is simply ignorance. Rape, the majority of the time, is an act perpetrated by a family member, a friend or a partner.

So she's a sculptor?

(Sorry, I couldn't resist)