Not That
I don't want to spend a lot of time on the tragic death of the UVA lacrosse player, mostly because it's being covered really well elsewhere. But I do want to mention a couple of comments and coverage angles I noticed that may bear some scrutiny.
1. This is not a college thing. I know both the victim and the attacker* were college students. But sadly exes attacking their exes happens in just about every age group. If you have a child in college, certainly have a talk with them about danger signs - but you should probably have that with all your kids.
2. This is not a sports thing. This isn't a scenario where the fact that either or both of them was an athlete factored in to this, other than how they met. In fact, I found the swift arrest very reassuring, in the sense that there was no college wall or athlete wall in play here. The police investigated and went where the investigation led.
3. This is not an alcohol thing. Yes alcohol changes people's reactions, but I have never been so drunk I attacked someone. People who do attack people while drunk should not be blaming it on the alcohol. (And they should stop drinking. And attacking people.)
4. This is not an elite thing. Again, I refer you to the depressing fact that people of all types socioeconomic status have been known to injure and/or kill their exes for no greater offense than a broken heart.
5. This is a bad boyfriend thing. Good boyfriends (and girlfriends) do not send threatening emails. They do not call their partner names. They do not kick in doors and shake you.
*Huguely has at this point admitted to attacking Love, whether her death was "intentional" or not is still being determined.
