His open letter to the world, found here.
Let me say, I have some comments to make about replies to my last few posts. Unfortunately busy at work today, and I have class tonight, so hopefully I get to post those thoughts soon, but maybe not till tomorrow.
In the meantime, you should also read SharkGirl's "Top Ten MLK Quotes In Light of the DC Rape" post.
Read Lloyd's post and share what you think. I'll tell you what I think in a little while.
4 comments:
Honestly I really don't know that much about him or his school to tell if this is a genuine statement or just really good marketing. The problem with him waiting so long to make a statement is you can either believe what he said (about focusing on the victim) or think he was just waiting for someone to finish writing the perfect response for him. Again, I don't know the guy. But he says all the right things here with regard to his role in creating the proper training environment and doing everything he can to make sure nothing like this happens again.
As far as 1989 goes, in my eyes he is still guilty of wanting (and possibly trying) to commit rape. But people can move past the mistakes of their past.
If all of this is true, it is the best he can do, and it is enough for me. Unfortunately I just don't know enough to tell.
...I call BS. At least in regards to the 1989 case. I can't say whether he did it or not...but the excuse of "I couldn't get it up" shouldn't completely exonerate him of guilt.
While he may foster an environment where winners think they are beyond judgment (not sure about this one, just saying "may"), I'm pretty sure it's mostly chance (given how many men rape) that his students raped someone.
Lastly, I finally read Ryan Halls' open letter. I wish I could have read it two months ago.
About all I can say about the statement is it served its purpose. It'll stop the immediate bleeding, and probably halt the exodus of BB and affiliate gyms of his association. The hounds of social media and MMA blogs are at bay, for now.
Ultimately, the virtues of statement reflect its problems and the underlying problem with Lloyd. It was a self-serving statement from a self-serving man. It elided specifics on the 1989 with tearful memories of a loving father and mother. He apologized to his team for his silence because he spent too much time in the gym helping his people and the victim.
He rightfully acknowledged the horrific SEO scheme with candor, but insulated himself from further criticism by dividing the audience into those for whom nothing is good enough, and the good honest folk (at least he didn't give percentages of the breakdown for each group) who will hear him with open hearts.
I see nothing to indicate a change of course. He'll still be brash and outspoken. Irvin will continue with his "MMA Millionaire" scheme, though word is getting out how one-sided the deal is. I don't think he'll realize how thin the ice is underneath him. One more scandal and he's probably finished.
Regarding the recent tragedy, I felt his statement was fine. He is working with the victim, he apologized for appearing to market from it, he is reviewing what he can do to help improve his training environment. That's all fine.
Regarding the 1989 situation, he didn't even come close to addressing the situation. His statements are vague, and don't do anything to counter the current public opinion of the matter.
That said, I am not as quick to judge what happened with him in that situation as others I have seen. We have one article, an editorial very short on details, and I keep feeling like there is more to the story.
If his only defense was he couldn't get an erection, and everyone else was convicted, how did the jury believe such a poor excuse? I could understand if it was a classic 1980s case of blame the victim, but if they handed out a bunch of convictions in the same case then that can't be it. Why wasn't he charged with attempted rape as Cameron Earle was? Why wasn't he charged as an accessory? There has to be more to him being acquitted than just saying "I wanted to, but I couldn't get it up". One person in a case that resulted in six other convictions gets out of it just because he says he was impotent?
There has to be more to this story, and I don't feel comfortable condemning him as an attempted rapist, pretty much the worst thing out society can consider you, until I have more information.
That doesn't mean he gets a pass either. This response was woefully inadequate. He didn't address anything and instead just told us a story about discussing the charges with his dad.
I'm not saying he is a good guy, I'm not saying something bad didn't happen, and I'm not saying it's the victims fault or that she asked for it or deserved it. I'm just saying there is more to this story than either the article everyone is passing around or Lloyd Irvin is telling us.
The thing that disturbs me the most is all the attention is on a rape case from 23 years ago instead of the current problems, both with the New Year's Eve tragedy and stories like posted on this blog. People online seem to be more concerned with going after Lloyd Irvin instead of facing the very real problems at many schools.
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