88, 87...

Eighty-seven Duke professors are ticked off over the alleged misinterpretation of the "88" ad, published months and months ago.

Professors don't like to admit to being wrong. Did you ever notice that?

Rather than posting a letter of apology for capitalizing on lies, a miscarriage of justice, and prosecutorial abuse to promote their agenda, the Duke professors posted a letter refusing to apologize.

From The News and Observer:

Dozens of Duke professors have posted "an open letter to the Duke community" on the Web, explaining an ad last spring that has been widely criticized as a condemnation of lacrosse players.
The new letter, signed by 87 faculty and posted at www.concerneddukefaculty.org, refuses to apologize for the ad and reiterates concerns about issues of race and sexual violence on the Duke campus. It says the so-called "Group of 88" ad published in the Chronicle last April has been grossly misinterpreted. That ad has been a subject of heated debate on blogs, and its signers have received angry and sometimes racist e-mail messages.

"The ad has been read as a comment on the alleged rape, the team party, or the specific students accused," the letter said. "Worse, it has been read as rendering a judgment in the case. ... We reject all attempts to try the case outside the courts, and stand firmly by the principle of the presumption of innocence."

The letter was signed by "concerned faculty," many of whom endorsed the original ad. The ad, entitled, "What Does a Social Disaster Sound Like?", included anonymous statements by students talking about racism and sexism on the campus. The ad also thanked "protesters making collective noise."

The letter this week has backed off that a bit, saying, "We do not endorse every demonstration that took place at the time."

William Chafe, a history professor who signed both the ad and the letter, said the bloggers' interpretation of the ad has become the version people accepted. And that's wrong, he said. "We're trying to simply set the record straight and clarify we never claimed the lacrosse players were guilty," Chafe said.

Blah, blah, blah.

The "88" ad ran in April 2006.

Now, mid-January 2007, the professors find it necessary to "set the record straight"?

Why the delay?

Could it have something to do with the fact that Crystal Gail Mangum, Brian Meehan, and Mike Nifong has made them look like fools?

The case has completely unraveled.

...In the online letter, concerned faculty say they won't apologize despite the fury.

"There have been public calls to the authors to retract the ad or apologize for it, as well as calls for action against them and attacks on their character," the letter said. "We reject all of these. We think the ad's authors were right to give voice to the students quoted, whose suffering is real. We also acknowledge the pain that has been generated by what we believe is a misperception that the authors of the ad prejudged the rape case."

I understand that the ad spoke to the problem of REAL racism and sexism; but it was prompted by an incident built on lies.

If not for the lawsuits and the disgraced, abusive D.A. Mike Nifong, I doubt the Duke professors would feel the need to clarify the "88" ad.

I have a suggestion for the 88 signatories:

Post a letter expressing outrage over the media lynching of David Evans, Reade Seligmann, and Collin Finnerty.