Interesting development w/ Lastings Milledge

[RyDogg66]

The Mets have cut off talks with him for the time being because of rumors of his having sex with 12 year olds...

 

sports.espn.go.com/mlb/story?id=1590426

[squarepusher]

[ insert Mike Nicolas comment here ]

[Al the Thinking Man]

Take the money when it's offered, boys.

 

Though the credibility on this is extremely small, they have only an unsigned letter to the cops at this point.

[RobertR]

It's impossible to say if there's any validity to these accusations or not based on the information provided.

 

I've seen this brought up elsewhere, but it appears to be a very basic violation of Millege's rights as a minor to keep his records sealed. He was never charged or convicted. That doesn't necessarily mean that he didn't do the heinous things he's accused of, but it does mean that the authorities are being irresponsible and publicly discussing things that they shouldn't.

 

Robert

[Katuluu]

Well what exactly is "sexual contact"? I knew someone who in middle school as a stupid joke pulled a girl's skirt down. He ended up being expelled and their was talk of him being charged with sexual assault for it. Without more specifics into what was exactly done, I think it's a little soon to label it as "heinous". Especially since he was never charged or investigated at all for it. And isn't this the same thing that caused his stiock to drop before the draft? How is it the Mets are acting as if they knew nothing at all about any of this? That causes me to raise an eyebrow.

[batman]

That causes me to raise an eyebrow.

 

My guess? The Mets are cheap and need an excuse to give the fans as to why they don't sign their top draft choice. Seems silly to me.

 

~Bill

[Al the Thinking Man]

Sexual contact could be touching, or it could be sexual intercourse between consenting minors. Depends on the state and its laws.

 

Sad this kid's name is being dragged through the mud over an anonymous letter.

[colbyjack]

What's really sad is that this issue has already been dealt if it's the same issue that caused Milledge to be expelled from his previous high school. When everyone talked about "character issues" about Lastings Milledge, this is the incident that created those concerns. I can see why the concerns would be legitimate, but everything I heard this past spring indicated that Milledge had moved on since the incident. Many argued that he shouldn't have even been expelled because as Robert pointed out he wasn't charge or convicted of any crime, they never seemed to get past the stage of allegations.

 

I think it was last week that I reported the Mets weren't interested in giving into Milledge's reported lofty bonus aspirations, and it sounds to me the Mets are trying to take a shot at his character almost in an attempt to sign for less. If this is indeed a completely new case, that obviously would be different.

[squarepusher]

[ Many argued that he shouldn't have even been expelled because as Robert pointed out he wasn't charge or convicted of any crime, they never seemed to get past the stage of allegations. ]

 

Given the fact that he attended a parochial school, I don't think the "innocent until proven guilty" thing applies, which is a shame.

[RobertR]

Yeah, I should have said "possibly heinous" as the adjective. I don't know the details, after all, to say for sure what exactly is alleged.

 

I do know this, if the Mets were involved in leaking this as a negotiating ploy, it's truly a crummy thing to do. Especially if this is "old news". If I were Millege's agent and I suspected that were true, I'd say go to Junior College. Noone needs to work for an employer that will stoop that low, even for millions.

 

Robert

[BrewDude]

It just amazes me that these kids just can't keep clean. I mean for cry'n out loud these guys are going to be millionaires or already are yet stupidity must just follow when you become high profile. Thank God for us not drafting Milledge when we were all about him earlier in the year. Big sigh of relief for all of us. Just dumb, dumb, dumb!!

[Katuluu]

Well, he was only 16 at the time. It's not like this just happened, and by all accounts he has been the model citizen ever since.

[lend d money]

While it allegedly didn't just happen, I have to agree with BrewDude. I am sure at, if not before, the age of 16 he was being heralded as a possible high round draft pick. After all. BA ranks players at and below this age these days. Whether they like it or not, these guys become public figures before they probably desire to be. They are heavily scrutinized(and rightly so given the team's investment in them) and their "handlers"(in this case parents given his age)need to be proactive in their professional and private lives.

[Katuluu]

The thing is it never even went much past the allegation stage. They were made, he was expelled from his school, and nothing else was ever done. To me, it just looks like the allegations were foundless, but the school jumped the gun in expelling him, or just didn't want to take the risk. No criminal charges were ever brought, and nothing else happened. Since then he's been on his best behavior, which just convinces me more that the accusations were most likely groundless. For the Mets to act as if they knew nothing of it, and to also use it against him as a leverage ploy, is far worse then to me then some questionable accusations brought against him 2 years ago. Shoot, I'd even compare it to what the conservative branch of the Evangelical Church tried to pull this week. Pretty shameless in my mind.

[lend d money]

I didn't see a mentioning of expulsion in the ESPN article. Maybe, I missed it noted in a different article. I have to admit today was the first time I heard/read anything about this topic. Is it possible that Milledge accepted the "sentence" in lieu of further investigation(similar to a plea bargain). It wouldn't be the last time an athletic program of some sort tried to "bury" a problem. I don't know the whole story so maybe I'm grasping at straws.

 

If I am "all wet" on this particular case, I still agree with the basic concept that these guys need to become more model citizens(at least until the ink is dry on the contract).

[Katuluu]

still agree with the basic concept that these guys need to become more model citizens(at least until the ink is dry on the contract).

 

I'll use the comparison to Rev. Robinson who was ordained a Bishop of the Episcopal Church last night. The first openly gay Bishop in the church. Minutes before the original final vote on Monday, an email was released from a man who had met the Reverend at a conference claiming Rev. Robinson had peformed "inappropriate touching" and was compared to a "grab-assing skirt chaser". The vote was halted and an inquiry was performed. The conservative side of the Episcopal church was rather pleased by this turn off events, as they had for several weeks talked about how they had an Ace up their sleeve to prevent the vote from ever happening. As I listened on talk radio yesterday, I was stunned and the number of people who called up and said that the allegation itself was enough for Rev. Robinson to not be ordained as a Bishop. Regardless of whether he was guilty or innocent. It was his fault for what happened and he shouldn't be put in a position where he can embaress the church. Turns out, the only thing the Reverend did, was in a moment of compassion and concern for the man, he touched his bicep and his back to while answering some of his questions. Nothing more, and by no means nothing offensive.

 

Nothing past an allegation was ever done to Milledge. If the police thought something criminal had happened, they wouldn't just stand by and let a 12 year old girl be harmed. To lay blame on Lastings is foolish and short-sighted. He may have done nothing wrong, and being that charges were never even brought against him I feel safe in assuming that that is the case. To me this whole incident says a lot more about the Mets organization then it does about Lastings Milledge.

[colbyjack]

I just think it's ridiculous that the Mets are making new news out of old news, and now everyone is taking offense to it. This is clearly in my mind a very poor move my the Mets. Not to make Milledge look like a saint, but he's already gone through this, even if it wasn't in the ESPN spotlight.

 

Many of these issues were brought up as part of Brewerfan.net's draft coverage. Here's Milledge's player profile:

 

www.brewerfan.net/ViewFea...PlayerId=1

 

And a link off of that page talking about the situation & his expulsion:

 

www.baseballamerica.com/t...52002.html

[clancyphile]

If I'm Milledge, I'm headed off to community college, and the Mets will NOT be signing me as a DFE.

[madbad2000]

Clancy....you are the man. I agree whole heartedly. As a man that holds grudges....screw the Mets!