Happy trails to an absolute legend.
Syracuse made the official announcement, followed by Desko's statement, confirming that the 4th Head Coach of the Syracuse Lacrosse program has elected to retire. In the history of the Syracuse program, John was just the 4th head coach in over 100 years of playing lacrosse. And, like all of his predecessors, he too is in the Lacrosse Hall of Fame. So upon his retirement, we at Orange::44 need to celebrate the contributions and legacy of John Desko.
His accomplishments are almost unmatched. He finishes his career with a 258-86 record, with a win percentage of .750 in 22 years. He earned 5 National Championships as a Head Coach, and 6 as an assistant on the team. He's been involved with Syracuse University Lacrosse since stepping on the field as a freshman in 1976. Much like Jim Boeheim, he never left. He spend 19 years as an assistant to Roy Simmons, Jr. before being elevated to Head Coach. He's won 35 NCAA Tournament games, and from 2000-2009, Desko won half the NCAA title games played, playing in the title game six times. In 2020 he was elected to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Only Bill Tierney of Denver has a better win percentage among active coaches. Only DIII coach Steve Colfer reached 250 wins faster than Desko, who did it in 22 seasons. Not to mention four Big East Conference Tournament titles, two ACC Tournament titles, Division 1 Coach of the Year honors in 2008, and ACC Coach of the Year four times from 2015-2018. He made the NCAA Tournament 21 out of his 22 seasons as Head Coach, ten Final Fours, three NCAA runner ups, and obviously the five titles. It's hard to believe that any coach could achieve all that Desko has done, let alone be only the fourth coach at a program and continue to win National Championships. But he did it better than almost everyone, and for a very long time.
I'm sad to see him go, but I'm glad that it's through retirement, and not because he was fired. People love the narrative he was shoved out, but there isn't any evidence of that. The anonymous source that leaked the news Gait was replacing him said "retirement", and an anonymous source doesn't need to lie to protect anyone's feelings. It's just a shame some athletic compliance member, or some clout chasing parent decided to spoil what should have been a grand celebration farewell to a legend. And I'm not using that word legend lightly. He is, and will be forever known as, a lacrosse coaching legend. Only 3 Division 1head coaches have more titles in the NCAA era than Desko, and one of them is Roy Simmons, Jr. He's tied with only one other. But in his entire coaching career, was part of 11 titles in the NCAA era, a feat unmatched by any other D1 coach. I look forward to seeing him sit besides Roy and Jim Boeheim in that famous box as next season tips off. Lord knows he's earned it. And hopefully he'll get a nice ceremony.
Next season it something to worry about in the future. Right now, we should thank John Desko for keeping Syracuse the best Division 1 Lacrosse Program in history. We'll likely never see another coach, and another run like that again. But here's hoping.
Labels: Athletic Department, Business Ethics, Lacrosse, Syracuse Lacrosse
Chase Scanlan earlier this season.
Rumors about Chase Scanlan, wearer of the fabled #22 on the Syracuse Men's Lacrosse Team, have been swirling around social media in the last few weeks. We now have a pretty good handle on the allegations, and why the school suspended, then unsuspended, and now resuspended Scanlan. An investigation by the Syracuse Police Department and Onondaga County District Attorney culminated yesterday in the charging and arrest of Scanlan, as well as a release of the specific allegations which have landed the lacrosse player in legal jeopardy. Orange::44 used to do a lot of legal posts back in the day, when the major sports programs within Syracuse Athletics used to have regular legal drama. Thankfully, it's been a while. A long while. But here we are.
As recounted in great detail in a very comprehensive article by Douglass Dowty on Syracuse.com, Scanlan is charged with Criminal Mischief in the Fourth Degree (a Class A misdemeanor) and Harassment in the Second Degree (a violation). On Friday, May 7, 2021, Scanlan was arrested, brought through the booking process, held for several hours in jail at the Onondaga Justice Center, arraigned by a judge, and released pending further proceedings. There's a lot there, so let's break it down.
Scanlan was arrested because relevant witnesses came forward to give sworn statements to the police, which gave the police/DA the factual basis necessary to determine which charges were appropriate. Once those charges were filed, the police had a legal basis to arrest him. When someone is arrested, they are brought through the booking process -- the police gather pedigree information about the defendant, obtain fingerprints and a photograph, and all of that information is entered into a database along with information about the pending charges. For charges like this where the law does not allow for bail to be set, a defendant would typically be given an appearance ticket and simply sent home with direction to appear in court at a later date. However, given this was a domestic violence case, he needed to be held pending arraignment before a judge, so that the court could issue a temporary order of protection in favor of the complainant. Down here in Chemung County where I work, a judge would have been immediately available for an arraignment, but I guess Onondaga County does things a little differently, and Scanlan was held in custody for several hours before appearing before a judge for arraignment. At the arraignment, Scanlan would have been provided a copy of the charges against him, advised of his rights, served with that temporary order of protection, and then released on his own recognizance with a promise to appear at a later date.
The two charges are Criminal Mischief and Harassment. Criminal Mischief is intentionally damaging property belonging to someone else with no permission to do so. Here, Scanlan is alleged to have damaged the complainant's iPhone by dropping it in a toilet, and later throwing it to the ground, breaking the glass face of the phone. Misdemeanor level Criminal Mischief is charged when the damages to the property are not specified in an amount; when damages exceed $250, then the charge could be bumped up to a felony. Most of us have experienced broken phones, so Scanlan got lucky that he wasn't charged with a felony. If convicted, this misdemeanor charge carries a jail term of up to 364 days, or probation up to three years, or simply a one-year conditional discharge. The Harassment charge is a violation (a non-criminal offense), where, with intent to harass, annoy, or alarm, a person strikes, shoves, kicks or otherwise subjects such other person to physical contact, or attempts or threatens to do the same. The Syracuse.com article explains that the allegations involve Scanlan pushing a woman and, later, holding her down on his bed with a forceful squeeze which ultimately led to bruising her ribs. The police and District Attorney decided they did not have enough evidence to charge misdemeanor assault -- which would require proof of physical injury -- surmising that lingering pain and bruised ribs doesn't meet that legal standard (when, actually, I think probably does). It's not a slam dunk on physical injury, particularly if the victim didn't describe the pain as "substantial," so I guess the close call here went in favor of the accused -- and there's certainly ample evidence to charge Harassment. Harassment carries up to 15 days in jail, or a conditional discharge. Both charges here also carry mandatory surcharges and possible fines. A Criminal Mischief conviction will also result in Scanlan being required to submit his DNA for inclusion into the New York State DNA Databank, so it will be on file forever.
When this incident was initially investigated by Syracuse Public Safety (essentially the university police), Scanlan was suspended by the school. However, when criminal charges were not immediately forthcoming, he was reinstated. We've seen much surmising by people that the reinstatement was due to potential liability the school had under Title IX -- essentially that Scanlan might be able to sue the school for lack of due process in his suspension. We won't know for sure because of the privacy protections under federal law, but this seems likely given what we know now -- and the fact that now that criminal charges are pending, Scanlan has been removed from athletic participation.
It's frustrating as fans that we didn't quite know what was going on between the initial suspension and the reinstatement. To a large degree, the school's hands were tied, but the messaging probably could have been better. Nobody likes that head coach John Desko said the reinstatement was his call (it no doubt wasn't) but I think the school couldn't really say why there was a suspension in the first place, or why it had to reinstate him (Editor's Note: I believe the Syracuse Unviersity General Counsel was directing much of the advise during this part of the process to the Athletic Department and likely dictated what information to release and at what time to attempt to avoid any liability on the part of the school. Title IX protection is serious and due to the domestic nature of this incident, certain protections are built in for the accused.). But we know for sure now that he can't participate in athletics now that he's been charged.
Over the next several weeks, the DA will have to turn over what's called discovery to Scanlan's defense attorney -- things like police reports, witness statements, pictures, video, medical records, basically anything of relevant evidentiary value. His attorney could file certain motions to challenge evidence or even the legal sufficiency of the charges themselves. No doubt there will also be discussions between the ADA and defense attorney about a resolution to the case -- either a plea bargain or possibly a deferred disposition through a diversion program which could ultimately lead to a dismissal. That could require something like community service, alcohol counseling, and/or domestic violence counseling. That's what I would push for if I was Scanlan's attorney, particularly if he has no criminal record and we want to preserve that. However, the ADA on the case will have to weigh that against the interests of the victim in protecting her and making it known to the community that domestic violence is serious and will be dealt with accordingly. Each case is different, and those involved will have to determine what meets the ends of justice.
Scanlan is presumed innocent. There may appear to be a great deal of evidence against him, but that presumption of innocence exists unless and until either Scanlan pleads guilty, or a jury unanimously finds him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. We should never lose sight of that cornerstone of our legal system. However, Syracuse University and the Athetics Department can and has taken action solely based upon the criminal charges pending, and my guess is that we'll never see Scanlan wearing #22 at Syracuse again.Labels: Breaking The Law, Lacrosse, Orange44 Lawdogs, Syracuse Lacrosse
It's time for May Madness again!
The brackets were announced. Your Syracuse Orange are the #2 seed. They have their traditional late Sunday game for the first round. Ben Williams is a stud. The offense is rolling. The defense... well they're doing their best. But I like Syracuse's chances. This is a Syracuse blog so I'm not sure how surprising it is that both John and I picked SU to go all the way. But as the #2 (who probably should have been #1) it isn't crazy that we both picked them. They are the hottest team heading into the tournament after winning the ACC Tournament and holding off Conference Champion Colgate in a close battle on the road. They are primed and ready to win 4 games and hoist the trophy. My bracket above. John's below. Tune in here for recaps of the Tournament games, and check out CollegeCrosse.com for our old friends Glaude and Ryan's coverage. As always, click to enlarge (wink).
Labels: Lacrosse, NCAA Tournament, Syracuse Lacrosse
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Yeah, those people gave me a show.
The fine folks at the Lacrosse Radio Network gave me a show on Syracuse Lacrosse. What they may or may not have known was that once Syracuse's season ended, we would keep going. So I called on my good friend Matt Glaude, the head man over at College Crosse now, to break down the NCAA Lacrosse Tournament. I'm particularly proud of how the last few episodes have come out. Sadly the season is now over and we enter the vacuum of college sports until August. But that doesn't mean you can't catch on on what the heck happened in the NCAA Tournament, particularly the final weekend while you were enjoying grilled meats and various brewed beverages. Or even relive the magic if you missed it. The last episode of the season is here, while you can find all the past episodes by searching on the main page here. You can stream them, or download them to your personal technology box as well. Orange::22 will return next lacrosse season either late January or early February as we enter that magical period where Syracuse Basketball is down the stretch, and Syracuse Lacrosse is just firing up. Thanks to everyone that has listened this season (apparently a decent number of you), and we look forward to being even better next year.
Labels: Audio Euphoria, Lacrosse, Matt Glaude, NCAA Tournament, Syracuse Lacrosse
On a day when all the buzz at the Hill was supposed to be over the good news of Dejuan Coleman committing to play basketball for Syracuse University, our attention is now focused on a current student-athlete finding himself in trouble. The Post-Standard reports that lacrosse player Kevin Drew was arrested early yesterday morning on numerous charges, including Driving While Intoxicated, Resisting Arrest, and other traffic infractions. As we've done in the past, Orange::44 breaks down the charges and what legal ramifications to expect.The charges of DWI and Resisting Arrest are the most serious of the charges Drew faces. Each are misdemeanors. If convicted, he in theory could face a year in jail. However, that's not likely here. First, with the DWI, New York has two different sections of the law under which Drew could have been charged. There is per se DWI which is based on the blood-alcohol content (BAC) being 0.08% or higher, such results coming from a breath analysis or a blood sample. The law presumes that one is intoxicated if the BAC is 0.08% or higher. The other section of the law is referred to as "common law DWI," which is basically based upon the facts and circumstances of the case, i.e. the smell of alcohol, failure of field sobriety tests, slurring of speech, admissions from the defendant, witnesses who saw him consume, etc. Basically, proving that he was intoxicated based on how he acted, as opposed to a scientific measurement. Often times this "common law DWI" is charged along with the BAC results; so that even if the BAC results are thrown out because of irregular testing procedures or something of the like, the defendant can still be prosecuted for DWI based on all the facts and circumstances of the case. I haven't heard which Drew has been charged with as of yet, but his admission that he had "a lot of beer" certainly doesn't help his case.
Resisting arrest is one of those charges that, as a defense attorney, I hate. I have a lot of respect for the police and what they deal with on a daily basis, but too often I see trumped up charges of resisting arrest for some BS reason just because the cop was on a power trip. I also see resisting arrest used almost as a cover when the police use force against the defendant -- something has to justify why the guy's face is all scratched up, or why he had to be tasered, or in this case, why Kevin Drew received a boot to the chest. Here the police alleged that Drew took an aggressive stance after exiting the car (which, evidently, was a chore in and of itself). I don't know exactly what an "aggressive stance" is or how, once he's in it, the way to subdue him is to kick him in the chest, but I wasn't there.
As for the speeding, running a stop sign, leaving the scene, failure to comply, and unlicensed operation, those are traffic infractions for which Drew faces fines, surcharges, and points on his license/driving privileges. In comparison to the above, not a big deal.
While the resisting arrest is the misdemeanor that carries the potential of a year in jail, it's more so the DWI that will have Drew facing more serious consequences. Even if it's ultimately reduced to a DWAI (Driving While Ability Impaired), Drew faces lots of fines & surcharges, a revocation of his license/driving privileges, mandatory attendance at a Drinking Driver Program, mandatory attendance at a Victim Impact Panel, and the installation of an ignition interlock device into "any vehicle which he owns or operates." The ignition interlock is a component of the relatively new Leandra's Law enacted last year; it's a device that prevents the car's ignition from being started until the driver blows into a machine and doesn't "blow numbers" (has no alcohol on his breath). This is costly because there may be an installation fee, and there's also a monthly usage fee as well. In Drew's case, while the law might be construed to mean that since he has access to Tim Desko's car (owned by John Desko) that the ignition interlock must be installed on that car; however, many lawyers (and judges, thankfully) are recognizing that such an interpretation would basically be a government taking of private property and thus would not mandate the installation in such a case. However, if Drew owns his own vehicle (or if his parents have given him the use of one), then it would need to be installed in that. The length of time the device must remain in the vehicle(s) varies depending on DWAI vs. DWI, but suffice to say he'd be looking at a solid six months in all likelihood. The law provides for a minimum time, but its ultimate uninstallation would be up to the judge.
Kevin Drew is in some pretty big trouble legally, which doesn't put him in a good position athletically or academically. Coach Desko has already announced his indefinite suspension from the lacrosse team. Where that goes I assume will be determined by what happens on the criminal side of things. Again, I doubt much if any jail time is on the table here, but Drew will certainly be hit hard with fines, restitution for damage to the car that was hit, and have to enter into these alcohol rehabilitation programs.
Girlfriend problems or not, a taxi is WAY cheaper than what Kevin Drew will have to pay. But most importantly, let's all be thankful for the fact that nobody, including Drew, was injured in all of this.
Labels: Breaking The Law, Orange44 Lawdogs, Syracuse Lacrosse
Brian and I are live from Gillette Stadium for the "North Regional" of the NCAA Lacrosse Championship. Game 1 is #1 Syracuse vs. unranked Maryland; game 2 is #5 Duke vs. #4 Notre Dame. The first game features the top seeded Orange, who have never lost in Foxboro, against the unseeded Terrapins, who upset North Carolina last week with some trickery. The second game is a rematch of last year's National Championship game; no doubt the Irish are looking for a little revenge. I'll have coverage here on Orange::44, while Brian has things over at CollegeCrosse. Lacrosse coverage coming at you from all angles!Labels: Open Thread, Syracuse Lacrosse