[Durham INC] Photo Duke's basketball players with guns follow up

[Laura Drey]

To Duke administrators and staff (including the Athletics Department in general and basketball in particular), members of the media (including nearby college and university newspapers), Durham City Council members, Durham County Commissioners, neighborhood and community activists and friends,

My previous note (see below) described how dismayed I am for Duke's international reputation that Duke basketball players posed for pictures holding automatic rifles go to http://deadspin.com/what-is-this-photo-of-the-duke-basketball-team-handling-1444496025. Coach K took his team to West Point for exercises. Coach K may not have asked his players to have their pictures taken holding automatic rifles but what did he expect when kids experience shooting with their teammates? (This is a rhetorical question.) Coach K should instead should be setting a positive example for -- Duke students in general and the community at large. 

For the sake of Duke's reputation, I would urge you to consider at the very least publicly reprimanding him. Since I have not heard the Duke administration publicly reprimand Coach K for his failure of judgment, it feels that people in Duke's leadership and the Athletics Department too are sending an unfortunate message to Duke students, professors, staff, the Triangle community, as well as other universities across the entire nation. When the story first hit the media the Duke staff the reporters who spoke with supported Coach K. 

I hope that my email will assist in promoting a dialog about gun violence. Automatic weapons were used during the mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Columbine High School, at Congresswoman Gabby Gifford's meeting and at other mass shootings. Guns are used daily  in numerous acts of violence across our country.* 

On this, the one-year anniversary the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy I urge you to think of the loved ones who were murdered and take action. Duke's taking a stand and leading discussions about gun violence are small steps and by doing so in a manner that is public the university could receive positive notoriety. My hope is that the discussions will also lead Durham to establish rules to enhance gun safety (including passing a local ordinance to limit the size of gun clips). 

Sincerely,
Laura Drey
a proud Durham resident

P.S. I would have written earlier but I am faced with other pressing issues.

* "According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, 467,321 persons were victims of a crime committed with a firearm in 2011." Bureau of Justice Statistics, Nonfatal Firearm Violence, 1993-2011, special tabulation from the Bureau of Justice Statistics' National Crime Victimization Survey, provided to NIJ January 2013. This quote came from an article by the National Institute of Justice see 
http://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/gun-violence/Pages/welcome.aspx

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On Nov 11, 2013, at 10:48 PM, Laura Drey <lauradrey at ncrrbiz.com> wrote:

> To Duke administrators and staff (including the sports department in general and basketball in particular), members of the media (including nearby college and university newspapers), Durham City Council members, Durham County Commissioners, neighborhood and community activists and personal friends,
> 
> Last month, the Duke Men’s Basketball Team posed with realistic looking assault rifles in a group picture.  The pictures quickly made their way to social media sites, where they were picked up by other news sources.  I firmly believe that Coach Kryzewski’s (Coach K’s) encouragement of such posturing— they were touring his alma-mater sets an extremely poor example for his students, Duke University students, and the general public. The images, which glorify violence, are inappropriate, as many young people choose to emulate the Duke Blue Devils basketball team.  Whether or not the guns were real is beside the point.  They are realistic looking, and as such, promote violence. 
> 
> Even more disturbing is the fact that neither the University Administration, nor the University Sport’s Administration took an official position on the photograph saying. The University Administration is complicit.  They are, in effect, glorifying the use of guns.  
> 
> Coach K has created a public relations headache for Duke. I would hope that Coach K's actions will have potential funders rethink backing the university with their financial support. Upcoming students may withdraw, or not submit, applications for admission to the university.
> 
> I fell it is important to address this issue on Veteran’s Day. 
> 
> Sincerely,
> Laura Drey
> 
> PS If you would like to view the photographs I am referring to you may go to http://deadspin.com/what-is-this-photo-of-the-duke-basketball-team-handling-1444496025
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 

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