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Report: Starlin Castro Accused Of Sexual Assault

Starlin Castro of the Chicago Cubs throws the ball to first base for the out during a game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kent C. Horner/Getty Images)

Kent Horner - Getty Images

Starlin Castro of the Chicago Cubs throws the ball to first base for the out during a game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kent C. Horner/Getty Images)

A Chicago woman has accused Starlin Castro of sexual assault. This story broke earlier Friday morning at CBS Chicago via WBBM radio reporter Mike Krauser. Here are some of the details from that report:

[The woman] claims that she was drinking with friends at a River North nightclub on the night of Sept. 29 when she met Castro.

Sources say she and a friend left the bar at 3 a.m. and went to the 21-year-old Castro’s apartment on State Street nearby.

According to the police report, the alleged victim said she blacked out.

She told police she came to, and found the alleged offender – Castro, according to our sources – sexually assaulting her.

The heavily redacted police report offers little information.

It says that when she woke up she screamed and yelled at her alleged attacker, and left the apartment at about 5:30 a.m. getting a ride home from her friend.

The article goes on to say that the woman waited 12 hours to get medical treatment and that neither the Cubs, nor Castro's agent Paul Kinzer, nor police had any further comment.

Later, two attorneys for Castro, Jay K. Reisinger and Michael P. Gillespie, made a statement reported by Craig Calcaterra at Hardball Talk:

We are aware of certain allegations that have been made against our client, Starlin Castro. We have thoroughly investigated this matter, and we are confident that these allegations are baseless. Given the sensitive nature of this matter, we cannot comment any further.

I think that statement is one we all have to keep in mind. It is a very sensitive matter and we know very little at this time. According to this article on the Cubs website, Castro is scheduled to attend the Cubs Convention, which begins a week from today. The original CBS Chicago report indicates that Chicago police want to talk to Castro about the matter -- no charges have been filed.

So let's discuss this matter, but carefully, and don't assume the worst -- not yet, anyway.

0 recs  |  741 comments

Comments

Oh boy...

Please be untrue…

Agree on so many levels

I don’t want to have to loathe Starlin Castro.

Yes, this

DEEPLY hoping the same thing for every possible reason…..

This.

Please be untrue.

Patience would be a prudent attribute here
Patience yes

We do need to wait until this plays out. However, I’m disappointed that he would put himself in a position where this could happen.

One word

Maturity.

I think that's baloney.

We don’t know what happened but what is he supposed to do, practice celibacy? This could have been a date for all we know. He didn’t get caught with a weapon, he didn’t get in a drunken brawl, and we don’t even know he broke the law. You’re telling me when you were 21 you wouldn’t go to a bar and bring girls home if you could? I can’t blame a guy for that. He may have done nothing more than what anyone here would do. While he certainly could have, I think its wrong to say we’re disappointed that a male met a female at a bar and went back to his place.

you cannot compare any of us at 21 to a MLB All Star at 21

nothing is the same besides being 21.

Yes, you can.

We’re human beings. They aren’t robots. They have the same desires as you and I, and there is nothing wrong with a guy going to a bar, on presumably an off day. Again, how do you know it wasn’t a date? Who do we know he possibly had met the accuser before, had relations before, and this was the norm?

no one goes to a bar looking for a pay day off a 21 year old making $10 an hour

in a warehouse, it is not the same for a star baseball palyer.

i understand your point, but it is not the same for the average Joe and a big name star

That's a valid point

however because there are losers out there (not saying this is the case here) that go for the money grab and make false accusations shouldn’t mean its immature that you were at an establishment at 3 AM when you didn’t have any professional commitments the next day (again, I assume this is the case).

You could get the very same charge at the Piggly Wiggly getting groceries. Is he not supposed to leave his house?

im not saying it is mature or immature

i just have said that nothing good happens at a bar at 3 am when you are a big name person (athlete, music, actor, et al)

I'll agree to that

but the same accusation could have happened at 7, 9 or 11 PM.

But I’ll agree, 3 AM is a little extensive if your famous.

That doesn't change anything...

The allegations are the same whether they were strangers or best friends. At the end of the day, putting yourself in a situation like that (where he or she was too drunk to know any better) isn’t a good thing. I’m not saying no one else has ever done it, but that is something you tend to grow out of as you mature.

You’re getting very defensive when people are claiming it’s a lack of maturity on Castro’s part. No one is judging him for being an immature 21 year old, we’ve most likely all been there – it’s simply an observation.

I'm not defensive

I just think that logic is flawed. I’ll agree that your actions at 21 aren’t what they would be at 28. But I can’t be pissed at a guy for being 21 and being out on the town.

And I'm not pissed at him at all if that's the case.

You’re mistaking my saying I think it’s not the mature thing to do with a personal attack at Castro. I don’t know a single 21 year old guy that IS truly mature, it’s simply the way we’re programmed, IMO.

No one is saying they were mature at 21...

But going to a bar and trying to pick up women at 3AM is certainly not something mature adults do.

Maturity is making sure you never get into those situations. Saying Castro isn’t mature isn’t knocking him as a person, it’s pointing out that he’s 21.

I personally hope that this turns out to be nothing, but hearing those words thrown around is a very scary thing.

I'm 28

and have probably been at a bar at 3 AM maybe 3 times in my life, but I don’t call it immature. You were out having a good time and could very possibly have done NOTHING wrong. Immature would be groping women at a bar, being rude, exposing yourself, then taking trying to take someone home. How the hell does anyone know he was enjoying the night, having a few drinks, met a cute girl and things took off from there?

I'm not going to get into arguing this - I don't think it's productive to the conversation and won't go anywhere good

We’ll just agree to disagree, and that’s fine.

Well if she was blacked out I can honestly say I wouldnt touch her

But there has not been a lot of evidence released so it is the waiting game

Well....

he is a 21 year old male that has women frequently coming on to him.

I’m not saying it is a smart thing but I’m not surprised that he picked up some woman in a bar. Have you noticed that it seems like nearly every baseball player’s wife is good looking. That is not a coincidence.

Please no...

He is a big part of our future and I just got my Starlin Castro jersey. I will hold judgement though…

This is an absolute minefield

for speculation. No one knows the full facts, but having seen this happen so often to Australian athletes over the years people make up their minds on the slimmest information.

All I know is (and with respect to the two parties involved), having gone through the rugby club I support being accused of sexual assault in the past, it is truly the worst news you can hear as a fan short of your club being moved or dissolved. My team, eight years on, still get called rapists, despite every accused (and eventually cleared) player having left the club. The accusation, once made, becomes a lifetime smear no matter what the eventual legal outcome is.

Duke

Same thing that happened with the players from Duke.

didn't the entire team resign following that scandal?
What about the Kobe Bryant accusations?

That seems like a similar thing to this.

Good point.

I don’t think people really associate that with Kobe anymore. Sure, it’s been years since the accusation, but he’s kept a pretty clean image overall.

And the media does point out that Ray Lewis helped cover up a murder.

But he did. And kobe is a cheating bastard to took advantage if a teenaged girl.

At best, cover up the murder

At worst, he murdered two people and let his friends go to jail for it instead of him.

Lewis

was the only person covicted of a crime in that case.

Interesting

I clearly missed the part where they were acquitted. So the court’s official position is none of the guys killed the dudes?

Yeah pretty much

but Lewis had already plead guilty to giving false information to the police.

They must have fallen on the knives

over and over again . . .

The kobe case is not one I would use as a "wrongly accused" example

That poor girl had 50 million in lawyers and PR firms dumped on her. Kobe could have been innocent but they muddied the water so fast no one will ever know expect Kobe and the girl.

This.

And I remember it every time I watch him play. I really hope this isn’t true. Starlin is one of my favorite players but I could never forgive this.

i mentioned that in the other thread

and i bet the same results happen

she will be paid to go away

Well then never mind.

No problems then. Why are we even talking about this?

Because he said so.
Big Ben as well

Stigma is still attached to him, however.

I think the Big Ben situation had some unique circumstances that set it apart from other cases like this.
Yeah.

Bodyguards blocking the bathroom they were in? Really???

On top of that

It wasn’t the first time he’d been accused of something like that.

Big Ben was accused by 2 separate women over the course of 2 years

He is ABSOLUTELY a predator.

I try to withhold judgement on sports figures in these cases...

However having known Ben from school, it pains me to say that none of these reports were the least bit surprising to me….

There was talk about his affinity of underage girls before any of these allegations came about

I try not to pass judgement. But I am fairly confident that Big Ben absolutely bought his way out of those charges.

That Kobe Bryant police report and initial police interview was pretty harrowing as well.

Except that Kobe was guilty
The thing that doomed Kobe

was that there was blood from the victim found on his T shirt. Apparently he likes it rough.

His legal team was deep into accusing the woman of being a slut when this was revealed, and then suddenly Kobe settled millions of dollars on the accuser.

and his wife/ex-wife is walking away with half

Kobe is a dick…f him

The woman in the Kobe Bryant case

Got a $5M+ settlement to drop her accusation. I doubt Starlin Castro has that kind of cash.

The thing I don’t get – the police report was filed in September. We are just hearing about it now? That is 4 months ago. Don’t the Chicago papers have crime reporters any more?

Because they know he will be in town next week for the Cubs convention

Do you really think an public record criminal report was filed in September/October, with his name in it, and that was missed in Chicago? I am doubtful of that.

FYI Castro was back in Nov to meet with Theo & Jed

Presumably the police did not inform them they wanted to question Castro.

I don't remember that

But there’s also no guarantee that the police knew he was in town. Zambrano appears to have slipped into and out of town without notice.

Didnt Kobe's accuser go home to her boyfriend

and have sex with him before she went to the hospital.

Reserving judgement

It doesn’t look great that he left the country the next morning after the alleged assault but there are wilder coincidences I suppose. Let’s hope it is baseless.

Flight was prearranged and had nothing to do with the assault.

Let’s try and make sure that if we’re going to bring things like that up that all of the facts are included.

this is exactly what i'm talking about

I brought up a FACT, and then said it could have been a coincidence. If you are going to make comments like that how about you read what I actually post.

groan

just so tired of firestarters like bdlugz.

Seriously, you shouldn't have mentioned the flight at all.

It’s clear that it was a coincidence. We need to tread carefully here.

or

knowing his plane is leaving soon, he might have gotten a felt he could do what he wanted then jumpo ship for the winter (not saying he did that, but it is an option)

Not sure how one can say its clear that it was a coincidence.
Is it also a clear coincidence that Zambrano was traded yesterday and Theo said many of his ex-teammates torched him?

Maybe Z called the WBBM tipline, eh Mr. Krauser?

Wow, that's a stretch.
Why not bring it up?

We’re not Law Enforcement. No one cares about our opinions. Let the discuss go within reason. Bringing up the flight isn’t a mistake at all. Maybe he didn’t know it was arranged?

or knowing he was leaving town for a few months

gave him added back bone to try to go a little further than normal. when someone has an excuse to push the line further, it is not uncommon to do so.

The flight was mentioned in the article

But it is not ok to mention it here. Please re-read my post, I made no allegations and stated in fact – not knowing when the flight was booked – it could very well be a coincidence which it turns out it was.

Woah, wait...

You bring up a flight saying “It doesn’t look great,” with leaving one major fact out and I’M the fire starter? Is this a joke?

you focus on one sentence

without addressing that i said it could very well be a coincidence and that i stated to reserve all judgement. Now who is parsing? When I said “doesn’t look great” I did not mean for his innocence or lack thereof, I simply meant that when people see an alleged assault and then someone leaving country the next day it is not the best combination. Whatever, this is why it is impossible to have a rational conversation here with certain people.

I was simply filling in you stating it may be a coincidence informing you it WAS a coincidence as it was a prearranged flight.

You’re the one that replied huffing and puffing claiming I’m a fire starter what ALL I did was add in the information you were missing. I NEVER said you were falsely accusing Castro, I NEVER said you were making a judgement on him. Settle down, you’re making a big deal out of absolutely nothing – it looks like you came here looking for a fight….

Didn’t this happen if it did the day after the season ended?

The media has been saying all day he fled. Well it makes sense he was flying home right after end of season.

And he has no reason to come back here during the fall/winter.

Not saying he did or didn't do it

But being involved in a criminal investigation for sexual assault would count as a “reason” to me.

How could he leave the country

the morning after the alleged assault? It happened in September. The Cubs would still be playing then.

season ended on the 28th

castro got lucky on the 29th

Ah

thank you for the clarification.

As of now, it's just an accusation

Innocent until proven guilty and all that.

Still, the point made above about not putting yourself in that position is a good one.

Stuff like this often devolves into a “he said, she said” thing.

How profound.
I'm glad you think so

The point is, under these kinds of circumstances, these cases often get thrown out.

Again, so profound.

Do you have anything that isn’t obvious.

Why are you trolling NBF?

Knock it off.

I agree, NBF says plenty of stuff that he should be LEGITIMATELY trolled for

This is relatively tame.

I wasn't.

I just happen to agree with the first comment in this thread. And I also happen to think that the reciting of empty platitudes about the presumption of innocence is not merely pointless but irritating.

Then why participate?

Craig and NBF are right

I mean Craig and Nunya

But NBF was right, too.

what happens if

NBF and azjazzman dont agree, since neither is ever wrong?

...

I've seen that a million times, but what is that from?
the endless fight in Star Trek

is that the one with Frank Gorshin and the black-n-white face paint?
No it's the twin one - matter and anti-matter

You’re thinking of

Where's that divide by zero picture when you need it.
Reality check

The fact that the police have had 4 months to clear Castro and are still investigating does not bode well.

Usually cases like this are investigated in days or weeks.

Ask yourself these questions

Has a warrant for his arrest been issued?
Have charges been filed in court?
Has an extradition request been made?

last i checked

cases typically allow both parties to have their interview, which Castro has not had as of yet. You are jumping the gun on this

Don't confuse him with the facts.
This is really really bad.

There are two ways to look at this incident.

First Castro is dumb enough to get drunk with girls he doesn’t know allow himself to be accused of deplorable acts. This shows a complete lack of maturity, bad judgement, and he’s more than likely a scumbag sleeping with a passed out girl.

Second, Castro is a sexual predator who should be locked up asap.

No matter how you cut it Castro looks really really bad.

I think there are a few more.
There's one other way to look at it.

And that is, wait until we have more facts until you make a judgment.

Exactly

Only one side of the story has been heard. A side of the story from an admitted intoxicated person.

Leave it up to the law to judge.

This comment is shameful Al.

And I’m not sure you want to fall on the side of defending these castros actions right after you blast Z for 3 straight days for being a hot head.

At the very least Castros judgement needs to be questioned for ever letting himself be in a position like this.

The only thing shameful is you are willing to

condemn Castro without giving the guy a chance to defend himself.

What are you talking about?

Z’s actions occurred on camera, or in the public eye when all details were fully available for everyone to evaulate.

At this point, nobody knows the details of this, so it’s best not to speculate either way. Don’t be ignorant.

His judgement needs to be questioned because he acted like a 21 year old?

You do realize that this sort of activity happens every night at bars or night clubs around the world…

Why do singles go out to bars? Sounds like this girl willingly went to his house lat at night after drinking at a bar for one purpose: sexual activity. You don’t go home with a stranger lat at night for any other reason.

Scrapbooking
Lan Party
Lan party?

Time to dish out some old classics like Duke3D/Doom/Quake/Half-Life??? :D

I loved Wolfenstein
Playing the original Doom in my dormroom with the lights off was the scaredest I've ever been while playing a video game.
I think the peak of my fear

was Carmen San Diego

Oh damn... and macrame too. almost forgot.
I know this happens.

However, supposedly taking advantage of a person is not right. We do not know the deal, however if the word “No” was used, game over, time to pack up and zip up.

Yes every night girls go out to lie about being sexually assaulted.

Stay classy Sackman.

A sexual predator who should be locked up? What?

You’re talking insanity.

A 21 year old guy goes to a bar, stays out late, meets a girl and she agrees to go back to his house. This is pretty normal activity in life.

Sounds like the accuser is digging for money.

I said there were two options.

If he did rape this girl he should be locked up.

If he robbed a bank he should also be locked up....

and as of right now, we all have about the same amount of real evidence for both the alleged rape and bank robbery.

Could there maybe be more than two?
Apparently he either raped her or he's a scumbag.....

This is getting a little out of control.

Not everbody read the last line of Al's Post
So let’s discuss this matter, but carefully, and don’t assume the worst — not yet, anyway.
No and it's shameful you don't know that!!
Sounds like the accuser is digging for money.

Wow.

Wait for all the facts when it comes to Castro!

But the is clearly just a money grubbing whore.

You are human garbage!

Does the fact Castro's lawyers

say they have thoroughly investigated the matter and the accusations and they are confident the allegations are baseless not hold any weight?

Ummmmm

The exact same things were said by Bernie Maidoff’s lawyers.

Were they?

Got a cite or quote?

Come on Al.
Come on to what?

I asked for information. You made a claim but didn’t back it up with facts.

Come on Al-leen

oh I swear (and I mean)
in this moment
you mean ERRRRRRRYTHIIIIIIING

Defensive Attorneys 99.99 percent of the time say their client is innocent

That is their job, obviously Castro’s attorneys are not going to say “We think he might have done it”. You do not need a “cite” or “quote” to know this. Its called common sense.

I am not making any comment on the issue, but to answer AussieCub’s question, No, it doesn’t really hold any weight.

You're right it doesn't hold any weight with BrewsCrewsPrinceofDarkness

(who the comment who was made in reference to) who is convinced Castro is either a scumbag or a sexual predator. I was suggesting to him the fact Castro has claimed the allegations are baseless, through his attorneys, should hold some weight towards the possibility that there are other ways of looking at Castro after this. That there is the possibility Castro’s name will be cleared as long as he challenges the accusations.

and my point is

using a the statement of criminal defense attorney of the accused party isn’t a good way to try to point out that other explanations could exist. They are going to say that the defendant is innocent regardless. So that statement really shouldn’t hold any weight at this point.

Again, not making any comment in regards to the guilt or non-guilt of Castro. It doesn’t look good right now. Obviously the police felt that the evidence is strong enough to investigate. The fact that the are investigating should hold more weight then what his defense attorneys say.

BrewCrewPrinceofDarkness or whatever his name might by acting hyperbolic, but a few posters on this thread are not very far from crossing the line. I would be more concerned with the posts coming from “sackman” which are disgusting frankly.

All we can really do now is wait to see if the state presses charges. An out of court settlement is also a possibility.

You are totally correct that the comments

made about the accused are fair more ridiculous, I find it hard to even reason with people who think like that, so I have chosen to stay away from it.

Working as a police reporter I’m just extremely mindful of the need to see both sides of the story. I understand your cynicism about the statement, but unfortunately it is the only side of the story we have from Castro, and in my eyes it holds some weight being that alone, even if it is open to being dismissed as a rudimentary legal response.

Mostly I am just frustrated at seeing so many athletes accused of these incidents over the years only for the cases to fall over. Of course their reputations remain forever tarnished because people made their minds up the first time they heard the allegations.

That's a moronic comparison

Madoff’s own sons turned him in. Sons who worked in their father’s firm.

Not really

Like he said a party (Madoff) that was eventually found guilty had attorneys that said he was innocent. A question was asked and he gave a reasonable answer. Any claim made by the defense attorney in regards to his clients guilt has to be viewed as what it is. A paid representative of the individual doing his/her job.

Judge, jury and executioner.....

Looks like you are ready to build the gallows.

It really is astonishing.

Can the witch float?

They dressed me up like this!
But you do have a wart.
Is she made of wood?
Not sure, we should try and build a bridge out of her.
Beware

She might get you and your little dog too. Remember the biblical parable- don’t attack witches unless you have a tin man, a scarecrow, and a lion or some acceptable furry substitute.

No.

That’s what the lawyers are supposed to say.

The fact Starlin contests the claims

holds some weight in whether he can be described as something else apart from a “scumbag” or a “sexual predator”. It opens up the possibility that he may prove to be “wrongly accused.”

Huh?

I’m not going to rush to judgement, but his contesting a criminal accusation doesn’t mean he didn’t do it.

Yeah, that's why I didn't even bother replying.
You're a top bloke
Right

It could mean he’s both a sexual assaulter and a lair . . .

So there isn't even the possibility that the other party is a liar?

That is astonishing. Why bother with a court case?

Sorry, not court case,

but why bother to wait to speak to him before pressing ahead with charges?

Of course there is the chance

But the accused SAYING he didn’t do it, doesn’t magically make it more likely he was innocent.

No it doesn't, you're right

but it should reinforce that Castro is innocent until proven guilty for people already willing to throw him under the bus.

That is not what I am saying, put it in context of the original post

The original poster said there are only two ways to look at Starlin Castro after this: that he is either a scumbag or a sexual predator. I was pointing out that that absolutism is nonsense. There is always the possibility that the accusations are baseless, especially when they have indicated they will contest the accusations.

No, because they are HIS attorneys

When law enforcement says it, it carries weight

I think you are taking

that I think he is innocent based on what his lawyers said. On the contrary. I am trying to suggest to the original poster not to rush to judgement based on what the accuser has said. That her allegations are untested and are not proven fact.

I don't assume anyone is guilty or innocent

based on what we have publicly released right now.

To me, this is subjective.

Blackout (alcohol-related amnesia)

She did not state she passed out, but rather blacked out. You can still function and appear to be normal while blacked out. To Castro, all parties involved had been drinking may not even notice that she is not recording memories and ‘comes to’ at a later point. My dad would have these sort of things all the time when he drank, he was functioning fully, but wouldn’t recall the beat downs and abuse he would inflict on the family. I’ll state with how this is presented as of now that no wrong doing was done.

I would agree

that there is a big difference between blacking out and passing out. I have been around people who later said they blacked out, and I could tell they were drunk, but would have never guessed they were THAT drunk. And they were certainly conscious and talking. It could be she meant passed out, and said blacked out, we may never know.

And for those saying that Castro showed a lack of maturity by taking a girl home—I just don’t agree with that. Either he is a disgusting human being who sexually assaulted a woman, or the woman he was with was more affected by alcohol than he realized. I don’t think that he shouldn’t be allowed to take a girl home just because he’s a professional athlete.

I know how that can happen

I “woke up” once walking through some bushes. It was like the recorder turned back on.

As it stands,

I believe no wrong doing was done. If more damning evidence comes out to say otherwise I’ll be more than happy to change my stance given more facts. But seeing blackouts from alcohol on my father I can see how no wrong doing on Castro’s side was done. I also want to know why there wasn’t a statement either way from the victims friend. She was there after all.

At this point my initial reaction to the information is the same as yours...

I dread having new information come out, but hope that it clears Castro.

The thing is....

….that a person in a blackout doesn’t legally or morally have the ability to consent to sex. Proving this in court and all is a whole can of worms, but that’s the basic principle – a person has to consent, and be able to consent.

And therein lies the problem...

How is Castro to know, assuming she is awake and seemingly aware, that she was blacked out and unable to consent?

the kid needs to watch more SVU
She consented when she took her clothes off.
Nothing in any of the things I have read indicates that she took her clothes off.

You are making an assumption that might or might not be warranted.

not to mention if you're so drunk you black out

you really aren’t in control of what you’re doing, making consent much harder to determine

And that much harder to prosecute...

…unless there were witnesses.

Actually Al, it isn't even remotely warranted

whether she took her clothes off or not. That isn’t consent.

But it’s interesting you take less issue with this moronic comment, than the backlash it drew.

You win moron of the day award.
Namecalling.

Again.

Yup. And I'll do it each and every time someone says something completely idiotic like that.
No, you won't.

Or you’ll be banned.

At least now we know what you're a Sack of..
Namecalling.

Again. Stop.

If you're an honest person with real concern for your partner...

….you ALWAYS err on the side of conservatism in a situation like that. Not that it’s easy, especially when you’re 21 or whatever, but in that situation, it’s imperative that you take responsibility for making sure everything’s copacetic.

And that's what mature people do, you're correct.

But how many of us were mature enough while drunk at 21 with a woman in our bed to walk through all of those steps?

I agree it’s important, and I understand that as I’ve grown up and started a family, but being close enough to that stage in my life to remember being a complete immature idiot, I can say it’s easy to judge and easy to forget that a lot of us were there at some point.

I agree with you mate

but that doesn’t protect him legally if these allegations prove true.

Not trying to imply it does, sorry if it came across that way.
The law presumes that an intoxicated person cannot consent...

…but much of the argument will go to credibility.

But do the Cubs really want

a drawn out murky trial where no one but him, her, and possibly the friend know what really happened. Imagine the scenarios-
- If he gets convicted, yeah end of Cubs career. One bright spot on the Cubs gone replaced with a bodily fluid stain that makes Cubs fans blush and quickly flip to the next page.

- If he’s not convicted, it can go a few ways. The girl’s case can be too weak or simply too tenuous to take to trial and this ends long before a trial. He gets to play baseball without a cloud over him and it’s all chalked up to ultimately unsubstantiatable allegations. Or if the case seems baseless, it all ends right there unless something like it happens again (in which case it was a smoke signal earlier of a behavior pattern). If it goes to trial and it’s very murky and he gets off. Imagine the kind of cloud that would be surrounding him. It would be like Barry Bonds, only his cloud was of an ethical nature rather than a legal/criminal nature (criminal within the context of baseball’s rules though). Unless this goes away quick, he won’t be looked at the same way again. He’ll become “that” player.

The biggest questions:
- Why did the police sit on it for months if, as articles say, she reported it the next day/that day? Did it really take that long to investigate it?
- His side of the story, of course.
- Why did he or agents on his behalf not try and clear up a potential legal mess sometime while he was back in the Dominican Republic?
- Did they get DNA evidence? If so, it would be most damning and the only defense would be trying to prove consent or “if the sperm does not fit, you must acquit”.

they sat for months waiting for Castro to return to the states

to be questioned. That is the lone reason it has been sitting dormant. Both parties get questioned and the police THEN decide if there is reason to issue an arrest warrant for this.

In Illinois, prosecution for criminal sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault may be commenced within ten years of the commission of the offense if the victim reported the offense to law enforcement authorities within two years after the commission of the offense

source

they did not and still do not need to rush into filing official charges (if deemed necessary) what else is needed to explain why they have not rushed?

don’t mean to seem snarky, if it came off that way sorry but many on here seem to not understand that there is no reason to charge Castro or deem him innocent within minutes of it happening.

and fandom is everything sometimes in jumping to conclusion, look at the Penn State situation, most everyone saying to sit back and wait to get details and let due process take its course were quick to hang those at Penn State (different circumstances, but a rush to judgment nonetheless).

My dad was blacked out when he would cold-cocked me in the 6th grade.

Doesn’t mean he wasn’t doing it. Same can be implied if she was grabbing/massaging his genitals(not saying this happened). If she was doing such things while blacked out, he would see this as a woman doing something that implies “Yes” to him and any other guy.

But if you know she's been drinking heavily....

…you can’t interpret her actions the same way you would the actions of someone who hasn’t been drinking.

Let's not ignore the fact that

Castro had most likely been drinking heavily too, thus further impairing his ability to interpret her actions.

In that case

NEITHER party can properly consent to sex!

Again, as a practical/legal matter this is a mess to prove, but morally that’s the concept.

it should be that way

but that’s life

The use of "most likely".......

makes your comment pure speculation.

I also want to know why there wasn’t a statement either way from the victims friend. She was there after all.

Isn’t it possible there WAS a statement from the victim’s friend and it wasn’t just made public? Or that the vicim’s friend wasn’t in the room when the assault happened?

This is why instead of taking your approach of taking a side and then saying I need to be convinced otherwise, I’m going to ACTUALLY wait until the case is decided.

Agreed completely.
Nothing yet at the Chicago Tribune or the Chicago Sun-Times

Or ESPN Chicago

I know it is hard not to make personal judgements, but

I think we should all keep our comments to a minimum on this until we know more as it can easily cross over to being insensitive.

A bit of somewhat similar history involving a Chicago ballplayer

First time trying to do a link http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?70955-Jungle-Jim-Rivera-a-Rough-Beginning

Either way it goes. It just sucks.

Athletes, excessive Booze, drunk women. Not good.

That's pretty much a day in the life.
It's made ESPN now.
i was feeling so good about the cubs too

always something

Theo will fix this.
I'm waiting....

…for bluemagic to come on here to tell us how this will further devalue the price of season tickets.

Thanks for opening that can of worms...

As if there weren’t enough cans on this post already.

Let's just hope...

ESPN doesn’t make a circus out of this and brand him “guilty” before anything is even investigated further.

Don't hold your breath.
he doesn't have the shield of being kobe bryant

so fat chance

Cubs statement on this matter
“We are aware that a police report was filed regarding an incident involving Starlin, but we have received limited information. While this is something we take very seriously, there is not enough information to make any further comment or take action at this time. We are hopeful when the facts are brought to light, Starlin will be cleared of any wrongdoing.”
Or, in short...

“We’ve heard about it. We know nothing else”.

Al, weren't you recently on same big tirade against speculation.

That’s all that’s going on here…

It isn't speculation that he is involved in a sexual assault investigation.

I don’t see Al jumping to conclusions either way – he is simply providing the information is available to discuss here. I don’t see an issue with this.

But everyone's speculating about what really happend

And what various “facts” of speculation mean.

This is a blog - that happens on every post of every topic.

The people on BCB seem to live to debate and argue and speculate. You can’t stop what other people are going to do… there was already a fanshot on this, I assume Al made it a front page topic to make it easier for him to monitor and to make sure the information was updated in an accurate and timely manner.

You do realize I was being tongue-in-cheek with my original post on this...

We’re producing content.

If it makes you feel better, I got it.
It does. Thank you.
If it makes you feel better, it went way over my head.
bdlugz is correct.

I am personally refraining from speculation. But it is a news story involving a prominent member of the Cubs. It did, after more info came out, deserve a front page post.

Wait...

this allegedly happened in September and it’s just now coming out? Huh?

he also has not been in the states since, i am sure that plays into it somewhat

but i am surprised that it was kept under wraps this long, also surprised it was out before Castro himself was interviewed by police

These investigations take time

And when they’re so public, they don’t want to risk jumping the gun or messing anything up.

Timing of it sounds like his last night in Chicago at the end of the baseball season.

He went out, hoping to have a good time and get lucky before leaving Chicago for the offseason.

I'm waiting for these pieces of information

1. When was the initial police report filed?
2. When was Castro or his agent contacted?
3. When did Castro hire attorneys?

The answer to #1 is 12 hours after the incident, according to the reports I believe.
With Zambrano gone I'm not really sure what dtpollitt n SWL are going to be discussing this season.
So what

about those Cubs.

Gonna be a good year!
Well it

should be interesting. Love all the moves so far.

I really hope this isn't true.

Hopefully they can turn him around before he goes the Ben Roethlisberger route.

Wait, which route are you talking about?

The 2 World Championships or the 2 sexual assault allegations?

The 2 assault allegations.
does this mean he is a bad clubhouse character now and we need to trade/dump him?
He's a clubhouse STD.

Too soon?

I'm not even sure what to say...

…besides that this story has effectively ruined my morning and probably my whole day. And that doesn’t mean I’m rushing to judgment either way — we, the general public, know very little about what actually happened that night. I just wish this wasn’t happening.

Do what

I do when something like this ruins the day. Drink.

and then go to a bar and pick up women!
Or just wait till they fall asleep
this is an awful attempt at humor...

i could go on to say something about your profile picture but, i will refrain.

then fly to another country for the winter
THE MOST INTERESTING MAN IN THE WORLD
Agreed...

No matter the outcome, this definitely killed my mood for the day.

exactly my sentiments daver....totally sucks, says alot about the role models in the club house :(
Agree completely

This kind of stuff, whether unfounded or not, tends to cast very long shadows. Consider me pre-season buzz officially harshed.

Well, I wouldn't get carried away...

…trying to draw conclusions about the clubhouse from this. The incident happened far, far away from the clubhouse.

It actually says NOTHING about the role models in the clubhouse

since, as far as anyone knows, none of them have been accused of sexual assault

Whatever the truth is, the Cubs need to take this as a wake-up call

Assuming that they don’t do this already, organizations need to start doing a better job of preparing young kids for the pressures, temptations, etc., of suddenly being wealthy, high profile athletes in a big city.

I am pretty

sure all pro teams across the board prepare as best they can. But honestly, there will always be a few that even though they had been prepared, will give in to the temptations the money and all that goes with being a pro player will bring.

I feel very confident saying that...

there probably is was very little preparation for the young people of the clubhouse or any significant amount of discipline required from the Cubs team…..

Geez

you would think that they would. I thought along with coaching young guys on how to deal with the media, they also would lend some help in helping them to adjust to this kind of life style. Um.

I don't think...

it’s at all fair to suggest that the Cubs need to do more here.

I do...it's their responsibility to a certain extent....when they start signing these young guys.

as a mother, I would fully expect a reasonable amount of positive direction and discipline given to my son. I for one thought Castro rooming with an older guy was a mistake. He should have been with someone closer to his own age (less experienced) and the younger people should be treated differently from the veterans!

As someone who is older with a family...

Is there a reason that Castro rooming with Soriano was a concern? I would think that having someone older who had been in the same position as Castro and learned from his mistakes might offer some valuable lessons to a 21 year old new star.

What concerns would come from it (serious question, I obviously don’t think like a mother).

To answer your question in one word...

Yes.

Okay... well that wasn't something I was familiar with
So this all

happened at Soriano’s place?? So maybe we know what the other girl was doing? (rimshot) Or was Soriano in a faceplant slumber while Castro returned home and potentially did acts of a criminal nature in his place?

I think that the younger people should and need to be treated differently...

they are still developing character, learning responsibilities, and some are learning to live in a new country. If the young people are grouped together, they could have more of a college like experience…..in a controlled environment. They could attend meetings together to help them understand what being a ML ballplayer will be all about, like stated below.

Fair enough, and I can see that side of it too.
they could have more of a college like experience

Did you go to college? Because bringing a girl home at 3AM would have been epic win when I was there. Assaulting her is a totally different matter, but I don’t understand your assertions that making this more of a college dorm atmosphere would have HELPED the situation.

no I didn't go to college, blue collar worker here...

I don’t think having a 21st birthday makes you a man….tho I’m not a man either. There has been plenty of evidence that the clubhouse has seen its share of immaturity the past few years. I feel something can be done to rectify that somewhat. I also think the new FO will end up agreeing, and things will be very different. If I’m wrong and nothing changes, than this is just another part of MLB that I don’t understand.

So what birthday DOES make you a man?

Will you stop advocating a chaperon when he’s 31? 41?

I realize that I’m coming off as badgering you, but the “that adult needed to be protected from himself” argument gets my dander up.

Whether or not there has been “immaturity” in the clubhouse, there has never been any inkling of a sexual assault charge. I’d take issue with the assertion that only immature people commit or get accused of sexual assault.

I’d also take issue with the assertion that bringing a woman home to have sexual relations with is a sign of immaturity. Plenty of mature adults do the exact same thing.

I’ll also take issue with your insinuation that blue collar workers and college are mutually exclusive.

oh jeez....I don't see anything I'm trying to communicate here in your comment...

why did you put “that adult needed to be protected from himself” in quotes? I never said that or meant that. I never linked committing sexual assault with just being immature, and I never said blue collar workers and college are mutually exclusive. ..You know when you don’t agree with someone, you seem to play this game of who’s the better arguer. You’re the best Nunya, havent seen better, truly. I know it would be futile for me to continue this. I’ve said what I have to say and so did you.

I'm a parent, and I'm sorry but this entire comment is nonsense

It is not the Cubs’ responsibility to monitor the actions of a 21 year old man.

I’m not entirely sure why Starlin rooming with someone his own age would have stopped this from happening either.

Castro is a grown ass man, treating him differently from guys who are 30 is just….odd.

Two 21 year olds together...

Recipe for mayhem.

From a guy who lived with 6 other guys in college for 4 years...

I agree completely.

I am supposed to be taking my daughter back to school this weekend.

You guys are scaring me. I think I may have to lock her up in a tower instead.

To be fair, we made a lot of dumb decisions but nothing that was EVER disrespectful to women.

And anyone that’s a decent person should be able to say that.

Anyone who is a LIAR should be able to say that.

You’re really telling me that six 21 year olds were living together and none of you ever went so far as to be DISRESPECTFUL to a woman?

Hell, I’ll admit I did some things as a 21 year old I’m absolutely not proud of, and could certainly be deemed disrespectful. Did I come anywhere NEAR assaulting them? OH HELL NO. But me thinks, you did at least one thing that was disrespectful.

is this really necessary?
is this?
is this?
this is.
false
prove it
azjazzman told me so
Cubbiegoon got jazzed!
I'm being completely serious when I say I love how

memes pop up out of thin air on this site.

I guess that depends on what you're considering disrespectful...?

In this sense I mean it as, “nothing I wouldn’t tell my wife that I did”

BCB: Scaring people since 2005
Well, if

your blood that’s bleeding out of you is Cubbie blue, that should be frightening. Unless you’re some kind of alien.

Just keep her away from the athletes.
might not be a bad idea with some of the responses i've seen posted here.

plus how immature people from my generation act. yeah, i had my fair share of fun burning mattresses, getting into fights, and destroying shit in general…

sexually assaulting girls never crossed my mind. a lot of these younger kids respect people like i respect old couches.

That's kind of what I was thinking.

If anything the Cubs were 100% right to put Starlin with a player who WASN’T his age.

I'm not sure if MLB prepares rookies the same way the NFL does

The NFL holds a Rookie Symposium to educate players about life as a professional athlete.

If they don't, it's not a bad idea.

They should also go through some simply finance courses, etc to prepare them for a life where retirement could be a day away.

I think finances are part of the Rookie Symposium

The NFLPA has registered financial advisors because players were getting ripped off.

Obviously this is easier for the NFL – get all the rookies together before training camps open. While MLB draft picks start their pro careers on uncoordinated dates.

I'm not saying...

that the Cubs don’t have a responsibility to educate players. I took issue with the person who said that the Cubs needed to do MORE. No one knows how much they do, so it’s not fair to suggest that they don’t do enough.

--

According to the police report, the alleged victim said she blacked out.

She told police she came to, and found the alleged offender – Castro, according to our sources – sexually assaulting her.

So he was assaulting her when she woke up?? In the morning??

morning wood
batting practice

Better hope it was ash not maple. When maple goes wrong, it can look painful. Ask what’s-his-name (Colvin?) who got the vampire treatment.

The report states...

They left the bar around 3 AM and she left the apartment around 5:30 AM.
So she allegedly “blacked out” within that 2 1/2 hour time frame unless she was blacked out when they left the bar.

Oh - gotcha

My blackouts last much longer

Derek Jeter should offer a rookie seminar on how to handle the ladies
or Mark Grace
Or Patrick Kane...

…his late night exploits around Wrigleyville are semi-legendary but, so far, no sexual assault accusations (thank god and knock wood).

just the photos of him
Yep which, while embarrassing, weren't really a big deal

And the Hawks and Kane’s people got a handle on it pretty quickly-so far no more incidents (knock wood again).

he accepted his oops, and has not done so since

but cab drivers and Kane…….

Soriano

will probably get traded today and BCB will explode

Let's fix that

Soriano Castro will probably get traded today and BCB will explode

Great timing for this article

“The Obama administration on Friday broadened the definition of the crime of rape to include more forms of sexual assaults …..

The new definition will include… …assaults in which a victim cannot give consent because the individual has been incapacitated by drugs or alcohol… the Justice Department said.

source: msnbc

As this happened in September, how would that work assuming this progresses?
does it revert to the date of the action, or the date of the cahrges being filed

if they are filed

it doesn't apply here

just for those wondering if consent given during a blackout saves you, from today on

as far as I know it doesnt apply here

I don’t know law

ex post facto

… Maybe. Does ex post facto apply to the date of an alleged criminal act or to the date the person is charged or to the date the trial starts?

Any lawyers here or Expos fans knowledgable in all things that include their team’s name? (more sacre bleu than cubbie blue?)

Applies back to the date of the act

People have to have knowledge that what they did was wrong so they could avoid doing it.

And ex post facto generally only applies if it changes the possible punishmen (or makes something criminal that wasn’t).

Those are the extreme basics of it.

I'm not sure how the president can even do this.

Since it’s not legislation. And such crimes are state crimes. Not sure how it’d be a federal crime, especially here.

And ex post facto….

Couldn't it be a federal crime on federal property?
I suppose.

But we’re talking a bar and/or apartment. So that wouldn’t apply here.

Agreed

The DOJ makes a definition. State’s can apply it to their laws if they choose in the future.

1) Laws can’t apply backwards. That would contravene due process.
2) However, if DOJ is announcing a policy, it doesn’t necessarily change the law, just how the federal government (in federal crimes) will approach such cases. This may or may not influence statea to do the same.

Hey Al, just a suggestion

maybe threads like this should be locked before there’s any concrete information out there. That would prevent some of the dearth of idiotic comments above. I also don’t think I wanted to know how some people on here view sexual assault or what have you.

No, I think people should be free to comment

It will tell you who’s opinion you should value in the future or not.

Honestly

I can figure that out from any other thread. I could really do without seeing a lot of the gross and stupid comments from above.

If he locks this thread, it will be discussed elsewhere.

If the discussion bothers you, I’d just suggest reading Al’s updates and ignoring the comment section. That’s what I do with certain posts.

See below

And I’m a part of this community. I don’t think anyone, such as yourself, without any actual knowledge on this subject should be throwing their opinion around. It’s really gross.

My opinion is that I think we need to wait for more information to come to any kind of conclusion...

I apologize if you think that’s “really gross.”

Your opinion doesn't matter for shit

especially when you say ignorant things like

How is Castro to know, assuming she is awake and seemingly aware, that she was blacked out and unable to consent?

So yeah, “lets wait for more info before we come to a conclusion, but in the meanwhile, here’s some garbage I’m going to spew out for y’all to read”

Wow, settle down... it's a serious question that makes it difficult to prove anything with the case, but feel free to take it totally out of context

And don’t bother with ALL my other comments here. You need to walk away from this thread.

Clearly I'm the one that should walk away

Please, bdlugz, stay and keep giving us more opinionz4u

Alright, I'm done responding to you.

Have a good day.

I agree.

And this doesn’t seem like something to joke about. Personally, I’d like to see comments closed.

And yes, I know I could stop reading

but I am watching for new info to come out on this.

You can probably trust Al to quickly update any new information in the main article...

Comments probably aren’t necessary to read for that. Also, I wouldn’t expect new information on this for quite some time.

Well Al put the Cubs statement in the comments

and sometimes other people put links to new stories so that’s what I’m checking for. I’ll just try to z past the stuff I disturbing.

Understood - I'm just saying that if it does bother you that much, you can probably trust that any new links will be updated by Al in the body of the story.
I'm probably being hypersensitive.

I just don’t think we know enough (and may never know enough) to be making any assumptions about this yet.

Not hypersensitive at all, IMO

It’s a touchy subject, and that’s pretty obvious from some comments here.

It's a touchy subject

so go about posting inflammatory opinions?

I'm not sure whether comments should be closed...

…though if a few more cubssouvenirmen show up, maybe they should be. I will say that this isn’t something I can joke about either. It’s just an awful, awful development.

It woulda been brought up in ANY thread...

…we can always ship him down to Ozzie in Miami, I guess.

that would only lead to a bunch of fan shots
That's fine

But considering if you go this site for the headlines by Al, and then you look at the comments to Al’s post, it doesn’t reflect all that well on this community. Remember, not everyone reads the fanshots.

IF comments were locked then Al Wouldn't get nearly the same amount of page clicks.
No

ahem, NO. That looks too much like trying to suppress the story (like back when I was at college when the band intercepted all the school papers right after delivery and tossed them in dumpsters to keep everyone from learning about a scandal involving them). It’s in the news, it’s fair game. Al set the right tone at the start by asking people to try and keep the speculation to a minimum (at least to his guilt, I’d say speculating about how this or a potential criminal case might affect the Cubs and their season is fair game).

without knowing any facts

my guess is that this goes away with an out of court settlement

just another episode of the baseball gods ensuring the cubs don't have shiny things

word is jedstein have taken blows to the head, have stepped down from their positions and will now pursue careers as rodeo clowns. meanwhile, garza has shaved off his goatee which gave him his pitching prowess

i gotta ask

shaving = trading/dumping now?

Whatever the outcome...

…Castro’s leash has just gotten quite a bit shorter. He’d better be made aware that any inkling of improprieties from this point on will put his career in jeopardy.

A good place to start might be to refrain from picking up women in bars at 3 a.m.

what about 2:59 AM?
Just under the wire...
Well he could have picked them up at 10 pm and the left the bar it 3 for all we know.
Ugh....

I heard this from a guy at the bar a few months ago and hoped he was just full of crap, although he did tell me the girl was only 14 so sounds like that was at least false.

Geez, I HOPE so...
Um

… how is a 14-year-old in a bar?

14 year olds dont look like 14 year olds anymore

At least not like they did when I was 14, 9 short years ago. If she has a good fake and looks old enough, welcome aboard.

Most bars are a lot more careful about fake IDs these days

… what with crackdowns on all that.

I don't ever leave the house

so I will take your word for it.

So why comment on it then?

This is the exact reason why allowing comments on this is so dumb. You have too many people saying too many things that they know nothing about. Wreckard’s comment from above is 100% correct. It’s a shame that Al decided to focus on the information at hand aspect of that comment, and not the larger issue in here itself.

Because I'm home alone and bored and wanted to contribute

something

Officer Craig

Thanks

Yea

This fellow told me of a rape, but mentioned nothing about a bar at that point. Therefore I am discounting the age thing now after hearing these new details, though girls aren’t exactly dressing their age these days so you never know. The whole thing just makes me sick, can’t catch a break anymore.

I bet Theo is bald within 5 years, any takers???

I'm confused.

You said this guy was “at the bar” but are also saying he “mentioned nothing about a bar.” Does he know the girl involved?

So...

I met this guy at a bar in the suburbs, completely unrelated to the bar whereCastro was at. This dude claimed hehad a friend with good contacts, apparently that was true.

OK, thanks for clarifying.
In Ireland kids can be in the bar

until 9pm. Not uncommon to see 3 generations of a family in the same pub.

That's why they sell those half-pint beers
Ireland has the best soda/pop

Their orange soda is amazing.

I gotta get back there

Thanks for distracting me with nicer thoughts.

My wife went to Trinity for a year

and lived there for nearly a year before I met her. I have been a handful of times. Went every year for about 4 years when tickets were about $600 each. Our friend over there was getting married and tickets doubled – so I couldn’t go this year. Well I could but couldnt justify the cost.

We stay at a friends in Ballygarrett County Wexford. I love it there.

I was there during Hoof & mouth disease

And St Patrick’s day was cancelled. So we were in Dublin when they held it in May. Awesome.

GOLDDIGGER

Millionaire rookie ballplayer who has woman falling all over him, and has no problem finding female sex partners, meets a slut in bar. Slut goes back to the ballplayers crib with him where several hours later, during the middle of a consensual sex act, she turns a bounce in the hay into a shakedown. “Methinks I smell a rat” The only thing Castro is guilty of is poor judgement of sex partners.

Methinks you're a moron.
technically he's an 800k-aire
its the name that has star power in this one

right Jesus

he's a starlin bed

rimshot

This guy

Yet another needless, ridiculous comment.

Castro's Attorneys

Jay K. Reisinger: Jay K. Reisinger is a partner at Farrell & Reisinger, LLC and manages the sports law practice of the firm. Here
In 2009, Mr. Reisinger represented New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez in Major League Baseball’s investigation into his use of performance enhancing substances and other related legal matters.

Michael P. Gillespie: Lawyer, Genson & Gillespie. His father is a partner. Here
For more than 25 years, Genson & Gillespie has provided equally effective defense for prominent public figures and people from everyday life who face white collar criminal and civil charges.

Ed Genson

… the principal of Genson & Gillespie, is quite well known for defending public figures in Chicago.

Off all the odd cases

Shia LaBeouf

The Case
In 2007 motion picture star Shia LaBeouf faced a misdemeanor charge of criminal trespass after refusing a security guard’s request to leave a downtown Chicago drugstore.

The Result
With the firm handling Mr. LaBeouf’s defense, both the national drugstore chain and the security company agreed at a court hearing within several weeks to drop all charges.

Castro should put himself in a better situation

with a security camera in his bedroom. Shady? Yes, but certainly would stop any baseless accusations

then he could youtube it

ok i joke, but i remember reading an artile about a guy who had rape charges filed against him a while back (not a star, jsut an average joe) and he showed the court the video he taped of the sexual acts with his cell phone (unknown to the girl) which proved she falsified all the reports.

i'm not sure if that's more genius or more creepy
I think that's creepy

but useful in that case. Maybe she had a habit of falsifying stuff?

either way his perving nature

saved his ass in court

best idea yet!

he could then tack on another 10 years for video tapping the assault.

if it was not assault as alleged

the video would not be illegal, unless she was under age

so i can video tape girls against their will for legal immunity?

duly noted.

you are doing a great job of saying what i DID NOT say

congrats. Where did I say that the lady said no to it? And I was actually using an example of a true event where it happened.

I never said I was for it, or agreed with it, just was giving an example of it happening. IT was meant as an example of a guy being accused and the allegations being well beyond false.

here is one example i found on the internet about it, but i heard about a case more recent than that

Typically if you wnat to respond, it helps to respond with what i am saying,not with what i didnt say and state it as if i did say so.

and FWIW

here is a blog about false rape and it discusses many times where a camera was used to prove innocence

and against their will as you say, that implies she was asked about being taped, if she isnt asked i dont know how that is against her will, and again i am not saying i am pro or con doing so

Things like this are the reason for investigations.

I hope it’s not true, of course.

In the meantime, let’s let the forensic folks and the rest of law enforcement do their work.

If there’s evidence, there will be charges. If not, there will probably be a civil suit.

I like facts, I like speculation and hearsay rather less.

in other news regarding cubs shortstops who aren't that smart

ONEDEC is close to signing with the mets

Where's Ryan Theriot these days?
Mets had talked to him, too.

But he’s still not signed. He might not be.

weight lifting with Jeff Fassero??
looking for a wingman
hmmm. A couple ladies partying at a club till 3am

.. then head to a rich athlete’s place at 3 in the morning and they dont think sex is on the agenda. Paleeeeeze. I doubt he took them there at 3am to show them his new dishwasher.

OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Why do some of you so badly want to demonstrate how idiotic you are?

just sayin that 9 outta 10 times

… when a guy goes home with a lady at that hour he’s gettin laid

that's not really the point
Seriously shut the fuck up
I'm just looking at the situation

… and i guarantee the police will ask the same thing i did…Why were you going to his place at 3am?? Its a legitimate question isnt it?

that's not really the point
What is the point then?
going there doesn't imply consent
No. It's really not.

Not when you’re conducting a criminal investigation. Unless of course you also believe a prostitute can’t be raped.

sure it is

… alcohol clouds judgement and that will be taken into account. She says she blacked out so maybe she was acting alot differently when she was drunk. A defense attorney will question the 3am thing guaranteed.

Do you know what date rape is?
oh ok, so you've convicted him already
It's not a fucking comment on what may or may not have happened

I’m asking you a question if you know what date rape is because apparently, judging by your comments, you don’t.

Of course a defense attorney will question it. The police shouldn't

Do you not understand the difference?

Simply put, you're getting uncomfortably close to implying...

…that she was “asking for it”. She might not have shown good judgement but that has NOTHING to do with whether or not she was sexually assaulted.

I am?
No... you're really not.
And another comment

Come on, Al. Either this type of stupidity earns a time out, or lock the comments. This is beyond gross at this point.

delete them and move on

no need to stop actual discussion

Or that

Jesus, do ANYTHING though

What you have to understand Craig, is that Al WANTS comments

even if they are THOSE type of comments because then they rope you and me and others into a response and then Al gets hits.

Then maybe I'll shoot an email to SBN

I’m sure they won’t care, but whatever.

This will just be the sleaze thread where everyone can show their creep tendencies without repercussion. No one knows if Starlin did something inherently wrong, if he was just dumb and made a bad choice, if the accuser is telling the truth or lying, etc, but feel free to just comment as you (not YOU) please and make as many assumptions as possible.

There is a reason that situations like this on other outlets have comments locked because no one needs the creepfest.

The funny thing is, Al didn't want to put this on the front page

Not initially. I think you are misjudging his motives.

Here’s the last line of this post again

So let’s discuss this matter, but carefully, and don’t assume the worst — not yet, anyway.

You can never trust simple minded people

to discuss a matter as heavy as this. Some of us can, but as we’re seeing, the vast majority can’t.

What - the vast majority can't?

That’s nearly NBFish in it’s heavy-heandedness.

Didn’t several people just call out chitown for that comment? As they have others?

I'm not about to rattle off a list of rational or logical thinkers on here

but if it’s the majority, which I hope it is, then I’m wrong. I should instead say that there’s just too many people airing their opinions on this matter that simply don’t need to be aired.

It's almost like a real internet message board!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, silly me for thinking BCB would be any different.

I guess thinking about Al’s big rule, which he doesn’t hesitate to throw out there, doesn’t apply here.

If Al didn't want this on the front page, it wouldn't be on the front page

and yes, I saw the disclaimer. He’s made plenty of those kinds of disclaimers before. They’ve never worked. If I can recognize that, surely someone who runs the site should be able to.

So it's my responsibility

… for your comments? I don’t see that.

Nunya isn't the only one posting here
You would know that

if you decided to stop focusing on Nunya or how many recs your “bullshit” comment got.

Man, there's a bee in your bonnet today.

The “your” was generalized as to all of us.

No, I would just like Al to actually give a crap

Like a lot of stuff though, senorgato for example, it goes on for entirely too long before anything is done. I should stop thinking anything will be done here.

I agree...

Al, can you get Craig to can it for 5 minutes?

Yeah, how dare I think

that maybe we shouldn’t discuss something so heavy here

Also...

Didn’t you even rec Al’s “bullshit” comment and make a silly comment?

I can understand Al’s hesitation to close the comments or ban anybody. He’s hands off for fear of stifling discussion

I did and I thanked him for using adult language

I didn’t expect him to then selectively ignore criticisms about the comments here, while choosing to instead reflect on saying “bullshit”.

As for your previous comment, “your” wasn’t generalized to all of us, it was directed specifically at Al.

Al's use of "your" in his response to Nunya.

“your comments.”

Then I'm confused because you replied to me directly

So either you think me saying “your ‘bullshit’ comment” refers to all of us, when it is referring to Al’s comment from above where uttered the word “bullshit”

or

You were saying that in response to Al, but even then, I think he was referring to Nunya’s comments specifically.

I replied to you

Because you commented about Al’s focusing on Nunya in regards to Al’s “It’s my responsibility for your comments.” Which appears to be a generalized “your” in regards to all of us.

Ah, ok

I still think he was meaning Nunya’s comments specifically since he made mention of Nunya’s statements once already.

Since you asked

Yes, it absolutely is. And on occasion you even agree, since you ban people, or warn people for their comments

You don’t get to put this post on the front goddamn page, then proclaim “I didn’t do this for the hits!!!!”

You don’t get to put it on the front page and then swear up and down that you didn’t expect this, and CERTAINLY didn’t wan’t it!

You don’t get to completely ignore some truly disgusting comments, while claiming those things either, when you have the power to stop it.

I didn't do it for the hits.

If you believe that, again, you are sadly mistaken.

I asked people to be reasonable. I’d think responsible adults — and the vast majority of commenters here are adults — could do that.

I hate playing hall monitor, and I don’t think I should have to.

This is news. What, you wanted me to ignore a huge story involving a Cubs player? Sorry, not going to do that.

What, you wanted me to ignore a huge story involving a Cubs player?

No I wanted you to be honest as to why you posted it. You also could have closed comments long ago. But instead you complain AGAIN about comments you could have seen coming a mile away.

I'm simply not going to close comments

…. on a huge story involving a Cubs player.

I guess I put too much faith in people being reasonable. That’s all I’m guilty of.

If you think I posted it for “hits”, you are 100% mistaken. That does not enter my mind when I write. Ever.

Believe what you want, but those are the facts.

You mean except when you've admitted writing articles for the pageviews?
I have never done that

nor will I ever.

You have closed comments before.
Interestingly enough, MLBTR did choose to ignore it

Haven’t seen one entry about Castro over there today. I realize this is an off-the-field story, but IIRC, there were entries about Braun when he tested positive.

I’m sure Tim doesn’t live in a vacuum, so he’s obviously aware of this story, but I guess he decided that this was not something that MLBTR should cover.

Remember that site is called

Major League Baseball TRADE Rumors.

They deal mostly with transactions, not things of this nature.

Understood

but they also covered Braun’s testing positive story, which isn’t exactly a thing of this nature, but it’s not a trade/transaction either.

Just thought it was interesting.

testing positive means a suspension, which would effect the brewers roster
MLBTR didn't cover cabrera's DUI until people started wondering whether the tigers would try to trade him/void his contract
Why are you bullying Al?
C'mon man

Now’s not the time to be stirring.

It's about what I've come to expect from him.
I'm all about meeting and even exceeding expectations.

Seriously though, lighten up. Nunya is sitting here straight calling you a liar, I make a joke about it based on the whole “I’m such a huge troll” thing we’ve got going on, and you and probably the rest of the BCB Al Yellon rescue brigade is gonna pounce. You expect things from me, I expect the same things from you- Such as your response here.

OK, let's call a truce.

You did defend me below and I appreciate that.

I’m not fond of trolling, but at least you admitted you do it for laughs.

I can think of better ways to get laughs, though.

/squirts Al with a seltzer bottle, leaves this thread.
No, actually, that was funny.
Oh man, those guys played at my brother-in-law's bachelor party...they were loud.

Nothing says rockstar cool

like leopard print.

Are you out of you rmind?

You think I did this for hits? You’re nuts.

I posted this because it is a Cubs related news story. I am not responsible for dumb comments, including yours.

Looking at some of the more questionable comments here

do you honestly think there needed to be comments open for this story, which is on the main page? Personally, I know I wouldn’t want someone coming to BCB for the first time and reading your write up, then seeing some of the dumber comments on here, and then seeing:

I am not responsible for dumb comments, including yours.
A cubs related news story, that had already been covered in a fanshot

and one where you could have, in fact still could close the comments.

Yeah, I’m gonna stick by my assertion.

Probably the best reason to close this thread

is for the number of attacks on All himself. That’s typically the reason a thread is closed – posters attacking one another, instead of discussing the topic.

I’m sure this is not a topic that All wants to discuss here on BCB, lots of hits or not.

So why did he say "lets discuss this matter"?
Because he saw more news about

But I don’t think this was his choice of topic for the morning.

You think Al should have contained this and that’s your right. But you don’t need to attack him and others in the process.

How am I attacking Al?

How am I attacking anyone?

Again, Al didn’t choose for this event to happen, but he chose to put this on the front page, he chose to leave comments open, and he chose to encourage people to discuss the topic. Are you not seeing this?

I don't think you started out attacking him

But as the debate over if this thread should be open, yor messages have become more heated and have called Al’s character into question.

And I'm going to go read about Anthony Rizzo now
You do realize this is the internet, right?
Even if Starlin is proven innocent...

…this short of stigma is tough to get rid of. Just ask the Duke Lacrosse players…

You're not wrong there.

Though there’s a weird disconnect between what college kids do, and what pro athletes do, especially when it comes to this.

Big Ben is a perfect example. Dude got engaged and all of sudden his sexual assault accusations were largely forgotten.

or

Ben rapelisberger and Kobe Bryant

Hey look! Something shiny!!!!

I know it must be boring as

balls to you guys now but I absolutely love that thing as a tourist.

not boring at all

I live in Chicago and I love the Bean. It’s like the Sgt. Pepper’s album cover – every time I look at it, I see something new.

My 2 cents

In general, cases like these aren’t the two extremes: 1) The victim is a “golddigger” trying to take advantage of a young immature star or 2) Starlin had intentions to take advantage of a young woman because he is a sexual deviant/can’t control himself/no respect for women/etc.

Instead, most of the cases are somewhere in the middle. Both make a bad decision, things go further than they should have, someone was uncomfortable.

Both the victim and the accused are going to be changed forever for the bad, and while its the public’s right to make judgments, its not the states’. Luckily for Starlin, he has the capital to ensure his rights will be protected.

From a baseball stand point, MLB has earned a reputation to not suspend players, even after they are convicted of some pretty awful stuff. So there’s that.

apologies if already posted

but September? we are in January?

“I ain’t saying she a gold digga "

invesigations take time

this isn’t SVU

Everything gets solved within an hour.
and it's all fake

ugh

yeah they do but 4 months before it broke ?

big Ben roethlisbergers broke in less than 30..

proof http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5094224

not every case is the same
You understand she didn't JUST report this.

The REPORT just became public. She reported the same day. But keep on not knowing what the hell you’re talking about.

I am aware of this as the article

says that but 4 months later? my guess it holds no traction. ESPN is sure not running with it.

keep on not knowing what the hell you’re talking about.

I think it bears repeating.

Also, this http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/_/id/7431695/chicago-cubs-starlin-castro-part-sexual-assault-investigation

I don't think you know how these things work.
noooo

cashner > rizzo. this would be the first move I do not agree with. arggggggh

whoops wrong section

sorry

To me

timing implies that they’re waiting on forensics. If they all have his her word, not much to go off of, probably never make it public. I’m sure the other witness has been interviewed as well.

see comment/link above

regarding steelers big Ben

September 29th?

how did this take so long to come out? And this was a day after being in San Diego for the last game.

Man, look like 2 comments up.

Then 500 up, then 1000 up.

These are say chicago media that broke the Theo coming to Chicago story in like 1 min

And this seems bigger.

police officers and lawyers =/= guy in a starbucks
You really think something like that couldn't get leaked from starlins friends or the girls friends
it obviously didn't
Game, set, match.
well i'm just saying it's suspicious

Rumors seem to spread quickly in chicago media

Suspicious how?
I won't go any farther than that
This post seems suspiciously like something that's really, really dumb
Was listening to AM 670 this morning...

And a couple of them were saying that they heard rumors about this starting several months ago, but didn’t report on it because they didn’t have any facts. Discussion was that there still aren’t any facts other then a police report was filed and an investigation is ongoing.

This rumor has been floating around for months

Apparently no one could get confirmation until now because the journalists were being responsible here.

Rolling Stones did this threads Theme Song

Rolling Stones – Star, Star (F*cker)

IN NON CASTRO NEWS

cubs get rizzo for cashner

Someone make a fanshot/post so the discussion isn't contained in this hellhole.
There goes the rotation!
Middle reliever
Ha, now I hope you're right!
LET'S CHANGE THE SUBJECT

Cubs trade Cashner and Kyung-Min Na to Pads for RIZZO

Holy crap.

Just got the tweet. I guess that ends the Cashner starter vs. reliever debate.

I guess I can remove the "Sign Prince Fielder" from my sig line.
Yup.

Buh-bye, Prince.

Someone's going to overpay for him at some point.

Scott Boras is absolutely killing his value by demanding such a long contract.

Yeah, Prince may want to jump at the Nats.

They seem like they have a decent shot at being a contender soon. Otherwise, he’s going to end up in Seattle or Baltimore, where it could take years (if ever).

Prince’s stance just got weaker with a team falling out of the race.

Some perspective

I was the victim of an assault when I was in my early 20s. It’s a very difficuilt process for all involved (I won’t go into detail but there are degrees of assault with a lot of factors playing in). The assailant was convicted and served time.

Let’s wait and see all the facts. I know one of the families involved in the Duke case (my Dad has known one of the Dads of one the players and I’ve known the entire family for my entire life). If you think what’s known about how it was handled by the police and prosecution there’s stuff that’s even worse.

Al once again well handled. This is A VERY sensitive subject. BCB has several new readers today because I pointed people here as a place to see it handled well.

Al you need to take over the papers and radio. This has been very badly handled today. Lots of reporters mention the flight but little mention it was 3 days after end of season and they say he hasn’t come back since. Most likely he was planning to spend the offseason down there anyway.

At least people will know who Castro is now....
They already knew him....

as the kid who doesn’t pay attention.

but likes sunflower seeds
But in all seriousness..

He’s my favorite player so I’m obviously going to be biased, but I’m just going to go the optimistic route and believe everything will be okay, mainly because the pessimistic route is too hard to consider. It’s going to be extremely hard to prove anything one way or the other especially with the alcohol being involved. Let’s just see what happens.

al , sometimes i really feel sorry for ya .
Thanks.

This one really was a no-win situation. It was too big a story to leave in a fanshot, once Castro’s lawyers and the Cubs issued statements.

I had hoped people would be more sensitive and responsible in their comments. Guess I was wrong.

Interested to know what the restrictions are on reporting such incidents

in the states, purely for interest’s sake.

On the site I work for here if charges are made we cut down to bare bones reporting, only allowed to report the established facts of the case. Anything else and we can be help in contempt of court. But more importantly we don’t allow any comments on the site for any kind of criminal case until after a verdict in a court has been handed down.

I asked repeatedly for comments to be closed

others did too. There were numerous examples early on that having comments open for this was a bad idea. Considering the sensitive nature of this issue, I wish you would have done things differently. I’m disappointed.

i was kind of hoping everything except for rizzo was just a bad dream

damn

No kidding.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but this put me on a huge downer today.

It's been about eight hours since I first saw the story, and I'm still sad.
This is sad for all involved.
This is comment #667 in this thread.

Added for obvious reasons.

the devil made you do it?

I think the thing that has most surprised me in this thread

is how quickly people have been to judge either party with the scantest details of the case.

People talk about trial by media, but the general public is much worse.

CASTRO IS A SCUMBAG

AND THE ACCUSER IS A FILTHY ACCURSED MOUNTEBANK

/sarcasm

way to take a side
I like being decisive.
so they are both innocent based on both being victims of the situation?
I say we arrest the guy who invented sexual assault

/this is all sarcasm btw

or do we arrest the first person ever assaulted

and blame them for it

just

what we need.not a good start to what looks like a dismal 2012 season.

I think...

this thread is a disgrace. How comments have not been checked and this thread closed is beyond me. It may have only been 4-5 posters of the 50+, but how can name-calling and source-citing get editor-needled on a daily basis while some of the slop in this thread gets ignored?

One has to wonder if he agrees with it

That’s generally how Al works. If he agrees with it, it gets a pass.

oh please........

I can't see what was clearly an awesome image

But it is indeed Al’s M.O.

Since you asked......

You are 100% wrong.

But go on believing what you want.

FYI Castro WAS in Chicago in Nov to meet the Theo/Jed

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/8946373-573/carlos-zambrano-hit-in-face-by-line-drive.html
( this tidbit copied from poster over at TCR).

One presumes the Cubs were unaware the police wanted to interview him ( assuming they did) and the police were unaware he was in town. Does not exactly sound like ace police work to me. In any event it would dispel any idea that Castro was hiding from the police.

Here's a good thread......

that EVERYONE should read, which basically states it is foolish to jump to any conclusions on this matter-whether they be about Starlin or his accuser…..

This thread is being closed

… and so is the other one on this topic.

I am tremendously disappointed that responsible adults — and maybe I’m presuming too much — couldn’t discuss this without disparaging either Castro, the woman involved, or each other.

Shame on those of you who did that.

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