By Joshua Fein, Justice and Legal Thought College Park Scholar
38 Comments
Hamsaa Kumar
May 04, 2021
Hi Josh,
I was quite intrigued by your research! I recently was reading the case summary of the famous Brock Turner case, where he too was let off the hook for sexual assault because he was a star swimmer, and any charges could allegedly ruin his career and livelihood. It's frustrating that athletes and people of high status get away with horrendous crimes, especially sexual violence, and walk away legally unscathed. Do you think that the first shift to hold such people accountable will come through public opinion or a change in the laws that such people are charged with and the legal system in general?
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Nalina Attanayake
May 04, 2021
Josh,
This is a very interesting topic and one that I have seen talked about a lot especially on places like Twitter. Celebrities' getting away with stuff that ordinary citizens would not has always been a problem. Do you think that this is a problem of the person being deemed as too important or is it some sort of "behind the curtains" bribery type situation?
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Grace Magori
May 01, 2021
Hi Josh, this is really cool! I have never ever considered that there was a connection with athletes and getting away with crimes, but now that I think about it, I can name five on the top of my head. Do you think that this correlation is due to class (athletes tend to be wealthy, college athletes bring in millions to unis) rather than athlete status?
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ronwingate11
May 01, 2021
I never considered a correlation between athletes fame and rulings on cases they are involved in although no matter what cases of the sort tend to have a drastic impact on their reputation and career. I was surprised to see just how many athletes possibly have gotten away with heinous crimes such as sexual assault. I wonder if we were to examine cases of sexual assault involving athletes over time would we see a trend in the outcomes considering the progress of the Women's Rights Movement.
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dkumar12
May 01, 2021
Hi Joshua! Your project really stood out to me since I have always been interested in/critical of celebrities/wealthy people being held above the law. Your research showed me the extent to which athletes are favored by the justice system, receiving minimal to no punishment for serious crimes. Do you see this changing any time soon?
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Hi Josh,
I was quite intrigued by your research! I recently was reading the case summary of the famous Brock Turner case, where he too was let off the hook for sexual assault because he was a star swimmer, and any charges could allegedly ruin his career and livelihood. It's frustrating that athletes and people of high status get away with horrendous crimes, especially sexual violence, and walk away legally unscathed. Do you think that the first shift to hold such people accountable will come through public opinion or a change in the laws that such people are charged with and the legal system in general?
Josh,
This is a very interesting topic and one that I have seen talked about a lot especially on places like Twitter. Celebrities' getting away with stuff that ordinary citizens would not has always been a problem. Do you think that this is a problem of the person being deemed as too important or is it some sort of "behind the curtains" bribery type situation?
Hi Josh, this is really cool! I have never ever considered that there was a connection with athletes and getting away with crimes, but now that I think about it, I can name five on the top of my head. Do you think that this correlation is due to class (athletes tend to be wealthy, college athletes bring in millions to unis) rather than athlete status?
I never considered a correlation between athletes fame and rulings on cases they are involved in although no matter what cases of the sort tend to have a drastic impact on their reputation and career. I was surprised to see just how many athletes possibly have gotten away with heinous crimes such as sexual assault. I wonder if we were to examine cases of sexual assault involving athletes over time would we see a trend in the outcomes considering the progress of the Women's Rights Movement.
Hi Joshua! Your project really stood out to me since I have always been interested in/critical of celebrities/wealthy people being held above the law. Your research showed me the extent to which athletes are favored by the justice system, receiving minimal to no punishment for serious crimes. Do you see this changing any time soon?