Fake Tears For Fake Victims

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Dave Zirin, writing for The Nation:

It says so much that Te’o’s bizarre soap opera has moved Swarbrick to openly weeping but he hasn’t spared one tear, let alone held one press conference, for Lizzy Seeberg, the young woman who took her own life after coming forward with allegations that a member of the team sexually assaulted her. Swarbrick’s press conference displayed that the problem at Notre Dame is not just football players without a compass; it’s the adults without a conscience. Their credo isn’t any kind of desire for truth or justice. Instead it seems to be little more than a constant effort to protect the Fighting Irish brand, no matter who gets hurt.

If you aren’t familiar with the Lizzy Seeberg case, Zirin wrote about it earlier this month.

The internet had its fun - me included - with the bizarre story of Manti Te’o’s fake girlfriend. After reading Zirin’s article and obtaining much needed perspective, I feel somewhat ashamed that I wasted any time at all with the Te’o story. Sure it’s a perplexing and winding tale, but I should stop hoping for answers to be given by men who shed fake tears for fake victims. Instead, we should all demand answers from such men and ask why real tears were never shed for real victims.