By Tom Nicholson
St. John’s University students, stunned by the expulsion and suspension of six of the school’s basketball players after a scandal involving a Pittsburgh strip club and a woman who falsely accused them of rape, were trying to carry on with their studies this week.
“It’s not that much of a distraction, but it is being talked about a lot,” said Jessica Lyons, a senior at St. John’s University. “There are mixed opinions about it on campus. I’ve heard both sides – some people feel sorry for the players that were expelled, especially for Grady [Reynolds] who was so close to graduating. But others say they are getting what they deserved.”
Distraction or not, Lyons said, the news that three players had been accused of raping a woman in a Pittsburgh hotel after a game and then cleared of the charges after she confessed to lying, sent a shockwave through the Jamaica campus.
“I was quite surprised when I heard the news,” Lyons said. “It’s something you weren’t expecting at all.”
Others said they were not as taken aback by the news that their classmates went into a strip club as they were by the fact that the incident took place after a game.
“I wasn’t all that surprised, but I thought there would be better supervision of the players when they are on the road,” said Joe Staszewski, a sophomore at the school.
St. John’s University is known nationally for its excellent academic and sports programs. Some notable graduates of St. John’s are former New York governors Mario Cuomo and Hugh Carey as well as Queens Democratic Party Chairman Tom Manton.
St. John’s athletic teams have sent such athletes to professional sports as basketball players Chris Mullin, Ron Artest and Mark Jackson, baseball players John Franco, Rich Aurilia and Frank Viola and professional soccer players Sharlie Joseph, Jeff Mateo and Ben Hickey.
After a tumultuous year for the St. John’s basketball program, which included an arrest of one player for marijuana possession last year and the firing of head coach Mike Jarvis in December, some students said they weren’t fazed by the latest incident.
“I wasn’t that shocked because this isn’t the first time this year something has happened with the basketball team,” Staszewski said. “There have been a lot a things going on with this program.”
“There’s been so much in the news about this team that has nothing to do with basketball — it just seems like more of the same,” said Brian Van Houghton, a freshman at the school. “But it was pretty amazing how much media attention it is getting.”
Van Houghton said the news coverage of the incident prompted calls from his family who were curious about the mood on campus.
“They were asking me if I knew any of those guys and what people were saying about it all.” Van Houghton said.
In an e-mail Tuesday to the student body, St. John’s President Rev. Donald Harrington said the incident has “deeply hurt and troubled our university community.”
“The recent events and behaviors exhibited by certain members of our men’s basketball team are unacceptable and have caused significant pain to this vibrant community of which we are all proud,” Harrington said. “I have received scores of phone calls, email and letters from students, faculty, alumni and friends voicing similar outrage.”
Despite the buzz going on throughout the campus, students said it was mostly business as usual as far as classes went.
“Whether this is going on or not, (the professors) still have materials to go through,” Lyons said. “I haven’t really heard any of them bringing it up in class.”
“I had one professor bring it up in an ethics class,” said Staszewski. “But mostly classes are going as usual.”
What isn’t usual, the students said, is the image of the school after the incident, which they believe has been tarnished by the furor.
“It does cast a cloud over the school, because in the future people won’t think about the three players involved. It will just be St. John’s University they associate it with,” Lyons said.
But Harrington said “the misguided actions of a few are not representative of the university as a whole.”
Reach Reporter Tom Nicholson by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by calling 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.
