Virginia State released its report on the fight that led to the cancellation of the CIAA Championship Game on Monday. On Wednesday, The Camel City Dispatch published a response to that report in a letter to the editor written by Winston-Salem State Chancellor Donald J. Reaves.
In the letter, Reaves questioned the valdidity of the report. Below is an excerpt:
I find it hard to believe that anyone would take seriously the findings of this report. The report, generated approximately three months after the incident, notes on page two that the investigator got his mandate from the VSU president’s commitment to “uncovering the facts surrounding this incident.” That commitment was lost in this investigative report. I cannot understand how the investigator could uncover the facts of the incident when his interviews were limited to people who study or work at VSU.
It comes as no surprise, therefore, that they all tell the same story. No interviews were conducted with people from WSSU who were in attendance and no requests for such interviews have been received (VSU has not responded to WSSU requests to interview VSU students and staff that were known to have been in the restroom or in close proximity when the assault occurred).The report relied almost exclusively on the testimonials of the young men who may have been involved in the assault on WSSU quarterback Rudy Johnson, which is a serious methodological flaw that raises questions about the credibility of its conclusions. WSSU quarterback Rudy Johnson reported that he was punched, stomped and kicked, and he was left with headaches, a black-eye, a sore back and sore ribs. To ignore the physical damage inflicted upon this young man, or to conclude that it was caused by a single assailant wielding a single punch, is absurd. The only thing that this report uncovered was the facts according to VSU.
Doesn’t look like this is going anywhere anytime soon.