Did Nigel “Teddy” Veal Rape a High School Student?

Nigel “Teddy” Veal, collegiate wide receiver, will soon be appearing in court to defend himself against charges of the rape of a high school student.

http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com/news/8983268-171/attorney-for-tulane-athlete-denies

His attorney, Donald “Chick” Foret, made a public statement:

“We have every confidence that they will get to exactly what happened, the truth of the matter.”

Please note, this statement is not a denial his client raped the high school student. There is “truth”, something happened, it may or may not be rape, but we can’t tell from this statement.

“I’m not going to really talk about the facts, but I’ll tell you this: There was not a rape that happened that night.”

The most important phrase in the above statement is “I’m not going to really talk about the facts”. This means the rest of the statement is not “facts”. The rest of the statement is fiction. The speaker blatantly tells us all of his statements are fiction, they are not “the facts”.

“There was not a rape that happened that night” – because the previous phrase told us all other statements are untrue, this statement is false. The opposite is true. There was a rape that happened that night.

“This young man was an honors student at West Jefferson High School. He lived in an honors dorm at Tulane. He’s majoring in engineering. He’s a fine young man.”

Please note, the above statement does not deny the allegations of rape. It is a description of the defendant, but not necessarily a true description because “I’m not going to really talk about the facts”.

“His statement will always be the same and we’re looking forward to working with the DA’s Office to try to get this case refused and move on with his life.”

Again, no denial of guilt. The defendant’s statement “will always be the same”. This is true. The defendant gave a statement and it is recorded and will always be the same, even when they present it in court. Did the statement deny guilt? We don’t know.

“We’re looking forward to working with the DA’s Office to try to get this case refused” – True statement. The defense attorney is looking forward to getting the case refused. This doesn’t mean the case will be refused, just that the defense attorney really hopes it will be. The defense attorney does not look forward to the charges being preferred and going to court to defend his client. Also note, the defense attorney does not look forward to proving his client’s innocence.

What did we learn? If you hire a defense attorney who makes inane statements like this to the press on your behalf, get a new attorney.

Did Bryan Singer Sexually Abuse Michael F. Egan III?

Director Bryan Singer made a public statement today about a lawsuit filed by Michael F. Egan III, who claims Mr. Singer sexually abused Mr. Egan approximately 15 years ago.

http://www.etonline.com/news/145816_x_men_director_bryan_singer_responds_to_accusation_of_sexually_abusing_a_teenage_boy_in_1999/

Mr Singer states: “The allegations against me are outrageous, vicious and completely false. I do not want these fictitious claims to divert ANY attention from X-Men: Days of Future Past. This fantastic film is a labor of love and one of the greatest experiences of my career. So, out of respect to all of the extraordinary contributions from the incredibly talented actors and crew involved, I’ve decided not to participate in the upcoming media events for the film. However, I promise when this situation is over, the facts will show this to be the sick twisted shake down it is. I want to thank fans, friends and family for all their amazing and overwhelming support.”

“The allegations against me are outrageous, vicious and completely false.” – The best denial is always a simple and explicit statement, such as “I am not guilty of the allegations”. Whenever a denial includes extraneous language, we should be on guard the denial is false. In this instance, the extraneous words are “outrageous”, “vicious”, and “completely”. These words do not make the denial stronger. A careful listener should ask themselves why these extraneous words are included. There is a physiological response to lying which makes it difficult for most people to easily tell a falsehood, so one strategy to make a lie easier to tell is to include a bit of truth.

These allegations are certainly “outrageous”, but the level of outrageousness does not effect the validity of the allegations. The word “outrageous” is intended to make the listener agree the allegations are false because the listener agrees with the first part of the statement, the allegations are “outrageous”.

Are these allegations “vicious”? To Mr. Singer, they are “vicious”, but again, this is not a denial of the allegations, simply Mr. Singer’s opinion of them, whether true or false. Why does Mr. Singer believe these allegations are “vicious”? There is an implication of a more than casual relationship between Mr. Singer and the plaintiff.

When the main word of a denial, “false”, is attached to an extraneous word, “completely”, the listener must ask themselves why the speaker felt the need to define “false”. Can something be “partially false” or “incompletely false”? No, it either is or is not “false”. The use of extraneous words is a sign of discomfort with the word “false” on the part of the speaker.

“However, I promise when this situation is over, the facts will show this to be the sick twisted shake down it is.”

The use of the word “this” indicates the “situation” is very close to Mr. Singer. “That” would have pushed the “situation” away from the speaker. Instead, Mr. Singer positions the “situation” as close to himself, he is comfortable with it, it is his “situation”. The word “situation” does not address the validity of the allegations.

“sick twisted shake down” – A “shake down” is defined as “the act of taking something (such as money) from someone by using threats or deception”. The words “sick” and “twisted” indicate Mr. Singer is concerned with this “shake down”. Is this really a “shake down”? No, it is a lawsuit. A “shake down” is illegal. A lawsuit is legal. Mr. Singer is attempting to color the lawsuit as an illegal act to detract credibility from the allegations. However, “sick twisted shake down” is not a denial of the allegations.

Perhaps most interesting is most of the statement is about Mr. Singer’s current film project, which has nothing to do with this lawsuit. Mr. Singer is very concerned over the performance of his current film at the box office, but not as much with denying the allegations in a believable manner.

What have we learned? We have learned when accused in a public forum of sexual abuse or other crime, the best course of action is to keep your own mouth shut and allow your attorneys to make your public statements, unless you really did not do it, then you may make a clear and concise statement of your innocence without reference to unrelated matters.