(NBA star) Hall of Famer acquitted in sexual abuse case

[lazarus]

Headline is kind of funky, so I just went with that. :)

This got a lot of play back when he was accused; I think it only proper that his acquittal be in LBN as well.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1940008

Hall of Fame basketball player Calvin Murphy just wanted to bask in the moment after a jury cleared him Monday of sexually abusing five of his 10 daughters more than a decade ago.

Murphy, 56, had long denied the allegations. He said they were based on resentment and a dispute over money.

The jury deliberated about two hours before returning its verdict in the monthlong trial.

"You can never fully repair his reputation," defense attorney Rusty Hardin told jurors during closing arguments. "But you can take that first step in righting an injustice."

Defense attorneys say three of the five women who accused Murphy have been trying to claim $52,408 in death benefits left in a Teacher Retirement System of Texas account belonging to their mother, Phyllis Davidson. Murphy had a 20-year relationship and four children with Davidson, who died in a car accident in 1996.

This year, the three daughters continued their grandmother's earlier protests over Murphy receiving the benefits. He was listed as the account's beneficiary, according to court records.

[Journeyman]

1. Thank you, lazarus. . .

I have no idea who this man is, and obviously didn't follow the story at all when it was originally posted in LBN, but I've long been a believer that the resolution of a criminal charge should receive the same prominence as the initial coverage. It sickens me to see someone accused on page 1, above the fold, then exonerated on page 23, beneath a grain production report.

[henslee]

4. Been following this. Calivin is a childhood hero. This 5 ft 10 inch NBA

player was all heart in a game of giants, and at a time when the league had a bad reputation due to drug use and was very short of heros. His name was dragged through the mud, the sex charges painted a picture that was unfathomable -- molesting five of your daughters? Yikes. Thank you Lazurus is right.

[yowzayowzayowza]

2. Haven't been following this one...

and I'm in Houston. TV:=off;

So this jury believed these five women testified to these heinous crimes for a lousy $50k? ... in light of this:

"The bottom line in this case is you have to figure out who you believe," prosecutor Paula Storts told jurors.

She called Murphy "a master of manipulation."

"He concealed from his own wife for more than 20 years that he has four other families," she said. "He's a liar. He's a cheat and he's a child molester."

Hmmmmm.... must be missin' sumthin.

[Skittles]

3. he sounds like scum to me

nt

[lazarus]

5. kick

because the original thread about his accusation got a bunch of posts of outrage.