A little more than a year after voicing his views on the Duke University lacrosse team rape case, rapper Common has issued a public apology.
During a recent interview with the Raleigh News and Observer, Common admitted his comments came from personal reactions that didn’t reflect the facts of the case.
As a result, the rapper was quick to judge the
lacrosse players.
“I want to say first of all that I apologize for accusing people wrong that didn’t do it,” Common told The Raleigh News and Observer. “I just felt like, ‘That’s my sister,’ so I felt emotional about it, and I guess I did what a lot of people do to other people, to convict them or consider them guilty before we even know the truth.”
The Chicago rapper made his comments concerning the three team members accused of raping an exotic dancer during an Apr. 19, 2006 performance at Emory University.
“You know I never get lost, yo f- them damn n-s from Duke lacrosse,” according to a video of the show that captured Common’s freestyle.
The apology comes as Common prepares for his scheduled appearance at Duke’s Last Day of Classes (LDOC) concert tomorrow (Apr. 25).
For LDOC chair Beth Higgins, the action is welcome news which should be a catalyst for students to forgive Common for what he said.
“He’s human,” Higgins told the Duke Chronicle. “He made a mistake, and he acknowledged that, and I feel like students should accept that.”
Although some students have put the incident behind them in an effort to move on, others believe Common’s apology was less than sincere and
showed how much the rapper was influenced by the media’s coverage of the case.
Despite the criticism, Common told the News and Observer that he hopes his apology will be part of the healing process in the aftermath of the
lacrosse case.
