News & Neuigkeiten » Batey continued to abuse and degrade me

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Its a football Saturday at the Atlantic Coast Conference headquarters, and Michael Strickland sits in a windowless room scanning a wall of flat-panel televisions and monitors on a nearby table.The ACCs senior associate commissioner for football operations and two replay officials are closely watching a pair of league games. They confer with officials at each stadium to ensure any ruling on a sideline catch, dive for the pylon or fumble is the correct call, part of a season-long experiment by the ACC -- as well as the Southeastern and Pac-12 conferences -- with collaborative instant replay that has off-site officials assist on reviews.Strickland describes it as a safety net with a simple goal: get it right.Our view, Strickland said, is that two sets of eyes are probably better than just one.The ACC and SEC are using collaborative replay for all games at league stadiums, including at independent Notre Dame as an ACC member in other sports. These review centers operate in a supporting role out of the ACC headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina, and the SEC offices in Birmingham, Alabama.The Pac-12 uses it on a limited basis. Spokesman Dave Hirsch said replay officials at California and Oregon can communicate with the leagues San Francisco headquarters.The Big Ten is studying the idea but hasnt implemented it.The ACC and SEC will report findings to the NCAA rules committee in the offseason. SEC coordinator of officials Steve Shaw called it an absolute success so far and Strickland said it has cut the number of plays that mightve gone the other way.Data from both leagues show the added scrutiny was catching more errors. The ACCs rate of calls reversed on review is up from about 24 percent last season to 29 percent through last weekends games, while the SEC was up from about 37 percent to 41 percent. The average review times -- roughly 90 seconds for both -- are up slightly.Theres so much in fairness to players, coaches and fans, ACC Commissioner John Swofford said. Theres a lot riding on these games. What you always want is, at the end of the day, a game had been fairly won or lost.Swofford said the league spent about $500,000 in upgrades to an existing gameday operations center for collaborative replay. The ACC recently allowed an Associated Press reporter inside to spend about 45 minutes observing how it works.Replay officials can turn a dial to conduct their own frame-by frame evaluation on monitors at their seats within seconds and talk to a stadium replay official via headset if something requires a closer look. They watch games carried via online stream to minimize delays.The days first stoppage reviewed whether a called fumble shouldve been an incompletion or if the receiver was down before the ball came out. Replay official Ralph Pickett ran footage back and forth, and it didnt take long to confirm a clear fumble while conferring with the stadium official.I agree, I agree, he said into the headset. Play quickly resumed, illustrating how the burden still rests largely with stadium officials.Once we get the game stopped, we collaborate and we come to the right answer, Shaw said. But we still are dependent on that replay official inside the stadium to stop the game. Thats his primary role.At times, you could get a collaborative discussion with him from the video center in Birmingham, `Hey, you need to stop this game. But in our up-tempo world today, really the guy in-stadium has got to make the decision to stop it.Still, it cant prevent every mistake.During North Carolinas win at Miami last month, replay officials never saw the angle that could have overturned a first-quarter touchdown catch by the Tar Heels in the 20-13 win. Footage focused on Austin Proehls right foot landing inbounds but the ESPN production crew didnt send angles showing Proehl bobble the ball while falling out of bounds.Regardless, no one has to sell Duke coach David Cutcliffe on steps to reduce the chances of an officiating mistake.His Blue Devils lost to Miami last year on an eight-lateral kickoff return for a final-play touchdown that shouldnt have counted. The ACC later suspended officials for two games for botching calls on the field and during review.I like the idea because you know theres an extra set of eyes and theyre seeing it immediately, Cutcliffe said. And they can buzz the box and say, `Whoa, wait a minute here, lets look at this.---AP Sports Writers Joedy McCreary in Durham, North Carolina, and John Zenor in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed to this report.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap---More AP college football at http://collegefootball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/APTop-25 Authentic NFL Jerseys China .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. Cheap NFL Jerseys .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have placed centre Cody Hodgson on injured reserve and recalled two players from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. https://www.nflcheapjerseysfreeshipping.com/ . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim. Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping . "It was nerve-wracking, but we pulled through," said Collaros, who threw four touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts (8-4) to a 33-27 win over the Calgary Stampeders (9-3) in front of 28,781 fans at McMahon Stadium. Cheap Football Jerseys . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A former Vanderbilt football player was sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison after he was convicted of taking part in the gang rape of an unconscious female student.Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Monte Watkins handed down the sentence for Cory Batey after the victim in the case said her life has been shattered as a result of the rape.The woman was a neuroscience and economics major when she was assaulted in a dorm on the Nashville campus in June of 2013. In all, four former football players were charged. The Associated Press does not generally identify victims of sexual assault.The players used their cellphones to take pictures of the rape. One also videoed it and sent the footage to friends as it was happening.The victim said she learned of what happened to her when detectives showed her the graphic images retrieved from the phones.During her victim impact statement, she described the horror she felt seeing the images of herself.Ive seen with my own eyes what I was when Mr. Batey was done with me: a piece of trash, face down in a hallway, covered in his urine and palm prints, a photograph he took himself, the woman said. There are no words to describe the horror of the images from that night and how it feels to watch yourself be dehumanized.She wept throughout much of her statement as she described how her life and her belief in the fundamental goodness of people were both upended with the discovery of what happened to her.The victim has had to testify at multiple trials, and Bateys high-profile status and the international attention the case received left her in constant fear of being known as the victim. As a result, she said she feels the attack on her continues throughout every new court proceeding.Everything the defendant has done in this case and the media circus surrounding it have been a continuous disruption, repeatedly dragging me back every single step I try to take forward, she said. I can only feel that the defendant has intentionally wanted this to be as tortuous for me as possible.The sentencing comes amid widespreadd furor over a Stanford University swimmer who was sentenced to six months in jail for a similar crime: sexually assaulting an unconscious woman on a college campus.dddddddddddd.In Tennessee, the judge did not have the discretion to give Batey a lighter sentence. Batey was convicted in April of aggravated rape, which carries a sentence of 15 to 25 years.Prosecutors asked for the maximum, saying the crime was particularly egregious and that the punishment would send a message about campus rapes.Prosecutors have said Batey urinated on the woman and made a racial statement at the end of the attack. Batey is African-American and the woman is white. One of the four former players is also white. They did not say what the statement was.The victims said Batey violated her sexually in multiple ways, but it didnt end there.Mr. Batey continued to abuse and degrade me, urinating on my face while uttering horrific racial hate speech that suggested I deserved what he was doing to me because of the color of my skin.Batey, a 22-year-old who grew up in Nashville, apologized to the victim and to his family and mother. He also apologized to Vanderbilt University. He testified at one of his trials that he was drunk and blacked out at the time of the rape.My mother and family did not raise me in any way to mistreat anyone, let alone a woman, as I have been raised predominantly by women, Batey told the court. I hope that if not today, maybe one day, you will find it in your heart to forgive me for any damages that I may have caused.Batey and Brandon Vandenburg were convicted last year, but the verdicts were tossed because a juror did not reveal he was a victim of statutory rape. They have both been convicted a second time. Two other players are awaiting trial.In handing down his sentence, Judge Watkins said the case stood out among the thousands he has seen in 32 years of practicing law.Ive seen so many cases, and this is one of the saddest, Watkins said. ' ' '