UVA tries to pick up the Pieces

A week after the tragic death of University of Virginia Women’s Lacrosse player Yeardley Love, both the Men’s and Women’s teams at UVA are both opening up NCAA Tournament play this weekend with the blessing of the Love family. The men’s team is hosting Mount Saint Mary’s College on Saturday, and the women’s team opened up Sunday against Towson University. Both teams had to put the tragedy aside over the weekend and focus on the sport Yeardley devoted her college career to.

Strangled to death in her Charlottesville apartment by her ex-boyfriend and fellow UVA Lacrosse player, George Huguely, he is now being charged with 1st degree murder. Both Love and Huguely were seniors who were set to graduate from a fantastic school with their whole lives ahead of them.
Huguely had a history of alcohol abuse and a violent nature. The press has uncovered numerous incidents that should have been clear warning signs: attacking a sleeping teammate who had kissed Love; arrested for public intoxication—so drunk that he did not even remember being tasered after arguing with a police officer; a few months before her murder, according to the Washington Post, Love and Huguely had to be separated by three UNC lacrosse players because he had allegedly been drunk and obsessive towards Love.

Another disturbing incident occurred during the Huguely family's stay at their South Florida winter home in December of 2008. Huguely got into a "very heated" argument with his father and cousin on the 40-foot fishing boat known as The Reel Deal. And according to the Washington Examiner, there were no blows, but "lots of yelling and screaming," deputies said. Huguely dove into the ocean and tried to swim the quarter-mile back to shore. Huguely's father radioed for help, and a passing vessel picked up the son. No arrest was made. It was Huguely's second run-in with police in Palm Beach County, where the family has a $2 million estate in Manalapan; one year earlier, Huguely was charged with possession of alcohol by a minor.

Clearly, Huguely was a disturbed individual. It is unfortunate that neither Love nor Huguely got the help they so desperately needed. UVA now is reaching out to students to speak out against domestic violence.