Article:The LA Sports Blog: ArmchairGM Burns 3/14/08: The Story Of Eric Frimpong

ArmchairGM Burns 3/14/08: The Story of Eric Frimpong
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Today’s post and every post from here on are in honor of the movement to free Eric Frimpong. It would be unfair for me to call myself a friend of Eric’s, we’ve only met on 2 occasions that I can recall (and played soccer on together on several others); though he is close with several of my friends. Eric has been falsely accused and convicted of rape. Last Tuesday he was denied a retrial after new evidence and testimony proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the girl’s boyfriend was the more likely culprit due to dental records matching a bite on the victims face. Moreover, the DNA on the women’s underwear did NOT match that of Frimpong’s, but that of another man, a friend of hers named Ben Randall. Frimpong is a UCSB graduate with a degree in Math and a minor in finance and comes from a poor tribe in Ghana.

His pursuit of the American dream has been knocked off course by a young woman who probably knows that Eric is not the man who rapped her, and a justice system that has imprisoned him on the concept: “Although the bite marks don’t prove Mr. Frimpong is the rapist, it doesn’t totally discount him either.” That sounds like reasonable doubt to me. Anyway, Eric has stated that although his body is in jail, his soul and spirit are with us. Also Eric has commented that this is part of a greater purpose designed for him. I am amazed and inspired by Eric’s resolve, demeanor and calm sense of “what is right will come to pass”.

There was a time during the trial where I was unsure of Eric’s innocence. Now there is no doubt  in my mind that this young man is being falsely imprisoned and getting the raw end of the deal because the system wants someone in jail for all the money they spent on this case. He has been portrayed as guilty by the media since he was first accused with headlines of “UCSB National Soccer Champion Accused of Rape” and “UCSB Star Goes to Trial for Raping Girl”. If those aren’t biased headlines with the intent of poisoning the jury pool then I don’t know what is.

I ask that you go to this Facebook Page dedicated to this story and the release of Eric Frimpong. You may sit at your computer this weekend and feel bad for him but move on. Please read and share his story, don’t let what has happened to Eric happen to someone you know. We will not rest until Eric’s home with us again in Isla Vista, playing soccer at Rob Field and enjoying the warm afternoons on the beach. We will not let you sit for the next 6 years in that cell Eric. We will find the justice you deserve.

You can also support Eric by visiting [ericfrimpong.wordpress.com Free Eric Frimpong]. I urge you to read all of the information and the whole story before coming to your own conclusions. The last 12 months this has been the Story of Eric Frimpong. But this year it could be a friend of on of your sons, it could even be YOUR son. Or, it could happen to you. If a model student, athlete and person can be railroaded so unjustly by a community that claims to be as progressive and liberal as Santa Barbara does; it most certainly can happen to you or someone you care about.

We don’t cry for you Eric. We don’t hang our heads in shame or feel embarrassed to be associated with you just because you are a now a convicted rapist. We stand firm in our belief that the evidence presented and the procedures taken do not match up. We stand firm in our belief of your innocence, and we stand firm in the belief that we will vindicate you and bring you home where you belong. Do not hang your head. Walk across that yard, and down that prison hallway with your head held high, walk like the proud, innocent man you are. Teach the others on the inside the lessons you’ve learned and taken back to Ghana from your books of devotions and worship.

We shall not rest Eric, we cannot rest. Not until your home again. I pray for you daily and will be going with Sam to visit you soon enough. This is far from over. We will not let you sit alone Eric, not when so many stand behind you.

-Nate Gordon

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