Just got a CNN Breaking News Tweet that Mr. Broughton is claiming that the enema never happened...

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/02/us/ten...ent/index.html

..."However the scandalous accusations surrounding that event never happened and I completely deny them," he said at a news conference."

"At this point my intent is to clear my name, my fraternity's name and to punish those individuals and institutions responsible for the lies that have been spread around the world," Broughton said.

His attorney, Daniel F. McGehee, said they intended to sue "whoever violated his HIPAA rights and his constitutional rights, and the list is as long as your arm."

HIPPA right to confidentiality aside, I gotta believe that the medical evidence should be pretty conclusive as to what really happened to this guy. His denials sound awfully desperate.

I don't believe his HIPAA rights were violated. From everything i've read about the incident, it was a fraternity brother who told police about the alcohol enema. There has not been a statement by any medical personnel in the media. Wouldn't his medical records or info have to have been released by someone with a duty to keep things confidential in order for HIPAA rights to have been violated?

Why does this young man and his family not see that the best possible thing that they could possibly do would be to say "no comment" and let this story die?

The attorney says he asked the kid the night he was admitted to the hospital whether he did the enemas. The police say the kid's BAC was .4. From everything I know about BACs, someone with a .4 isn't going to have a memory of the events and isn't going to be able to have a coherent discussion.

As for the HIPAA thing, I think one article I read said that he had injuries in the rectal area consistent with the enema theory. I don't know where they would have gotten that information other than from a hospital.

ETA: Go re-read the first article posted here where it says the police report stated he was non-responsive and had signs of physical/sexual assault. If this information came from the police report then no, HIPAA does not apply at all.

From everything I've read, the info regarding his injuries came from the police report.

Lots of rumors flying around right now. Let's keep those to a minimum. I can say that Pi Kappa Alpha is handling this horribly from a PR standpoint.

This is Pike's press release:

That said, I find it pretty dubious that this attorney speaks for Pike's chapter as that same chapter plead guilty to 7 counts of alcohol related misconduct and accepted their suspension from campus. Then there's this guy who appears to be speaking for the chapter who denies everything and threatens to sue everyone in sight. If this guy doesn't speak for Pike, someone really dropped the ball in making the public aware.

Also, what a horrible and totally unnecessary press conference on so many levels. Seeing a grey-haired attorney in a bow tie talking about butt chugging should be a drinking game. Talking seriously about the kid's sexual orientation being questioned and wanting to set that straight is pretty bad too. The worst thing ever? Letting the kid make a public statement. How does any of that help anything?

Adds a whole new dimension to the term "asshole"!

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So you're saying that if they would have chosen men who could handle their liquor better, this wouldn't have happened?

I just caught a re-run of The Soup that featured the ill-advised press conference with the attorney representing (I think) the Pike chapter and apparently the young man who was hospitalized. Horrid in every respect. There was definitely a victimization feeling to the whole thing, and definitely a homophobic tone in the attorney's statement (how DARE anyone imply this young man might be a HOMOSEXUAL?!). The other brothers standing around sullenly wearing dark suits and sun glasses made it look even more idiotic.

I did some dumb things in college (I still remember trying to use nicotine patches to stay up to finish a paper...don't ever do that), so did my room-mates, so did my sorority sisters. However, when you got caught (see: underage drinking/public alcohol posssession/public urination-though please note, that was not me), you cried, called your parents, then dealt with it. These guys just don't want to let it go.

No, I was just shaking my head in dismay. The Pikes I knew were squared away stand up guys and generally too smart to shove booz up there.

If you were a stand up guy it would run right back out and the whole thing would be pretty pointless.

It looks like they have packed up and moved out:

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/oc...s-move-out-by/

I'm not sure what they thought the press conference would accomplish, but Jimmy Kimmel did call it "perhaps the greatest press conference of all time." (Jokingly of course.) If young Xander really is innocent of any activity taking place in the said area of his anatomy, his medical records should support the claim. I believe I'd just let those records be published and speak for themselves. The press conference proved nothing, though it did draw more widespread attention and ridicule.

I will say this, though -- hats off to all those brothers for maintaining a straight face every time the bow-tied lawyer said "butt chugging."

That whole incident inspired my advisory board to have a serious conversation about crisis management. I guess that's a positive takeaway.

Absolutely. Best to have that discussion when you DON'T need crisis management and at least have some ideas in mind in the unfortunate event you ever do need it.

This is the second very large, long established fraternity with deep pocketed alums that Tennessee has shut down recently. FIJI was booted in May of this year. Sounds like a crack down on The Hill. I hope fraternities that aren't already doing so will begin to seriously consider their risk management programs. It's rare that an entire chapter is responsible for its demise. It usually comes down to the actions of a renegade group of high risk brothers or maybe even just a few. Fraternities may need to implement zero tolerance policies in regards to problematic members. Honestly, do members who are willing to put the entire chapter at risk really deserve to wear the letters?

I was thinking about the president and how hard it must be to always know your chapter lost its charter the year YOU were captain of the ship. Kinda felt bad for him, but my husband (who was president of his large fraternity) had no sympathy for him. He said when you accept the office of president, it's your job to know what's going on in your house at all times. He said no, you can't be there 24/7, but you always have solid men in place and keep your house under control.

Well, I hope this whole thing does not impact the other fraternities at UTK...in that "butt chugging" doesn't become something people associate with fraternities there in general. Sadly and unjustly, the consequences of a small group of people can be far-reaching, but hopefully, the entire UTK fraternity system won't suffer ridicule or see a reduction in young men interested in going through recruitment.

You do have a very good point there. But then, being a stand up guy I'll never know since there is no way I'd ever consider butt booze. I like my single malt consumed in the traditional manner.
As an OBTW, I hope I can assume that you meant to say "if HE was a stand up guy". After all, it would violate my most firmly held philosophy best expressed by the late W.C. Fields: "A man's got to believe in something. I believe I'll have another drink"!