Notre Dame football Coach Brian Kelly finally speaks publicly about the death of Lizzy Seeberg.
The case was never tried in court, but it is once again being heard in the court of public opinion after former Notre Dame football player Prince Shembo admitted that he was the player investigated for sexually assaulting her. Shembo claimed innocence at the NFL Scouting Combine, and the coverage of his remarks led to Tom Seeberg, the father of Lizzy Seeberg to speak with the media about the case and how Notre Dame handled it.
But now, four years later, we finally hear from Brian Kelly on the situation.
Brian KELLY on the 2010 suicide of Lizzy Seeberg linked to the alleged sexual battery assault of former ND linebacker Prince Shembo:
“I think that our university has been thorough on what they were charged to do. I think that in all of these situations you are always looking for improvements in what you’re doing. There’s nobody involved in this very tragic situation that looks back on it and says ‘we did everything right.’ We were charged with giving the Shembo family information and counsel just like I do with all of our players and, as a university, and, as the head coach, we felt that the information we gave Prince was the right information that it didn’t serve him or his family to talk about this situation. It was something that should be left up to others to talk about. Again, as we talk about each individual person in this case, Prince in particular being under my care and guidance, we’re going to give him the advice the university and the people in our administration felt was the best thing to do at the time. Again, as a university, we’re always looking to do things better.”
Kelly admits they did not handle the case as well as they could have. And he seems to do some “passing of the buck” in terms of responsibility for everything Notre Dame football and the University of Notre Dame did wrong in handling Shembo and trying to show at least a modicum of respect to the Seeberg family.
The quote is from “Inside Look” with Brian Kelly premiering Monday, March 3 at 9:30 PM CST on Comcast SportsNet Chicago. CSN will also re-air the Brian Kelly special on the following dates/times: Thu, Mar 6 at 11pm – Thu, Mar 20 at 9:30pm & Fri, Mar 21 at 11:30pm.
In addition, the CSN Chicago special hosted by Pat Boyle features Brian Kelly talks about the 2012 girlfriend hoax on his former star player Manti Te’o, his wife Paqui’s bout with breast cancer on two occasions, and much more.
Brian Kelly on the Manti Te’o girlfriend hoax in 2012 that became a media firestorm:
“In most instances, if it were anybody else, I probably wouldn’t have believed them. It was somebody with Manti that I had such an incredible relationship with, that I felt bad for him. Listening to him on the phone, explaining what had happened to him, I was mad. I was angry. In my brain, I’m thinking not a catfish scheme, but they’re setting this kid up. Something’s going on like they’re trying to extort money. I’m thinking the worst.”
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An MBA and Fulbright scholar, he’s also a frequent analyst on news talk radio; with regular segments on ESPN,NBC, CBS and Fox. A former NBC Chicago and Washington Times writer, he’s also been featured on the History Channel. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)