It didn't surprise me that a very PC school like Duke would produce a committee report like this. An outsized concern about the "racial aspects" of the case and worry if a lack of diversity in the administration contributed to a failure to act sooner are par for the course there.
What interested me in the report was what very well may enable the players/families to sue Duke for damages:
"The players may been been lulled into a false sense of security about the events shortly to unfold and might well have sought legal counsel sooner had they been aware of the stakes. Some parents of the lacrosse players were (AND ARE) distressed by the failure of Duke authorities to alert the students and their families to the seriousness of the situation in the days immediately following the party."
Would the three team captains have participated in 25 hrs. of police interrogations on March 16 if they had had lawyers at the time? Not likely.
One of those captains, David Evans, apparently admitted to being at the party where alcohol was potentially available to underage players. For that honesty, he is now faced with a criminal record, as Nifong has rescinded his earlier misdemeanor diversion deal.
If I were his, or any other player's parent, I would be eager to punish the Duke administration, as their failure to advise me or my son as soon as this case came to their attention (Mar. 14) resulted in grave harm.
http://www.wral.com/news/9178286/detail.html
I too notice that Duke admitted they failed to advise their students correctly. You are right that this may well cost Duke money.
I have thought for some time now that the parents of some of these students, depending on individual circumstances surrounding the case, the initial interviewing, the police forays into the dorm rooms and the suspension of McFayden, should initiate suits against Duke post haste.