Replies

Duke women’s lax team shows support for troubled men’s team
By Associated Press
Saturday, May 27, 2006 - Updated: 08:08 AM EST

Duke players react after losing 11-10 in overtime to Northwestern in the NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse semifinals, Friday, May 26, 2006, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

BOSTON - The Duke women’s lacrosse team couldn’t win the NCAA title its troubled men’s counterpart never got a chance to play for.

Adopting the men’s motto of “No Excuses, No Regrets” and writing on wristbands the numbers of three indicted classmates, the Blue Devils lost 11-10 to Northwestern in overtime in the national semifinal.

Coach Kerstin Kimel broke into tears after Friday night’s game when describing the siege her players have faced since the men’s season was scuttled amid charges of rape and racism.

“When there’s a void in our everyday lives at Duke, which there was, it’s not easy,” Kimel said. “Myself and the players, we had to shelve a lot of emotion all season long. To their credit, they used that emotion to get us where we’ve taken our team.”

Three Duke lacrosse players - Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and co-captain David Evans - have been charged with raping a woman hired to strip at a team party in March. In the aftermath of the accusations - and claims that the players, who are white, shouted racist taunts at the black woman - the university canceled the rest of the highly ranked team’s season, and coach Mike Pressler resigned.

The players’ attorney has insisted they are innocent. But reports that the women’s lacrosse team would wear headbands that said “Innocent” became a flash point in the world of women’s lacrosse and the Duke community.

Instead, about 10 Blue Devils wore wristbands that said “45 13 6” - the uniform numbers of the three accused men. Other players wore wrist and headbands with the men’s logo.

http://news.bostonherald.com/national/view.bg?articleid=141078

Duke is one of the biggest losers in this disgusting circus. They threw the whole team overboard from the instance the accuser made her charge. I wonder if they would have done the same to their basketball team? Lacrosse is not a money sport for a university, so easy to demonize the boys as elitist. I doubt the Duke girls lacrosse team would have been so strong in their support if they had any reason to think that the boys were guilty of these charges.

The players’ attorney has insisted they are innocent. But reports that the women’s lacrosse team would wear headbands that said “Innocent” became a flash point in the world of women’s lacrosse and the Duke community.

It's considered "controversal" in the "mainstream" to point out that these players are innocent.