Posted on 03/28/2006 10:21:27 PM PST by Howlin
(03/28/06 -- DURHAM) - Duke University's highly ranked men's lacrosse team won't play again this season until school administrators learn more about allegations that several team members raped an exotic dancer at an off-campus party, the school said Tuesday.
University president Richard Brodhead had decided to suspend the team from play "until there is a clearer resolution of the legal situation involving team members."
The suspension raises the possibility the Blue Devils will miss the rest of their games. Duke has four games left on its regular-season schedule, followed by next month's Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Baltimore and a likely bid to the NCAA tournament. Last year, Duke lost to Johns Hopkins in the school's first appearance in the national title game.
No one has been charged in the case, which has roiled the campus, raised racial tensions and heightened antagonism between the affluent students at Duke, which costs about $43,000 a year, and the city of Durham, which has a large population of poor people and is about evenly divided between white and black. Armed with a judge's order, police took DNA samples with a cheek swab from 46 of the lacrosse team's 47 players last week. The 47th player, the only black member of the team, did not have to provide DNA because the dancer said her attackers were white.
"I needed to have the information about who will be charged," said District Attorney Mike Nifong said Tuesday. "I feel pretty confident that a rape occurred."
Brodhead said the team's captains notified Duke athletic director Joe Alleva on Tuesday the team wanted to stay off the field until results of DNA testing came back from the state crime lab. Brodhead said it was his decision to expand the suspension.
"In this painful period of uncertainty, it is clear to me, as it was to the players, that it would be inappropriate to resume the normal schedule of play," Brodhead said. "Sports have their time and place, but when an issue of this gravity is in question, it is not the time to be playing games."
An hour before the rape was reported, 911 operators received calls from another woman who was walking by the party.
"It's right in front of 610 Buchanan [Blvd.] , and I saw them all come out like a big frat house, and me and black girlfriend are walking by, and they called us n-----s," the caller said.
An hour later, a 27-year-old dancer reports being strangled, kicked, beaten and raped by three members of Duke's lacrosse team. Traumatized and full of fear, she retreated to a nearby grocery store and refused to get out of the car until an officer arrived.
"The problem is, it's a lady in somebody else's car and she will not get out of the car," the 911 caller said. "The owner of the car is right here and she says she can explain what happened."
The documents say some players threatened to assault the victims sexually with a broom as they performed. Court documents also say team members tried to create an "atmosphere of confusion" by giving fake names to hire the strippers.
Investigators say they are encountering a stonewall of silence against a mounting pile of evidence.
"Based on what I know about the crime, is that it is highly unlikely that the people at that crime scene who where not directly involved in the crime did not know that something untoward was going on," said Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong.
Two weeks into the investigation, Nifong says he has received little cooperation from Duke lacrosse team members.
Durham CrimeStoppers is making a new plea for help in the investigation. Officials sent out an e-mail Tuesday afternoon, saying in part:
"Although we have received many calls expressing concerns and anger about this incident, we have not received any calls which would allow us to assist in resolving this case&We are extending our plea for information and help to our Duke family, who are also part of our community."The police department's plea is the latest in a PR battle between investigators and Duke University officials. It comes one day after Duke President Richard Brodhead said the team had been cooperative.
"My information is that they have been cooperating all along with the investigation," he told Eyewitness News.
DNA samples from the lacrosse players did not come voluntarily. District Attorney Nifong said Tuesday that Duke is not hampering the investigation.
Meanwhile, the Durham chapter of the NAACP is asking for a private meeting with Duke officials.
That's very true.
I've seen a couple of lacrosse games. I grew up playing hockey, so I get how the game flows, and the various strategies. It's incredibly fast, and incredibly tough.
I might have my kids play lacrosse someday. Seems like a good sport to get into.
A friend and I were having a discussion recently about (the lack of) gentlemanliness on college campuses. We agreed that part of the problem is that many young women have become as callous about sex as they assume men are. The extent to which college girls drink like fishes and dress like whores would absolutely scandalize our grandparents. Is it any wonder why college-aged men don't respect women when they don't respect themselves?
An important thing to teach your kids is that if they ever find themselves in a situation involving the legal authorities, they should keep their mouths shut until they have talked to their legal counsel. They should follow this rule, even if innocent.
see..and how do you know that? You really have no idea who is cooperating and who isn't...Everything is speculation with the lives of 43 innocent guys in the balance--maybe even 46. One word from anyone involved in this is going to be taken out of context and blown out of proportion. Now that the Cable folks have latched on, it will get worse.
My son would learn quickly that he might have to stand alone and take the arrows from the rest. I don't have a son but I do teach my daughter that 80 years on earth is only a visit. It is the rest after death you want to be ready for. So called friends are not going to help you with that time.
SUPPOSEDLY there were three guys in that bathroom--the rest of the players could only offer hearsay...
How 'bout them Lady Terps!
Because I am listening to the news 24/7 down here; that is practically all that is on.
If they are innocent, they should be TALKING to the police.
And the police should be keeping details to themselves until there are irrefutable facts. What is the lawyer's name?
Some stood at the bathroom door and did nothing or so they thought at the time. Sports can be a good thing but it has not been great in our country lately.
If no one is talking are you sure there was anyone at the bathroom door?..Sounds a whole lot like Enquirer stuff...I'll wait for evidence.
I've been to a few college and Navy parties. There are always spectators or cheerleaders at these events.
My cousin is a season tix holder for Terrapin men's hoops. He "affectionately" refers to the instutition as "DOOK".
They did exclude one of the players from a DNA test. I heard on the news he was black.
This sounds like the movie 'The Accused'.
I'm not excusing rape or arguing for light penalities, if that's what you're implying. Throw the book at rapists. I'm talking more generally about college culture (which extends outside of college also). It's an irrefutable fact that if a girl dresses like a slut and/or gets really drunk, she's more likely to find herself in a bad situation. Again...that does not excuse any crime. But it's like walking through a dangerous neighborhood at night...you're putting yourself in a situation that can easily have bad results.
"Off the topic of the crime here. 47 member team? IIRC, that's more players than are on a professional football team. We're talking about a 'sport', reminiscent of soccer, where the player runs up and down the field with a stick. How many people go watch this?"
I think a pro football team has more than 47 players.
Lacrosse demands a lot of stamina and toughness. It also helps to be very fast. Like in hockey, lacrosse players sub in on the fly to get fresh legs in the game. There's a lot more scoring than in soccer. I never saw lacrosse until I went to college and I immediately fell in love with it. The fastest sport on feet.
No one knows who's telling the truth, but I like this move by the school.
If the players are guilty, they are getting what they deserve. I doubt any Division I football team would forfeit games during the investigation.
It also sends a message to the underclassmen on the team. Don't try this crap again or you'll lose more of your eligibility.
If the players are innocent they will be vindicated in the court of public opinion.
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