They were just lacrosse players, but they played for Duke, who has a well known basketball team and is one of the top universities in the country. If this had happened at Podunk State, you wouldn't have heard about it beyond local news.
This may or may not be true. But I stand by what I said originally, that these guys were successful white males who allegedly abused a 'downtrodden black', and that was the reason for the media saturation. The fact that they attended Duke gave the media the proof they needed that the guys were indeed successful young men from successful white families. There is nothing the leftist media enjoys more than helping to perpetuate female 'empowerment', racial tension and economic divisions, and this story had all three of their favorite divisive elements. The only thing missing from the story being a media Grand Slam was that the alleged 'victim' wasn't a lesbian.