'06 Lacrosse Team to Sue Duke U
The 38 members of the 2006 men’s lacrosse team at Duke University reportedly plan to sue the school in federal court today, contending that Duke officials remained silent about exonerating evidence as a rape investigation took an emotional toll.
Although only three players were charged—and later determined to be innocent—in a 2006 rape case that arose out of a stripper’s claim that she was assaulted by team members at a party, the entire team suffered from the school’s lack of support. Their attorney, Chuck Cooper, plans to sue Duke, its president, the university’s medical center and the city of Durham, N.C., in federal court in North Carolina today, reports Bloomberg.
“These young men want acknowledgment that they were wronged by institutions and individuals that they trusted to treat them honestly,” explains Cooper in a written statement. “They were victimized by a corrupt investigation that ignored or suppressed evidence that would have cleared them. And all for a crime that never took place.”
The team reportedly doesn’t plan to name as a defendant former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong, who is blamed for the faulty prosecution. He was disbarred as a result of his actions, and he has filed a bankruptcy case.
