Duke Lacrosse Player Speaks Out

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

By Darla Miles

(05/02/06 -- DURHAM) (WTVD) -- A Duke lacrosse player is breaking his silence exclusively with ABC11 Eyewitness News.

It is the first on-camera interview with a Duke lacrosse player since the story of the alleged rape broke. The player, who did not want his identity revealed, said there was no rape at the March 13 party and is defending the coach and the team. Says Duke officials abandoned team The player says Duke University officials turned their backs on the team.

"From the get-go, we've only had each other to fall back on," he said. "We've been convicted in the media. Our university turned its back on us...They didn't stand up for us. We feel neglected, and we feel that our loyalty to the university wasn't reciprocated."

He said the allegations have brought players closer together.

"We've stayed strong for this, and we still have each other. We'll be best friends for life," he said. Coach 'was forced out' The team was on its way to the national championship when the rape investigation began and Coach Mike Pressler resigned.

"He didn't resign. He was forced out," the player said. "The notion that he quit or resigned is ridiculous."

The player talked about a committee's report, released Monday, that detailed issues with the lacrosse team's culture and previous reports of misconduct.

"As the report shows, there was a clearly a disconnect between student affairs and the athletic department and [Pressler] took the fall for a lot of things he didn't know about. They said that he fostered an atmosphere with his behavior, and that's not true at all. All the incidents he knew about, he dealt with," he said.

Certain that rape didn't happen The player said he was 100-percent certain that a rape did not happen.

"From the beginning, it was rape and these guys did this and this definitely happened, but only now do you see that there are two sides of the story," he said.

He said the day two players were arrested was the "most emotional day of my life." He worries about a third indictment.

"I just pray [Nifong] doesn't go through with it, that he doesn't indict another innocent person," the player said. "We're all anxious, because even if it's not me, it's going to be somebody else, who I care about."

The player is upset with the way District Attorney Mike Nifong has handled the investigation.

"I wish he hadn't said the DNA was going to exclude innocent parties. Because in our minds, we thought this was all going to come back negative and this is going to be over. So from our perspective, we thought this was going to be over, and from the communities perspective, they thought they were going to get three guilty parties. And neither came back," he said.

The player believes the lacrosse team will come back stronger next year and make another run for the national championship.

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