May 16, 2024 • 34 mins
Explore the dramatic unraveling and resolution of the Duke Lacrosse case, a journey from accusation to exoneration that captivates and confounds. Host Jay Harris guides listeners through the pivotal moments leading to the dismissal of charges, the disbarment of DA Mike Nifong, and the legal battles that followed. Witness the personal and legal aftermath for those entangled in the scandal, from the accused players striving to rebuild their reputations to the tragic trajectory of the accuser's life.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome back to Playing Dirty Sports Scandals. I'm Jay Harris,
your host, your brave barista, your sherpa through the shadows
of the sports world. Over the past twenty years of
my career as a journalist and sportscaster, I've hosted ESPN
shows from Sports Center to Outside the Lines. But on
Playing Dirty, I blend up some of the rottenness produce
imaginable into the succulent scandals stories you crave. So grab
(00:32):
a cup and let's pick up where we left off
last week with the Duke University lacrosse case. Now, this
scandal is smacked of unfairness so far, but you know
I don't like to leave you with a bad taste
in your mouth, so I'm going to sweeten things up
(00:54):
today with a key ingredient, vindication. I can already taste
some of the bitterness dissipating, can't you. That's because we're
in December two thousand and six, which marked a turning
point in the Duke University lacrosse scandal. In the absence
of any actual evidence, DA Mike Kniphong's entire case now
(01:16):
hinged on the word of Crystal Mangum, who had made
accusations of assault and rape against lacrosse players Read Seligman,
David Evans, and Colin Finnerdy. But as time rolled on
and Crystal's account became more and more doubtful, Duke University's
administration was faced with the prospect of eating Crow for
having presumed the guilt of its students, and d A
(01:38):
Mike Nifong was becoming increasingly desperate. The revelation that Da
Niphong had manipulated DNA evidence to fit his and Crystal
Mangum's narrative of what happened at the Duke lacrosse team
party on March thirteen, two thousand and six, was the
first domino to fall, casting a shadow over the entire prosecution.
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It was impossible to ignore that Niphong, who had just
won reelection, was alleged to have asked a private DNA
lab to hide the explosive finding that Crystal's rape kit
had DNA from multiple men unrelated to the Duke lacrosse team.
Not one lacrosse player's DNA was discovered on Crystal, and
the DA's shady concealment of exculpatory evidence raised serious questions
(02:24):
about the integrity of the case, and those leading it. Then,
on December twenty second, in what must surely have felt
like a windfall to Read Seligman, David Evans, and Colin
finnerdy Da, Mike Kniphong announced that he was dropping the
rape charge altogether. Why would Niphong, who was like a
(02:47):
dog with a bone when it came to seeking the
player's convictions, concede the most serious charge. There could only
be one reason. He simply didn't have any other choice
this time. The latest chip to fall in Ni Funk's
case beggared belief. Crystal Mangum apparently announced, after all the
months of lineups and case reviews and press interviews, that
(03:10):
she was actually not sure she'd been raped. What. At
this point, the credibility of Crystal as the accuser and
the entire justice system was on the line. After all,
she had told authorities an extremely graphic tale of gang
rape and brutal beating, but now she wasn't certain that
(03:30):
any of it had actually happened. This wild development made
zero sense to everyone who had been paying attention to
the case. How could someone be confused over whether or
not they'd been raped by multiple men while being beaten
in a bathroom at a party. Duke President Richard Broadhead,
saw the writing on the wall at last, and finally,
(03:52):
with this latest bombshell in the case, publicly supported Duke's students.
He issued a statement saying, I am greatly relieved for
the students and their families that the most serious of
the charges has been dropped. Given the certainty with which
the District Attorney made his many public statements regarding the
rape allegation, his decision today to drop that charge must
(04:16):
call into question the validity of the remaining charges. The
District Attorney should now put this case in the hands
of an independent party who can restore confidence in the
fairness of the process. Further, mister Nifong has an obligation
to explain to all of us his conduct in this matter.
As the two thousand and six year nearer close, Duke
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sought to definitively turn the page. The accused players, who
had not yet graduated read Settinggman and Colin Finnery were
invited back to campus, a gesture that acknowledged the university's
renewed belief in their innocence. Unsurprisingly, neither player chose to
return to campus regardless, DA Mike Nifong didn't share the
(05:02):
university's change of position. Instead of dropping the entire case
against the Duke lacrosse players, which it seems any sensible
prosecutor should have done, Nifong said that the players would
still face kidnapping and other sexual offense charges now, according
to the prosecutors who consult on playing dirty. At this point,
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Nifong had a nearly impossible task to convict the accused
players of having done anything criminal with Crystal as a sole,
unreliable witness. After adamantly claiming she was raped, she said
just a few months later that she wasn't sure she
had been raped, and well, she just had no credibility left.
(05:44):
Imagine what the cross examination by defense attorneys in a
trial would do to such a wishy washy witness. Crystal
would be destroyed on the stand and no rational jury
would believe anything she said beyond a reasonable doubt after
such a monumental sh shift in her story. Have you
ever heard the Lily Tomlin quote things are going to
(06:05):
get a lot worse before they get worse. Well, thanks
to his own extremely questionable decisions, Da Mike Nifong was
the embodiment of that quote. By the end of two
thousand and six, not only was his entire case falling
apart spectacularly, but he was about to become accused of
criminal behavior himself by the North Carolina Bar Association. You see,
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the Bar did not take it lightly that Da Mike
Nifong had been exposed for asking a lab employee to
hide exculpatory evidence in a very high profile, very high
stakes criminal case. At best, the Bar thought Kniphong's behavior
was a very serious ethics violation, and at worst, they
believe Niphong's behavior could be criminal. So, just a few
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days after Mike Nifong inexplicably continued to pursue reed seligman
David Evans and Colin Finnerdy on charges of kidnapping and
sexual offenses, the North Carolina Bar Association filed an ethics
complaint against Kniphong for misleading and inflammatory comments about the
lacrosse players. Remember how I told you that prosecutors had
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an ethics code and are absolutely not supposed to engage
in public commentary on a case outside court in any
detailed way. Well, when Da Mike Kniphong called out the
lacrosse players by name in the press and fueled a
media free for all around his pending case, he sealed
his own fate. The Bar was coming for him now,
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and it would only be a matter of weeks before
they filed additional complaints about Niphong with holding evidence and
lying to the court. Mike Nifong now found himself isolated,
with his case in pieces and his professional suitability under scrutiny.
The winds of vindication blew ever stronger for the players
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when in January two thousand and seven, Mike Nifhong was
forced to recuse himself from the case against read Seligman,
David Evans, and Colin Finnerdy because of the ethics charges
filed against him by the Bar. When a prosecutor is
recused from a case, it's because they've been deemed as
unqualified to perform legal duties because of a potential conflict
(08:19):
of interest or lack of impartiality. And so ironically, it
was Mike Nifhong's future on the line. As the script flipped.
He was now being accused in a legal proceeding and
in danger of losing his license to practice law entirely,
as Niphong was getting a taste of his own medicine,
the case against the lacrosse players was certainly looking flimsy,
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but it couldn't just go poof after all, rightfully or not,
a grand jury had indicted read seligment David Evans and
Colin Finderdy, and those indictments were still pending in the
court system. Cases have to be disposed of somehow once
they reached the indictment stage. This can happen through trial, guilty,
please or dismissals. With DA Mike Kniphong no longer on
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the case, North Carolina's Attorney General, Roy Cooper took the
matter over in order to clear it from the courts
one way or another. Roy Cooper, unlike d. A. Mc kniphong,
defined being by the book and was destined for a
political achievement. In fact, Cooper is currently serving as the
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seventy fifth governor of North Carolina. This was not a
man who was going to rely on his predecessor's conclusions
or be swayed by shifts in public opinion. Roy Cooper
took several months to bring himself up to speed on
the Duke Lacrosse case, reviewing all the materials meticulously and independently. Finally,
on April eleventh, two thousand and seven, Attorney General Roy
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Cooper was ready to weigh in. There were many points
in the case where caution would have served justice better
than bravado, Roy Cooper said in a damning assessment of
Durham County d A. Mike Nighte Fong's performance. Based on
the significant inconsistencies between the evidence and the various accounts
given by the accusing witness, we believe these three individuals
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read Seligman, David Evans, and Colin Finnity are innocent of
these charges. Cooper continued, and then he concluded by saying
that the initial charges had resulted from a quote tragic
rush to accuse and a failure to verify serious allegations,
and that this case shows the enormous consequences of overreaching
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by a prosecutor unquote. With Roy Cooper's pronouncement, all the
charges against the Duke lacrosse players were immediately dropped. Read Seligman,
David Evans, and Colin Finnerdy now had their lives back
for the first time in months. The players addressed to
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public themselves. Colin Finnity thanked his friends, family, and the
lacrosse team for their so throughout the harrowing experience. It's
been a very long and emotional year for me and
all of us. Knowing I had the truth on my
side was really the most comforting thing. Finity too, reporters.
Today's that day we've all been waiting for the truth
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finally did prevail. Read Seligman touted the whole experience as
a dark cloud of justice and noted that the Duke
lacrosse case shows society has lost sight of the most
fundamental principles of our justice system. Former Duke Blue Devil's
lacrosse captain David Evans, who would called Crystal's allegations fantastic lies,
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joined his teammate read Seligmann in questioning the justice system itself,
stating that they were all fortunate his parents had the
means to hire the best defense team. David Evans's implication
was that without strong counsel, they might never have been exonerated,
and he might be right. Then Dave Evans articulated something
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else to the press, something that seemed wise, way beyond
his years. He said, It's been a long year, longer
than you could ever imagine. But I hope these allegations
don't come to define me. Wow, what can I say,
the Duke lacrosse scandal happened almost two decades ago, and
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we're still talking about it. So did Crystal Mangum's allegations
ultimately define the players in this case or were the
clean parties able to shake off the dirt. Let's find out,
starting with Mike Presler, the Duke Blue Devil's lacrosse coach
who resigned when presented with a lose lose proposition by
the university to step down or be fired. Presler made
(12:43):
an impassioned statement when Attorney General Roy Cooper finally dismissed
the charges against Duke's players as worth hearing in full.
He said, and I quote today is the celebration of
the two words we've attached our lives to for almost
thirteen months. The truth. It is the same truth today
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as it was over a year ago. Our story has
not changed, and today's announcement is long long overdue. The injustice,
the lies, and the myths have been fully exposed. You
can talk about loyalty, honesty, and trust. They all apply
to the two thousand and six Duke men's lacrosse team.
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But in the end, it all comes down to the truth.
The players have told the truth and never wavered. They
stayed the course from day one. Today is that proof.
I am thrilled, overjoyed, and relieved for Dave Evans called
Infinity and Reed Settlement and their families. They have suffered
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greatly and unjustly. I am so proud of their resolve,
their strength, and the first class manner with which they
handled this entire episode. And now I hope that all
the Duke lacrosse players and families affected by this horrificay
situation can begin the process of moving on. Finally, I'd
like to thank the Attorney General of North Carolina and
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his staff for doing their due diligence and for allowing
us to bring this to a conclusion. Mike Presler had
been steady, a rock in the storm for his players,
and it lost everything as a result. Even a decade
after the Duke University of Lacrosse scandal rocked the nation,
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reflections within the university revealed a deep sense of regret
over the actions that had been taken against him during
the crisis. In a sixty minutes interview, Chris Kennedy, the
senior Deputy director of Athletics at Duke, shared that within
the administration, there was a prevailing sentiment that Mike Pressler
was unjustly ousted. I think that a lot of officials
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at the university have come to the realization, or came
to the realization within a year or so, that probably
Mike shouldn't have lost his job, Chris Kennedy admitted. Hearing
Chris Kennedy admit this publicly must have provided Mike Presler
with some personal vindication. But there's no doubt that the
Duke lacrosse scandal altered the course of his coaching career.
(15:12):
After his resignation from Duke, Presler the reigning national Coach
of the Year had become toxic and untouchable in the
world of college lacrosse. Imagine building up an amazing career
only to be stripped of it overnight for having done nothing,
absolutely nothing wrong. With no good options, Mike Presler got
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to work effectively starting his career over. He had no
ego in his approach to applications and was even turned
down from volunteer coaching gigs at high schools. But perhaps
the greatest kick in the teeth was Presler being turned
down by his own alma mater, Washington and Lee, where
he had once been the captain of both the lacrosse
(15:55):
and football teams. Interviewer Armacatean asked Mike Presler years later
if he ever got to the point where he thought,
I'm never going to coach again. I'm gonna have to
think of doing something else with my life. Mike paused
and then responded thoughtfully, saying, I did for a little
bit during that time, but then this hits me like
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a lightning bolt. If I don't coach again. They won,
and they were not going to win, and so clean
player coach Mike Presler persevered, and his perseverance paid off
because seven hundred miles away in Smithfield, Rhode Island, Bryant
University President Ron Maakeley was in the midst of rebuilding
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his athletic department. President Makeley saw an opportunity in Mike
Presler where others saw a liability. He hired Presler in
August two thousand and six to take over Bryant University's
nondescript Division two program, and under Presler's leadership, the Bryant
Bulldogs went from a Division two afterthought into a legitimate
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top twenty Division one program. In the years after the
Duke lacrosse scandal many schools larger than Bryant University court
at Coach Presler and Bryant University President Ron Makeley knew it.
I know that they tell him, we'll pay you three
times more. We'll give you camps, we'll give you the perks,
you'll have the beautiful locker room campus environment that you
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can't get at a small school at Bryant. But coach
Presler was never interested in jumping ship. He told press
that for him, you quote got to go back to
the events of the summer of six you know, for
me to turn and leave a place and the Bryant
University administration that has given me and my family so much,
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and to go do lacrosse somewhere else I couldn't live
with myself unquote. So as you can see, coach Mike
Presler never lost his sense of commitment and integrity. He
stayed with Bryant University for sixteen years until his retirement
in March of twenty twenty. As for Mike Presler's players,
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they also moved forward with their lives, pulling from their
coaches positive example of resilience. Colin Finnerdy sought a fresh
start at Loyola College in Baltimore. Finity had transferred to
Loyola while the case was still technically unresolved. Having turned
down Duke, University, President Richard brought his invitation for him
to return to campus. Thanks but no Thanks was surely
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Finity's feeling after everything that had happened at Duke, and
his gut instinct to leave Duke panned out because at Loyola,
Finnity had a similarly transformative experience to coach Mike Presler's
at Bryant University. While Loyola College is generally considered less
prestigious than Duke University, with an eighty four percent acceptance
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rate instead of one south of ten percent, that couldn't
have mattered much to Colin Finnity after all, however esteemed
the Duke name might be, he personally found the culture
there to be unjustly biased and toxic. What was far
more important under the circumstances was that Colin Finnerity was
welcomed instantly at Loyola College. It was here that he
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found not just a new academic home, but a welcoming
lacrosse community ready to embrace him despite his ongoing legal battles.
Infinity remembers how incredible that felt. After his embattled time
at Duke, Loyola welcomed me with open arms, despite the
fact that the case was still going on. Infinity later
reflected his decision to transfer universities marked the beginning of
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a new chapter for Colin Finity, one where he could
focus on learning and his passion for lacrosse. As co
captain of Loyola's nationally ranked lacrosse team, Colin Finnity demonstrated
leadership and commitment qualities of his that had been overshadowed
at Duke by the scandal. His return to the field,
especially in a playoff game against Duke on his old
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university's turf, was emotionally charged. After going through so much
for a year, being back at Duke was kind of
like going back to the heart of the case, Finity
shared with Press, revealing the complexity of his emotions during
that period. After he graduated from Loyola, Finity's transition into
the professional world saw him initially joining ESPN as an
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account service representative, a role he held for a year
and a half. Then his career path took a significant
turn when he ventured into the finance sector, securing a
position as an equity sales trader at Deutsche Bank in
New York in July twenty twelve, before going on to
earn an NBA from Columbia Business School in twenty twenty. Today,
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Finnity has established himself as a blockchain investment banking expert
in New York. Like Colin Finnerdy redeemed player, Reed Seligman
turned down Duke's offer to return to campus and instead
sought solace and a fresh start at Brown University. At Brown,
Seligman immersed himself in lacrosse once more. He played a
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pivot role in helping Brown reach the two thousand and
nine NCAA Lacrosse tournament plus the number ten national ranking.
But Reed Seligman had somewhat ironically discovered his true passion
as a result of the scandal in which he'd been
personally embroiled. He wanted to practice law, and so after
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graduating from Brown University, Reed Seligman got accredited to protect
other people's legal rights by studying at and graduating from
Emory Law School in Atlanta, setting the stage for a
promising legal career while simultaneously being an active fundraiser and
supporter for the Innocence Project. From interning to becoming a
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summer associate at Connell Foley LLP in New Jersey, Seligman's
dedication saw him rise through the ranks. His hard work
has culminated in his role as senior litigation associate at
the firm Alston and Byrd LLP in New York, demonstrating
Seligman's resilience and determination to rebuild his life post Duke.
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David Evans, the third acquitted player, was older than Colin
Finnerity and reads Seligment. He'd already graduated from Duke with
an economics degree by the time the allegations became public
knowledge in two thousand and six. Once the legal scandal
was settled in the player's favor, David Evans put distance
between himself and Duke, just as his teammates and coach
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had done. Moving on to the prestigious Wharton School at
the University of Pennsylvania, he earned an NBA and finance
there in twenty thirteen, and today he holds the position
of partner at Apax Digital in New York, while serving
on numerous boards, including guesting Ideal Protein and Metametrics. The
aftermath of the Duke Lacrosse case for the indicted and
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acquitted players Colin Finnity, Reads Seligman, and David Evans is
a testament to their determination to move beyond the scandal
that once threatened to define them. Each is carved out
a successful path in their respective fields, demonstrating that resilience
and a steadfast commitment to rebuilding can triumph over adversity.
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But even the Duke lacrosse players who weren't formally indicted
had to pick themselves up after the scandal and move
on with their lives. For instance, remember Ryan McFadden, who
sent that terrible, impulsive email that made everyone wonder if
he was actually capable of plotting an attempted murder while
he decided to use the extra year of eligibility he'd
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been granted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association or NCAA
to play a fifth lacrosse season for Duke, even though
he'd already completed his academic degrees in history and economics.
McFadden later told reporters that he always wished Reed, Seligman
and Colin Finnerdy had joined him in returning to Duke,
so that they too could have felt the full weight
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of exoneration. But despite being welcomed, truly welcomed back on
Duke's campus, McFadden had a tougher time moving on than
his teammates. I've been through a lot lot, Ryan McFadden
told Vanity Fair. I put most of it behind me,
but I don't think anybody can really comprehend because to
really understand what happened to me, how it affected me,
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I'm still not fully realizing what I've been through. Six
years down the road, there's still things that are coming
out that I'm realizing, Wow, this is how I live
my life now because of what happened in two thousand
and six and the two or three years after that,
I look at things a lot differently than a lot
of other people and go about life in similar circumstance,
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whether it's just personal relationships, professionally, the way I behave
in an office or meeting other people. It's different. And
it was different for McFadden because, in an age where
everything about you can be looked up online with the
click of a button, his debauched, infamous email could not
be erased. Whereas his teammates had been proven entirely innocent,
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there was no, denying that for whatever reason, Ryan McFadden
had I had written something that was seriously disturbing. Like
many of his classmates at Duke, McFadden dreamed of getting
a job on Wall Street after graduation, but every time
a firm ran their due diligence on him, bam, the
email would pop up and that would be that his
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identity became such an obstacle to his career that ultimately
Ryan McFadden opted to change his name. Since April twenty twelve,
he has been a partner at a developer of multi
family residential homes in Fairfield, Connecticut. Incidentally, the firm McFadden
works for was started by the father of one of
his Duke Lacrosse teammates. As for Mike Kniphong, the architect
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of the flawed prosecution, in spite of hiring an attorney,
his career ended in utter disgrace. Disbarred and stripped of
his law license, Nifong was sentenced to a day in
jail for his deceitful conduct in the Duke Lacrosse case.
This sentence was passed by Superior Court Judge w. Osmond
Smith I, who found Mike Nifong guilty of criminal contempt
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for misleading the court about critical DNA evidence. Judge Smith,
delivering his judgment with a tone of finality, underscored Niphong's
deliberate act of presenting an incomplete DNA report to the defense,
despite knowing it omitted crucial exculpatory evidence. Mister Nifong willingly
made false statements, Judge Smith declared, highlighting the gravity of
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Nifong's action, which betrayed the trust vested in his office.
The judge charged Nifong with criminal contempt of court, and
that was the beginning of the end for the embattled
former district attorney. Attempting to salvage some semblance of integrity,
Mike Nifong took the stand at his own trial, asserting
that his failure to provide complete DNA results had not
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been intentional. I now understand that some things that I
thought were in the report were in fact not in
the report, Niphong claimed, grappling with the stark reality of
his missteps, So the statements were not factually true to
the extent that I said all the information had been
provided despite his acknowledgment after the fact, the damage to
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Mike Kniphong's reputation was irrevocable, and his apology to the
court did little to amend the consequences of his actions.
Niphong's legal troubles were further compounded when David Evans, Colinfinity,
and Reed Seligman took legal action against him. In two
thousand and seven, the vindicated trio filed a federal lawsuit
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against Niphong, seeking compensation for the ordeal they had been
unjustly subjected to. Their legal pursuit was not merely about
financial compensation. It symbolized a quest for accountability and a
declaration that the miscarriage of justice they had endured would
not and could not be quietly overlooked. Facing mounting legal
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challenges and the formidable prospect of compensating those he had wronged,
Mike Knifong found himself in dire financial straits. By two
thousand and eight, he filed for bankruptcy, revealing assets that
paled in comparison to the overwhelming debt he had incurred
as a direct consequence of his actions in the Duke
Lacrosse case. His bankruptcy filing listed assets barely scratching the surface,
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with just two hundred and forty four thousand dollars available
against a staggering debt of one hundred and eighty point
three million dollars. Among the unsecured creditors he acknowledged were
David Evans, Colin Finnerdy Reed Seligman, and three other members
of Duke's two thousand and six men's lacrosse team, each
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of whom he owed thirty million dollars, a sum reflecting
the profound cost of Kniphong's prosecutorial misconduct and the unfair
agony each of the players had endured at his hands
in Mike Nifong's legal woes extended beyond the Duke Lacrosse
case two, underscoring a pattern of professional NETWT. In twenty sixteen,
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the conviction of Daryl Howard, whom Nifong it prosecuted in
nineteen ninety one, for a double homicide and sexual assault,
was overturned. The court found that Nifong had you guessed
it withheld exculpatory evidence. This revelation echoed the prosecutorial failings
Nifong exhibited during the Duke Lacrosse case and was a
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shocking turn of events without a shred of professional respectability,
left a disbarred and convicted, Mike Kniphong retreated from the
public eye. While he still lives in Durham, North Carolina.
By all accounts, his employment status is unknown. And let's
not forget Duke University itself a prestigious institution that let
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itself and its students down by subordinating due legal process
to social politics. The students at the heart of the
scandal certainly didn't forget how their schools stabbed them in
the backs. Thirty eight former men's lacrosse players at Duke
University sued the institution for its administration's behavior and one
between legal fees and payments to the players, Dukes believed
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to have spent upwards of one hundred million dollars for
its dirty behavior in the scandal. Kim Roberts, the exotic
dancer had been hired along with Crystal Mangum on the
night of the Fateful Party, has always maintained that Crystal
couldn't have been raped since they were together the entire
night except for five minutes. But just because Roberts was
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outspoken about this truth from the get go does not
mean that she herself was a clean player. Just eight
days after the party, on March twenty second, two thousand
and six, Kim Roberts was arrested for a probation violation
in connection to her two thousand and one conviction for
embezzling twenty five thousand dollars from a company where she
(30:50):
was a payroll specialist. The good news is that, after
a three month house arrest and extended probation period, Kim
Roberts seems to finally have put her past behind. Today
she lives in North Carolina under a different name, leading
a quiet life. Crystal Mangum's outcome, however, is not so fortunate.
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Once the alleged victim at the center of a national scandal,
basking in the attention and outpouring of support, she later
found herself on the other side of the law, serving
a prison sentence for violent crime. That's right. Crystal is
currently incarcerated at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women
in Raleigh. The facility is synonymous with discomfort beyond being
(31:35):
well a prison. The North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women
had been flagged in recent years for its lack of
air conditioning on the premises, getting so hot in the
summers that local service groups have even stopped visiting inmates
with therapy dogs. So what did Crystal ultimately do to
lose her freedom and most basic comforts. Well. In twenty eleven,
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almost five years after the infamous Duke Lacrosse party, Kristel
was accused of stabbing her boyfriend Reginald Day to death.
She claimed she had stabbed him in self defense, but
apparently the jury didn't believe her. It probably didn't help
that she had a twenty ten conviction related to another
domestic incident against another boyfriend. Crystal Mangum was convicted of
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Reginald Day's murder and sentenced to at least fourteen years
in prison. However much harm she caused, Crystal's story is
a tragic one, and according to Marina Zenovich, the director
behind Fantastic Lies, a documentary about the Duke Lacrosse scandal,
Cristal's actions were also hugely tragic for women who had
actually been raped. This is because the Duke Lacrosse scandal,
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which resulted from Cristel's lies, perpetuated the false belief that
accusations of sexual assault should not be readily believed. To
be clear, that is not at all the case false
rape allegations such as the one Crystal manga made against
the Duke Lacrosse players, are far and few between. According
to a comprehensive twenty ten study by Violence against Women,
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an international and interdisciplinary journal, only two to ten percent
of rape allegations are false. This means that overwhelmingly women
who come forward with rape claims are telling the truth.
As Marina Zenovitch explained to ESPN, to use the Duke
Lacrosse case as representative of a wider issue would be
(33:31):
a profound injustice to the real victims who have the
courage to come forward. Well, said miss Zenovich, that at
least is a truth. I think we can all raise
a glass of clean juice too. Thank you for coming
to me, Jay Harris, to quench your thirst for juicy
sports scandals. Come back next week for another tale on
(33:53):
Tap about the dark side of sports on Playing Dirty
Sports Scandals. Playing Dirty Sports Scandals is a production of
Dan Patrick Productions, Never Ever Productions and Workhouse Media from
(34:13):
executive producers Dan Patrick, Paul Anderson, Nick Panella, Maya Glickman,
and Jennifer Claring, Hosted by Jay Harris, Written and produced
by Jen Brown, Francie Haiks, Maya Glickman and Jennifer Clare
Welcome back to Playing Dirty Sports Scandals. I'm Jay Harris,
your host, your brave barista, your sherpa through the shadows
of the sports world. Over the past twenty years of
my career as a journalist and sportscaster, I've hosted ESPN
shows from Sports Center to Outside the Lines. But on
Playing Dirty, I blend up some of the rottenness produce
imaginable into the succulent scandals stories you crave. So grab
(00:32):
a cup and let's pick up where we left off
last week with the Duke University lacrosse case. Now, this
scandal is smacked of unfairness so far, but you know
I don't like to leave you with a bad taste
in your mouth, so I'm going to sweeten things up
(00:54):
today with a key ingredient, vindication. I can already taste
some of the bitterness dissipating, can't you. That's because we're
in December two thousand and six, which marked a turning
point in the Duke University lacrosse scandal. In the absence
of any actual evidence, DA Mike Kniphong's entire case now
(01:16):
hinged on the word of Crystal Mangum, who had made
accusations of assault and rape against lacrosse players Read Seligman,
David Evans, and Colin Finnerdy. But as time rolled on
and Crystal's account became more and more doubtful, Duke University's
administration was faced with the prospect of eating Crow for
having presumed the guilt of its students, and d A
(01:38):
Mike Nifong was becoming increasingly desperate. The revelation that Da
Niphong had manipulated DNA evidence to fit his and Crystal
Mangum's narrative of what happened at the Duke lacrosse team
party on March thirteen, two thousand and six, was the
first domino to fall, casting a shadow over the entire prosecution.
(01:59):
It was impossible to ignore that Niphong, who had just
won reelection, was alleged to have asked a private DNA
lab to hide the explosive finding that Crystal's rape kit
had DNA from multiple men unrelated to the Duke lacrosse team.
Not one lacrosse player's DNA was discovered on Crystal, and
the DA's shady concealment of exculpatory evidence raised serious questions
(02:24):
about the integrity of the case, and those leading it. Then,
on December twenty second, in what must surely have felt
like a windfall to Read Seligman, David Evans, and Colin
finnerdy Da, Mike Kniphong announced that he was dropping the
rape charge altogether. Why would Niphong, who was like a
(02:47):
dog with a bone when it came to seeking the
player's convictions, concede the most serious charge. There could only
be one reason. He simply didn't have any other choice
this time. The latest chip to fall in Ni Funk's
case beggared belief. Crystal Mangum apparently announced, after all the
months of lineups and case reviews and press interviews, that
(03:10):
she was actually not sure she'd been raped. What. At
this point, the credibility of Crystal as the accuser and
the entire justice system was on the line. After all,
she had told authorities an extremely graphic tale of gang
rape and brutal beating, but now she wasn't certain that
(03:30):
any of it had actually happened. This wild development made
zero sense to everyone who had been paying attention to
the case. How could someone be confused over whether or
not they'd been raped by multiple men while being beaten
in a bathroom at a party. Duke President Richard Broadhead,
saw the writing on the wall at last, and finally,
(03:52):
with this latest bombshell in the case, publicly supported Duke's students.
He issued a statement saying, I am greatly relieved for
the students and their families that the most serious of
the charges has been dropped. Given the certainty with which
the District Attorney made his many public statements regarding the
rape allegation, his decision today to drop that charge must
(04:16):
call into question the validity of the remaining charges. The
District Attorney should now put this case in the hands
of an independent party who can restore confidence in the
fairness of the process. Further, mister Nifong has an obligation
to explain to all of us his conduct in this matter.
As the two thousand and six year nearer close, Duke
(04:38):
sought to definitively turn the page. The accused players, who
had not yet graduated read Settinggman and Colin Finnery were
invited back to campus, a gesture that acknowledged the university's
renewed belief in their innocence. Unsurprisingly, neither player chose to
return to campus regardless, DA Mike Nifong didn't share the
(05:02):
university's change of position. Instead of dropping the entire case
against the Duke lacrosse players, which it seems any sensible
prosecutor should have done, Nifong said that the players would
still face kidnapping and other sexual offense charges now, according
to the prosecutors who consult on playing dirty. At this point,
(05:23):
Nifong had a nearly impossible task to convict the accused
players of having done anything criminal with Crystal as a sole,
unreliable witness. After adamantly claiming she was raped, she said
just a few months later that she wasn't sure she
had been raped, and well, she just had no credibility left.
(05:44):
Imagine what the cross examination by defense attorneys in a
trial would do to such a wishy washy witness. Crystal
would be destroyed on the stand and no rational jury
would believe anything she said beyond a reasonable doubt after
such a monumental sh shift in her story. Have you
ever heard the Lily Tomlin quote things are going to
(06:05):
get a lot worse before they get worse. Well, thanks
to his own extremely questionable decisions, Da Mike Nifong was
the embodiment of that quote. By the end of two
thousand and six, not only was his entire case falling
apart spectacularly, but he was about to become accused of
criminal behavior himself by the North Carolina Bar Association. You see,
(06:28):
the Bar did not take it lightly that Da Mike
Nifong had been exposed for asking a lab employee to
hide exculpatory evidence in a very high profile, very high
stakes criminal case. At best, the Bar thought Kniphong's behavior
was a very serious ethics violation, and at worst, they
believe Niphong's behavior could be criminal. So, just a few
(06:53):
days after Mike Nifong inexplicably continued to pursue reed seligman
David Evans and Colin Finnerdy on charges of kidnapping and
sexual offenses, the North Carolina Bar Association filed an ethics
complaint against Kniphong for misleading and inflammatory comments about the
lacrosse players. Remember how I told you that prosecutors had
(07:14):
an ethics code and are absolutely not supposed to engage
in public commentary on a case outside court in any
detailed way. Well, when Da Mike Kniphong called out the
lacrosse players by name in the press and fueled a
media free for all around his pending case, he sealed
his own fate. The Bar was coming for him now,
(07:36):
and it would only be a matter of weeks before
they filed additional complaints about Niphong with holding evidence and
lying to the court. Mike Nifong now found himself isolated,
with his case in pieces and his professional suitability under scrutiny.
The winds of vindication blew ever stronger for the players
(07:59):
when in January two thousand and seven, Mike Nifhong was
forced to recuse himself from the case against read Seligman,
David Evans, and Colin Finnerdy because of the ethics charges
filed against him by the Bar. When a prosecutor is
recused from a case, it's because they've been deemed as
unqualified to perform legal duties because of a potential conflict
(08:19):
of interest or lack of impartiality. And so ironically, it
was Mike Nifhong's future on the line. As the script flipped.
He was now being accused in a legal proceeding and
in danger of losing his license to practice law entirely,
as Niphong was getting a taste of his own medicine,
the case against the lacrosse players was certainly looking flimsy,
(08:41):
but it couldn't just go poof after all, rightfully or not,
a grand jury had indicted read seligment David Evans and
Colin Finderdy, and those indictments were still pending in the
court system. Cases have to be disposed of somehow once
they reached the indictment stage. This can happen through trial, guilty,
please or dismissals. With DA Mike Kniphong no longer on
(09:04):
the case, North Carolina's Attorney General, Roy Cooper took the
matter over in order to clear it from the courts
one way or another. Roy Cooper, unlike d. A. Mc kniphong,
defined being by the book and was destined for a
political achievement. In fact, Cooper is currently serving as the
(09:25):
seventy fifth governor of North Carolina. This was not a
man who was going to rely on his predecessor's conclusions
or be swayed by shifts in public opinion. Roy Cooper
took several months to bring himself up to speed on
the Duke Lacrosse case, reviewing all the materials meticulously and independently. Finally,
on April eleventh, two thousand and seven, Attorney General Roy
(09:48):
Cooper was ready to weigh in. There were many points
in the case where caution would have served justice better
than bravado, Roy Cooper said in a damning assessment of
Durham County d A. Mike Nighte Fong's performance. Based on
the significant inconsistencies between the evidence and the various accounts
given by the accusing witness, we believe these three individuals
(10:10):
read Seligman, David Evans, and Colin Finnity are innocent of
these charges. Cooper continued, and then he concluded by saying
that the initial charges had resulted from a quote tragic
rush to accuse and a failure to verify serious allegations,
and that this case shows the enormous consequences of overreaching
(10:31):
by a prosecutor unquote. With Roy Cooper's pronouncement, all the
charges against the Duke lacrosse players were immediately dropped. Read Seligman,
David Evans, and Colin Finnerdy now had their lives back
for the first time in months. The players addressed to
(10:54):
public themselves. Colin Finnity thanked his friends, family, and the
lacrosse team for their so throughout the harrowing experience. It's
been a very long and emotional year for me and
all of us. Knowing I had the truth on my
side was really the most comforting thing. Finity too, reporters.
Today's that day we've all been waiting for the truth
(11:16):
finally did prevail. Read Seligman touted the whole experience as
a dark cloud of justice and noted that the Duke
lacrosse case shows society has lost sight of the most
fundamental principles of our justice system. Former Duke Blue Devil's
lacrosse captain David Evans, who would called Crystal's allegations fantastic lies,
(11:38):
joined his teammate read Seligmann in questioning the justice system itself,
stating that they were all fortunate his parents had the
means to hire the best defense team. David Evans's implication
was that without strong counsel, they might never have been exonerated,
and he might be right. Then Dave Evans articulated something
(11:59):
else to the press, something that seemed wise, way beyond
his years. He said, It's been a long year, longer
than you could ever imagine. But I hope these allegations
don't come to define me. Wow, what can I say,
the Duke lacrosse scandal happened almost two decades ago, and
(12:20):
we're still talking about it. So did Crystal Mangum's allegations
ultimately define the players in this case or were the
clean parties able to shake off the dirt. Let's find out,
starting with Mike Presler, the Duke Blue Devil's lacrosse coach
who resigned when presented with a lose lose proposition by
the university to step down or be fired. Presler made
(12:43):
an impassioned statement when Attorney General Roy Cooper finally dismissed
the charges against Duke's players as worth hearing in full.
He said, and I quote today is the celebration of
the two words we've attached our lives to for almost
thirteen months. The truth. It is the same truth today
(13:03):
as it was over a year ago. Our story has
not changed, and today's announcement is long long overdue. The injustice,
the lies, and the myths have been fully exposed. You
can talk about loyalty, honesty, and trust. They all apply
to the two thousand and six Duke men's lacrosse team.
(13:23):
But in the end, it all comes down to the truth.
The players have told the truth and never wavered. They
stayed the course from day one. Today is that proof.
I am thrilled, overjoyed, and relieved for Dave Evans called
Infinity and Reed Settlement and their families. They have suffered
(13:44):
greatly and unjustly. I am so proud of their resolve,
their strength, and the first class manner with which they
handled this entire episode. And now I hope that all
the Duke lacrosse players and families affected by this horrificay
situation can begin the process of moving on. Finally, I'd
like to thank the Attorney General of North Carolina and
(14:07):
his staff for doing their due diligence and for allowing
us to bring this to a conclusion. Mike Presler had
been steady, a rock in the storm for his players,
and it lost everything as a result. Even a decade
after the Duke University of Lacrosse scandal rocked the nation,
(14:28):
reflections within the university revealed a deep sense of regret
over the actions that had been taken against him during
the crisis. In a sixty minutes interview, Chris Kennedy, the
senior Deputy director of Athletics at Duke, shared that within
the administration, there was a prevailing sentiment that Mike Pressler
was unjustly ousted. I think that a lot of officials
(14:49):
at the university have come to the realization, or came
to the realization within a year or so, that probably
Mike shouldn't have lost his job, Chris Kennedy admitted. Hearing
Chris Kennedy admit this publicly must have provided Mike Presler
with some personal vindication. But there's no doubt that the
Duke lacrosse scandal altered the course of his coaching career.
(15:12):
After his resignation from Duke, Presler the reigning national Coach
of the Year had become toxic and untouchable in the
world of college lacrosse. Imagine building up an amazing career
only to be stripped of it overnight for having done nothing,
absolutely nothing wrong. With no good options, Mike Presler got
(15:34):
to work effectively starting his career over. He had no
ego in his approach to applications and was even turned
down from volunteer coaching gigs at high schools. But perhaps
the greatest kick in the teeth was Presler being turned
down by his own alma mater, Washington and Lee, where
he had once been the captain of both the lacrosse
(15:55):
and football teams. Interviewer Armacatean asked Mike Presler years later
if he ever got to the point where he thought,
I'm never going to coach again. I'm gonna have to
think of doing something else with my life. Mike paused
and then responded thoughtfully, saying, I did for a little
bit during that time, but then this hits me like
(16:16):
a lightning bolt. If I don't coach again. They won,
and they were not going to win, and so clean
player coach Mike Presler persevered, and his perseverance paid off
because seven hundred miles away in Smithfield, Rhode Island, Bryant
University President Ron Maakeley was in the midst of rebuilding
(16:38):
his athletic department. President Makeley saw an opportunity in Mike
Presler where others saw a liability. He hired Presler in
August two thousand and six to take over Bryant University's
nondescript Division two program, and under Presler's leadership, the Bryant
Bulldogs went from a Division two afterthought into a legitimate
(16:58):
top twenty Division one program. In the years after the
Duke lacrosse scandal many schools larger than Bryant University court
at Coach Presler and Bryant University President Ron Makeley knew it.
I know that they tell him, we'll pay you three
times more. We'll give you camps, we'll give you the perks,
you'll have the beautiful locker room campus environment that you
(17:21):
can't get at a small school at Bryant. But coach
Presler was never interested in jumping ship. He told press
that for him, you quote got to go back to
the events of the summer of six you know, for
me to turn and leave a place and the Bryant
University administration that has given me and my family so much,
(17:41):
and to go do lacrosse somewhere else I couldn't live
with myself unquote. So as you can see, coach Mike
Presler never lost his sense of commitment and integrity. He
stayed with Bryant University for sixteen years until his retirement
in March of twenty twenty. As for Mike Presler's players,
(18:02):
they also moved forward with their lives, pulling from their
coaches positive example of resilience. Colin Finnerdy sought a fresh
start at Loyola College in Baltimore. Finity had transferred to
Loyola while the case was still technically unresolved. Having turned
down Duke, University, President Richard brought his invitation for him
to return to campus. Thanks but no Thanks was surely
(18:25):
Finity's feeling after everything that had happened at Duke, and
his gut instinct to leave Duke panned out because at Loyola,
Finnity had a similarly transformative experience to coach Mike Presler's
at Bryant University. While Loyola College is generally considered less
prestigious than Duke University, with an eighty four percent acceptance
(18:46):
rate instead of one south of ten percent, that couldn't
have mattered much to Colin Finnity after all, however esteemed
the Duke name might be, he personally found the culture
there to be unjustly biased and toxic. What was far
more important under the circumstances was that Colin Finnerity was
welcomed instantly at Loyola College. It was here that he
(19:09):
found not just a new academic home, but a welcoming
lacrosse community ready to embrace him despite his ongoing legal battles.
Infinity remembers how incredible that felt. After his embattled time
at Duke, Loyola welcomed me with open arms, despite the
fact that the case was still going on. Infinity later
reflected his decision to transfer universities marked the beginning of
(19:33):
a new chapter for Colin Finity, one where he could
focus on learning and his passion for lacrosse. As co
captain of Loyola's nationally ranked lacrosse team, Colin Finnity demonstrated
leadership and commitment qualities of his that had been overshadowed
at Duke by the scandal. His return to the field,
especially in a playoff game against Duke on his old
(19:56):
university's turf, was emotionally charged. After going through so much
for a year, being back at Duke was kind of
like going back to the heart of the case, Finity
shared with Press, revealing the complexity of his emotions during
that period. After he graduated from Loyola, Finity's transition into
the professional world saw him initially joining ESPN as an
(20:18):
account service representative, a role he held for a year
and a half. Then his career path took a significant
turn when he ventured into the finance sector, securing a
position as an equity sales trader at Deutsche Bank in
New York in July twenty twelve, before going on to
earn an NBA from Columbia Business School in twenty twenty. Today,
(20:38):
Finnity has established himself as a blockchain investment banking expert
in New York. Like Colin Finnerdy redeemed player, Reed Seligman
turned down Duke's offer to return to campus and instead
sought solace and a fresh start at Brown University. At Brown,
Seligman immersed himself in lacrosse once more. He played a
(20:59):
pivot role in helping Brown reach the two thousand and
nine NCAA Lacrosse tournament plus the number ten national ranking.
But Reed Seligman had somewhat ironically discovered his true passion
as a result of the scandal in which he'd been
personally embroiled. He wanted to practice law, and so after
(21:20):
graduating from Brown University, Reed Seligman got accredited to protect
other people's legal rights by studying at and graduating from
Emory Law School in Atlanta, setting the stage for a
promising legal career while simultaneously being an active fundraiser and
supporter for the Innocence Project. From interning to becoming a
(21:40):
summer associate at Connell Foley LLP in New Jersey, Seligman's
dedication saw him rise through the ranks. His hard work
has culminated in his role as senior litigation associate at
the firm Alston and Byrd LLP in New York, demonstrating
Seligman's resilience and determination to rebuild his life post Duke.
(22:03):
David Evans, the third acquitted player, was older than Colin
Finnerity and reads Seligment. He'd already graduated from Duke with
an economics degree by the time the allegations became public
knowledge in two thousand and six. Once the legal scandal
was settled in the player's favor, David Evans put distance
between himself and Duke, just as his teammates and coach
(22:24):
had done. Moving on to the prestigious Wharton School at
the University of Pennsylvania, he earned an NBA and finance
there in twenty thirteen, and today he holds the position
of partner at Apax Digital in New York, while serving
on numerous boards, including guesting Ideal Protein and Metametrics. The
aftermath of the Duke Lacrosse case for the indicted and
(22:47):
acquitted players Colin Finnity, Reads Seligman, and David Evans is
a testament to their determination to move beyond the scandal
that once threatened to define them. Each is carved out
a successful path in their respective fields, demonstrating that resilience
and a steadfast commitment to rebuilding can triumph over adversity.
(23:07):
But even the Duke lacrosse players who weren't formally indicted
had to pick themselves up after the scandal and move
on with their lives. For instance, remember Ryan McFadden, who
sent that terrible, impulsive email that made everyone wonder if
he was actually capable of plotting an attempted murder while
he decided to use the extra year of eligibility he'd
(23:28):
been granted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association or NCAA
to play a fifth lacrosse season for Duke, even though
he'd already completed his academic degrees in history and economics.
McFadden later told reporters that he always wished Reed, Seligman
and Colin Finnerdy had joined him in returning to Duke,
so that they too could have felt the full weight
(23:49):
of exoneration. But despite being welcomed, truly welcomed back on
Duke's campus, McFadden had a tougher time moving on than
his teammates. I've been through a lot lot, Ryan McFadden
told Vanity Fair. I put most of it behind me,
but I don't think anybody can really comprehend because to
really understand what happened to me, how it affected me,
(24:12):
I'm still not fully realizing what I've been through. Six
years down the road, there's still things that are coming
out that I'm realizing, Wow, this is how I live
my life now because of what happened in two thousand
and six and the two or three years after that,
I look at things a lot differently than a lot
of other people and go about life in similar circumstance,
(24:32):
whether it's just personal relationships, professionally, the way I behave
in an office or meeting other people. It's different. And
it was different for McFadden because, in an age where
everything about you can be looked up online with the
click of a button, his debauched, infamous email could not
be erased. Whereas his teammates had been proven entirely innocent,
(24:55):
there was no, denying that for whatever reason, Ryan McFadden
had I had written something that was seriously disturbing. Like
many of his classmates at Duke, McFadden dreamed of getting
a job on Wall Street after graduation, but every time
a firm ran their due diligence on him, bam, the
email would pop up and that would be that his
(25:17):
identity became such an obstacle to his career that ultimately
Ryan McFadden opted to change his name. Since April twenty twelve,
he has been a partner at a developer of multi
family residential homes in Fairfield, Connecticut. Incidentally, the firm McFadden
works for was started by the father of one of
his Duke Lacrosse teammates. As for Mike Kniphong, the architect
(25:41):
of the flawed prosecution, in spite of hiring an attorney,
his career ended in utter disgrace. Disbarred and stripped of
his law license, Nifong was sentenced to a day in
jail for his deceitful conduct in the Duke Lacrosse case.
This sentence was passed by Superior Court Judge w. Osmond
Smith I, who found Mike Nifong guilty of criminal contempt
(26:03):
for misleading the court about critical DNA evidence. Judge Smith,
delivering his judgment with a tone of finality, underscored Niphong's
deliberate act of presenting an incomplete DNA report to the defense,
despite knowing it omitted crucial exculpatory evidence. Mister Nifong willingly
made false statements, Judge Smith declared, highlighting the gravity of
(26:27):
Nifong's action, which betrayed the trust vested in his office.
The judge charged Nifong with criminal contempt of court, and
that was the beginning of the end for the embattled
former district attorney. Attempting to salvage some semblance of integrity,
Mike Nifong took the stand at his own trial, asserting
that his failure to provide complete DNA results had not
(26:50):
been intentional. I now understand that some things that I
thought were in the report were in fact not in
the report, Niphong claimed, grappling with the stark reality of
his missteps, So the statements were not factually true to
the extent that I said all the information had been
provided despite his acknowledgment after the fact, the damage to
(27:12):
Mike Kniphong's reputation was irrevocable, and his apology to the
court did little to amend the consequences of his actions.
Niphong's legal troubles were further compounded when David Evans, Colinfinity,
and Reed Seligman took legal action against him. In two
thousand and seven, the vindicated trio filed a federal lawsuit
(27:33):
against Niphong, seeking compensation for the ordeal they had been
unjustly subjected to. Their legal pursuit was not merely about
financial compensation. It symbolized a quest for accountability and a
declaration that the miscarriage of justice they had endured would
not and could not be quietly overlooked. Facing mounting legal
(27:56):
challenges and the formidable prospect of compensating those he had wronged,
Mike Knifong found himself in dire financial straits. By two
thousand and eight, he filed for bankruptcy, revealing assets that
paled in comparison to the overwhelming debt he had incurred
as a direct consequence of his actions in the Duke
Lacrosse case. His bankruptcy filing listed assets barely scratching the surface,
(28:20):
with just two hundred and forty four thousand dollars available
against a staggering debt of one hundred and eighty point
three million dollars. Among the unsecured creditors he acknowledged were
David Evans, Colin Finnerdy Reed Seligman, and three other members
of Duke's two thousand and six men's lacrosse team, each
(28:40):
of whom he owed thirty million dollars, a sum reflecting
the profound cost of Kniphong's prosecutorial misconduct and the unfair
agony each of the players had endured at his hands
in Mike Nifong's legal woes extended beyond the Duke Lacrosse
case two, underscoring a pattern of professional NETWT. In twenty sixteen,
(29:02):
the conviction of Daryl Howard, whom Nifong it prosecuted in
nineteen ninety one, for a double homicide and sexual assault,
was overturned. The court found that Nifong had you guessed
it withheld exculpatory evidence. This revelation echoed the prosecutorial failings
Nifong exhibited during the Duke Lacrosse case and was a
(29:23):
shocking turn of events without a shred of professional respectability,
left a disbarred and convicted, Mike Kniphong retreated from the
public eye. While he still lives in Durham, North Carolina.
By all accounts, his employment status is unknown. And let's
not forget Duke University itself a prestigious institution that let
(29:45):
itself and its students down by subordinating due legal process
to social politics. The students at the heart of the
scandal certainly didn't forget how their schools stabbed them in
the backs. Thirty eight former men's lacrosse players at Duke
University sued the institution for its administration's behavior and one
between legal fees and payments to the players, Dukes believed
(30:09):
to have spent upwards of one hundred million dollars for
its dirty behavior in the scandal. Kim Roberts, the exotic
dancer had been hired along with Crystal Mangum on the
night of the Fateful Party, has always maintained that Crystal
couldn't have been raped since they were together the entire
night except for five minutes. But just because Roberts was
(30:29):
outspoken about this truth from the get go does not
mean that she herself was a clean player. Just eight
days after the party, on March twenty second, two thousand
and six, Kim Roberts was arrested for a probation violation
in connection to her two thousand and one conviction for
embezzling twenty five thousand dollars from a company where she
(30:50):
was a payroll specialist. The good news is that, after
a three month house arrest and extended probation period, Kim
Roberts seems to finally have put her past behind. Today
she lives in North Carolina under a different name, leading
a quiet life. Crystal Mangum's outcome, however, is not so fortunate.
(31:10):
Once the alleged victim at the center of a national scandal,
basking in the attention and outpouring of support, she later
found herself on the other side of the law, serving
a prison sentence for violent crime. That's right. Crystal is
currently incarcerated at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women
in Raleigh. The facility is synonymous with discomfort beyond being
(31:35):
well a prison. The North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women
had been flagged in recent years for its lack of
air conditioning on the premises, getting so hot in the
summers that local service groups have even stopped visiting inmates
with therapy dogs. So what did Crystal ultimately do to
lose her freedom and most basic comforts. Well. In twenty eleven,
(31:59):
almost five years after the infamous Duke Lacrosse party, Kristel
was accused of stabbing her boyfriend Reginald Day to death.
She claimed she had stabbed him in self defense, but
apparently the jury didn't believe her. It probably didn't help
that she had a twenty ten conviction related to another
domestic incident against another boyfriend. Crystal Mangum was convicted of
(32:23):
Reginald Day's murder and sentenced to at least fourteen years
in prison. However much harm she caused, Crystal's story is
a tragic one, and according to Marina Zenovich, the director
behind Fantastic Lies, a documentary about the Duke Lacrosse scandal,
Cristal's actions were also hugely tragic for women who had
actually been raped. This is because the Duke Lacrosse scandal,
(32:47):
which resulted from Cristel's lies, perpetuated the false belief that
accusations of sexual assault should not be readily believed. To
be clear, that is not at all the case false
rape allegations such as the one Crystal manga made against
the Duke Lacrosse players, are far and few between. According
to a comprehensive twenty ten study by Violence against Women,
(33:10):
an international and interdisciplinary journal, only two to ten percent
of rape allegations are false. This means that overwhelmingly women
who come forward with rape claims are telling the truth.
As Marina Zenovitch explained to ESPN, to use the Duke
Lacrosse case as representative of a wider issue would be
(33:31):
a profound injustice to the real victims who have the
courage to come forward. Well, said miss Zenovich, that at
least is a truth. I think we can all raise
a glass of clean juice too. Thank you for coming
to me, Jay Harris, to quench your thirst for juicy
sports scandals. Come back next week for another tale on
(33:53):
Tap about the dark side of sports on Playing Dirty
Sports Scandals. Playing Dirty Sports Scandals is a production of
Dan Patrick Productions, Never Ever Productions and Workhouse Media from
(34:13):
executive producers Dan Patrick, Paul Anderson, Nick Panella, Maya Glickman,
and Jennifer Claring, Hosted by Jay Harris, Written and produced
by Jen Brown, Francie Haiks, Maya Glickman and Jennifer Clare
Host
Jay Harris
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