« Update: Fire at Federal Hill apartment building / Photo | Today | Man accused in domestic slaying held without bail »

June 18, 2007

Duke, 3 former lacrosse players reach settlement

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University has reached an undisclosed financial settlement with three former lacrosse players falsely accused of rape, the school said today.

Duke suspended Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and Dave Evans after they were charged last year with raping a stripper at an off-campus party. The university also canceled the team's season and forced their coach to resign.

Seligmann is due to transfer to Brown University this fall and play lacrosse there. The players' former coach, Mike Pressler, is now coaching at Bryant University in Rhode Island.

"We welcomed their exoneration and deeply regret the difficult year they and their families have had to endure," the school said in a statement. "These young men and their families have been the subject of intense scrutiny that has taken a heavy toll."

The allegations were debunked in April by state prosecutors, who said the players were the innocent victims of a "tragic rush to accuse" by Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong. He was disbarred Saturday for breaking more than two dozen rules of professional conduct in his handling of the case.

The players' families racked up millions of dollars of legal bills in their defense, and appear likely to file a lawsuit against Nifong.

The players said in a joint statement that they hoped the agreement would "begin to bring the Duke family back together again."

Full story ...

Posted by Andrea Panciera  at 5:07 PM | Permalink

Comments

Post a comment

Please be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish.

Name:

Email Address:

URL:
Remember Me? YesNo

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)