1 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:11,639 Speaker 1: Welcome back to Playing Dirty Sports Scandals. I'm Jay Harris, 2 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:16,000 Speaker 1: your host and juicer extraordinary squeezing all the succulent insider 3 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: details from sports biggest scandals. Over the past twenty years 4 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:23,080 Speaker 1: of my career as a journalist and sportscaster, I've hosted 5 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: ESPN shows from Sports Center to Outside the Lines. But 6 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:29,760 Speaker 1: on Playing Dirty, I'm all about lifting the lid on 7 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:44,120 Speaker 1: what's happened behind the scenes of your favorite games. I 8 00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 1: hope you've come thirsty today because we kicked off the 9 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 1: infamous Duke lacrosse scandal last week, and this case gets 10 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: darker and dirtier. So quick clean your palate while you 11 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:59,280 Speaker 1: still can, and let's get into it now. When we 12 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:03,040 Speaker 1: left off last week, District Attorney Mike Nifong had obtained 13 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: formal indictments against Duke University Blue Devil's lacrosse players Dave Evans, 14 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 1: Read Seligman and Colin Finnerdy, despite their accuser, Crystal Mangam, 15 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 1: having struggled to identify them, her questionable history and mental state, 16 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:20,119 Speaker 1: and the lack of hard evidence that any crime had 17 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: actually been committed. We also talked about the Group of 18 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,320 Speaker 1: eighty eight statement, where one ninth of Duke University's faculties 19 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:30,039 Speaker 1: signed a letter presuming the guilt of their students in 20 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:34,840 Speaker 1: a triumph of political correctness over legal due process. Dave Evans, 21 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:38,560 Speaker 1: Read Seligman, and Colin Finnerty had been thrust into a nightmare, 22 00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:43,640 Speaker 1: and Duke University, an historic bastion of academic and athletic prestige, 23 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:48,040 Speaker 1: was now the epicenter of a national scandal. Duke's president, 24 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: Richard Broadhead, tried to head off the national outrage by 25 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: decisively suspending the entire lacrosse team, getting in line with 26 00:01:56,440 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: the Group of eighty eight mentality, and in the coming days, 27 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: as the investigation progressed, President Broadhead probably thought he'd made 28 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: the right call with the suspension, demonstrating to the public 29 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:13,120 Speaker 1: that Duke University would not tolerate indecency. Why because it 30 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:15,919 Speaker 1: came to light that following the party on March thirteen, 31 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 1: two thousand and six, nineteen year old acc honor roll 32 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 1: lacrosse player Ryan McFadden returned to his dorm room and 33 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 1: did something so damning no university would willingly be associated 34 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:36,639 Speaker 1: with the behavior in his room. At one fifty eight am, 35 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 1: Ryan impulsively composed an email to his fellow lacrosse team players. 36 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:45,240 Speaker 1: Now I'm going to read Ryan McFadden's email to you 37 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 1: word for word, and it's appalling, So brace yourself. The 38 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:54,680 Speaker 1: email Ryan sent to his teammates read to whom it 39 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 1: may concern, Tomorrow night. After tonight's show, I've decided to 40 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:04,680 Speaker 1: have some strippers over to Eden's two c all are welcome, However, 41 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:08,240 Speaker 1: there will be no nudity. I plan on killing the 42 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: bitches as soon as they walk in and proceeding to 43 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: cut their skin off while coming in my Duke issue 44 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:20,639 Speaker 1: spandex all in besides archin Tac please respond. Most people, 45 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: myself included, recoil when hearing that email, but Ryan McFadden's 46 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:30,840 Speaker 1: teammate Eric Hinckleman responded by saying due that email was 47 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:36,120 Speaker 1: so funny, in what possible context could such a non 48 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 1: chalant response to that email make sense? While later Ryan 49 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: McFadden insisted that the email had been inspired by the 50 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 1: Brad Easton Ellis novel American Psycho, which is read in 51 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: some Duke literature courses, and according to Newsweek, two sources 52 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: close to the team supported McFadden's insistence, saying that the 53 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,000 Speaker 1: email was clearly a reference to the book and later 54 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,320 Speaker 1: the movie called The American Psycho. In the movie, a 55 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 1: Wall Street banker played by Christian Bale, goes crazy and 56 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 1: kills several women, though possibly only in his dreams. McFadden's 57 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:15,680 Speaker 1: teammates seemed to immediately catch on to the American Psycho reference, 58 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:18,960 Speaker 1: echoing his claim that the email was not in fact 59 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:22,839 Speaker 1: sinister and had merely been taken out of context. In fact, 60 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:24,919 Speaker 1: one of them had responded to the email with a 61 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 1: direct reference to the film, writing back, I'll bring the 62 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,560 Speaker 1: Phil Collins music. In American Psycho, the killer delivers a 63 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:35,040 Speaker 1: tribute to the music of pop singer Collins as he 64 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:39,359 Speaker 1: cavorts with intended victims. But the email chain, which was 65 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,560 Speaker 1: shared with the authorities through Crime Stoppers, a program that 66 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: allows people to anonymously report concerns, certainly didn't seem harmless, 67 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:51,480 Speaker 1: and the police were not buying the American Psycho references. 68 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 1: The email led to a search warrant for Ryan McFadden's 69 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:59,920 Speaker 1: dorm room. Durham Superior Court Judge Ronald Stevens authorized the search, 70 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:03,360 Speaker 1: which was promptly conducted by six police officers and a 71 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:08,120 Speaker 1: Duke University Police Force member. Durham Police officers Mark Gottlieb 72 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:11,720 Speaker 1: and Benjamin Hyman viewed the message Ryan McFadden has sent 73 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:15,280 Speaker 1: us a possible indication of a conspiracy to commit murder. 74 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: After all, the lacrosse players accuser Crystal Magnum had told 75 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:22,680 Speaker 1: the story of being cornered in a bathroom, being beaten 76 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:26,479 Speaker 1: and then raped by three men. In all fairness to 77 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 1: the police, it's not that big of elite from that 78 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:32,320 Speaker 1: level of violence to some sort of plot to commit 79 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:36,839 Speaker 1: a sexually fetishized murder. And so between the menacing email 80 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:40,640 Speaker 1: and disturbing allegations from Crystal already on the table, the 81 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: search that ensued was particularly intense and thorough. Ryan McFadden's 82 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:50,279 Speaker 1: room was turned upside down, with furniture destroyed and personal 83 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:54,479 Speaker 1: items scattered. Officers took note of various items in the room, 84 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 1: including hand drawn images on the wall, which they documented. 85 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:04,440 Speaker 1: They also seized various electronic devices belonging to McFadden. Ryan 86 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:07,479 Speaker 1: McFadden was already stunned by the intense police search of 87 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: his room, but the situation devolved further on April fifth, 88 00:06:11,839 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 1: when the warrant for that search was unsealed, revealing his 89 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:19,680 Speaker 1: controversial email to the wider public. McFadden was in the 90 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:22,479 Speaker 1: library working on a history paper when he learned his 91 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:26,080 Speaker 1: email had gone viral, and on the urgent advice of 92 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 1: his attorney, Robert Extrand, McFadden quickly retreated to a safe location. 93 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:39,279 Speaker 1: As the situation escalated, John Burness, Duke's director of communications 94 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:43,279 Speaker 1: brought McFadden's email to the attention of university President Richard Broadhead, 95 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:47,360 Speaker 1: who expressed his revulsion, saying that what had been written 96 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:52,280 Speaker 1: was quote sickening. Fueled by the email, President Broadhead then 97 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:55,159 Speaker 1: doubled down on his presumption of guilt against the lacrosse 98 00:06:55,160 --> 00:07:00,640 Speaker 1: team members, launching five commissions to internally investigate and immediately 99 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:06,440 Speaker 1: suspending and removing Ryan McFadden from campus. Even still, some 100 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:10,800 Speaker 1: university staff believed that President Richard Broadhead wasn't going far enough. 101 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:15,400 Speaker 1: Professor Houston Baker, an illustrious teacher whose career was launched 102 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 1: at Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania before his 103 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:22,120 Speaker 1: time teaching English at Duke, went on the record with 104 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:26,120 Speaker 1: CBS News correspondent Trish Reagan calling for changes at the 105 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:29,480 Speaker 1: very top of the schools administration. There's a kind of 106 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:33,160 Speaker 1: macho cock of the walk Boys culture that is characterizing 107 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,840 Speaker 1: Duke's administration now. Professor Baker said he continued to tell 108 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:40,000 Speaker 1: Trish Reagan that he hoped, quote there will be purges 109 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:43,400 Speaker 1: in the administration, as there have been voluntarily, we're told 110 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:46,480 Speaker 1: in the sports department, with the resignation of the lacrosse coach. 111 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:52,600 Speaker 1: But had Duke's lacrosse coach, Mike Presler actually resigned voluntarily 112 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: amidst the tsunami of accusations being levied at Duke's lacrosse players, 113 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:00,600 Speaker 1: their coach, Mike Presler, stood by them and believed in 114 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:04,560 Speaker 1: their innocence. In an interview with CBS, Presler remembers that 115 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:09,280 Speaker 1: initially he was quote really pissed and really shocked that 116 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:12,520 Speaker 1: they would have this party first and foremost, but anyway, 117 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 1: I asked each of them to their face, one at 118 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:19,240 Speaker 1: a time, the astonishment on their faces, and when you 119 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 1: know your people, I knew exactly from their reaction to 120 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:27,560 Speaker 1: the allegations this was absolutely untrue. Coach Presler was in 121 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: the spotlight and under tremendous stress. He was committed to 122 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:34,840 Speaker 1: supporting his team and championing his players presumed innocence, but 123 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,040 Speaker 1: equally he was very concerned about his wife and two 124 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:41,920 Speaker 1: young daughters, Janet and Maggie. His family's home had started 125 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:45,680 Speaker 1: to feel unsafe, with vandalism and threats pouring in daily. 126 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:49,680 Speaker 1: Mike Presler remembers, you wake up in the morning, there'll 127 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:53,440 Speaker 1: be signs on your front in our front porch. You know, 128 00:08:53,559 --> 00:08:56,480 Speaker 1: I'd get up at five am to take those signs 129 00:08:56,520 --> 00:09:00,080 Speaker 1: down because I didn't want the girls to see those things. Now, 130 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 1: one was that just tore me apart, rapist lover, you know. 131 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:08,480 Speaker 1: Another one, do your duty, turn him in those things, 132 00:09:08,559 --> 00:09:11,760 Speaker 1: those kind of things, and you know that's very hurtful. 133 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:18,640 Speaker 1: It never leaves you. But even though he was faced 134 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:23,160 Speaker 1: with personal threats, Mike Pressler was unwilling to blatantly abandon 135 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:27,560 Speaker 1: his players, who were being subjected to unrelenting menacing behavior 136 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:31,600 Speaker 1: against them on campus. Protests had erupted daily at Duke, 137 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:35,600 Speaker 1: and even completely unrelated classes and occasions had become a 138 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:40,719 Speaker 1: forum to discuss the ongoing investigation. For example, Ryan McFadden, 139 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:44,119 Speaker 1: who had admittedly sent a debauched email to his teammates, 140 00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:47,000 Speaker 1: found himself in the middle of a history of labor 141 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:51,439 Speaker 1: relations class where his professor, Reeve Houston, decided to address 142 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:56,439 Speaker 1: the ongoing lacrosse case imagine a professor launching into subjective 143 00:09:56,440 --> 00:10:01,440 Speaker 1: analysis of a student's ongoing case as part of the course. Now, 144 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:05,080 Speaker 1: this particular class only had about fifteen students, of whom 145 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 1: eight were lacrosse players. According to Ryan McFadden, Professor Houston 146 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:13,800 Speaker 1: began his lecture by asserting three supposed facts about the case, 147 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:17,920 Speaker 1: including his conclusion that some sort of sexual activity did 148 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,000 Speaker 1: occur and that there was likely the use of a condom. 149 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 1: What this professor's unsubstantiated assertions, charged with random assumptions and accusations, 150 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,920 Speaker 1: led Casey Carroll, a junior defenseman who wasn't even at 151 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:36,920 Speaker 1: the party, to abruptly leave the class in protest, followed 152 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:41,640 Speaker 1: by Ryan McFadden and other lacrosse players. The lacrosse team 153 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:44,080 Speaker 1: members had every reason to fear for their well being 154 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 1: as tensions escalated, including a take Back the Night protest 155 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:52,520 Speaker 1: during Duke's Sexual assault Prevention Week. A huge crowd turned out. 156 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:56,959 Speaker 1: Protesters chanted and carried pictures of the lacrosse players, calling 157 00:10:57,040 --> 00:11:01,720 Speaker 1: them out as social pariahs, as criminals. How could coach 158 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:05,680 Speaker 1: Mike Presler abandon his players whom everyone else had already 159 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:10,480 Speaker 1: judged and found guilty. He remembers feeling absolutely horrified three 160 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:13,559 Speaker 1: weeks into the scandal, as it was being made increasingly 161 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:16,079 Speaker 1: clear to him by administrators that he had a choice 162 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:19,679 Speaker 1: to make stand by his players or save himself and 163 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:24,280 Speaker 1: his career. And to be clear, Mike Presler had a 164 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:29,120 Speaker 1: lot to lose. His career was remarkable. He had coached 165 00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:32,480 Speaker 1: lacrosse at Duke for sixteen seasons, amassing a record of 166 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:35,560 Speaker 1: one fifty three to eighty two. He'd also won three 167 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:40,720 Speaker 1: ACC championships and ten NCAA tournament appearances, and was key 168 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 1: in the run to the national championship game in two 169 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:47,240 Speaker 1: thousand and five. But do wins on the field make 170 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:52,319 Speaker 1: a man? According to Presler, lacrosse wins pale in comparison 171 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:55,200 Speaker 1: to standing up for what you believe is right. He 172 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:58,760 Speaker 1: remembers quote, I was actually advised early on to distance 173 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:02,120 Speaker 1: myself from the players, and at the time I Matt 174 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:07,160 Speaker 1: was like, blasphemy. You you're telling me that we don't run, 175 00:12:07,679 --> 00:12:10,559 Speaker 1: we don't quit. You know, that's not how we're made. 176 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:15,679 Speaker 1: Doing what you believe is right is everything. It's everything, 177 00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:22,920 Speaker 1: and without that, as a man, you have nothing. Duke 178 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:26,520 Speaker 1: University wouldn't let the lacrosse coach stand his ground. However, 179 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:30,920 Speaker 1: the institution needed a sacrificial lamb to appease protesters and 180 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:35,680 Speaker 1: protect the school's image from further defiling, so coach Presler 181 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:39,120 Speaker 1: was summoned to the office of then athletics director Joe Oliva, 182 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:43,480 Speaker 1: where he was given a lose lose choice resign immediately 183 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:47,920 Speaker 1: or be fired. So on April seventh, two thousand and six, 184 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:50,800 Speaker 1: under the crushing weight of the scandal, and having been 185 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 1: left with no good option, Mike Presler resigned. Duke's director 186 00:12:55,559 --> 00:12:58,319 Speaker 1: of Athletics, Joe Oliva, was quick to make the announcement. 187 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:03,360 Speaker 1: Essler offered me his resignation earlier this afternoon, and I 188 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:07,080 Speaker 1: accepted it, Joe Levs stated a lave of further remarked, 189 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:11,200 Speaker 1: I fully support President Broadhead's decision to cancel the remainder 190 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:13,960 Speaker 1: of the season, as well as his outrage at the 191 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:18,160 Speaker 1: latest developments involving the men's lacrosse program. I believe this 192 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:21,160 Speaker 1: is in the best interests of the program, the Department 193 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:26,200 Speaker 1: of Athletics, and the university. Mike Pressler's exit from campus 194 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:29,520 Speaker 1: left to lacrosse players very much alone at Duke in 195 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:33,560 Speaker 1: Durham and in the nation at large. District Attorney Mike 196 00:13:33,679 --> 00:13:37,480 Speaker 1: Nifong was fueling the medium mob, and the public, ever 197 00:13:37,679 --> 00:13:41,760 Speaker 1: hungry for sensational stories, had latched onto the lacrosse scandal 198 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:45,120 Speaker 1: with a voracious appetite. As the story of the alleged 199 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:47,880 Speaker 1: rape of Crystal Manga by Duke lacrosse players gained a 200 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:51,400 Speaker 1: life of its own. Major news outlets competed for the 201 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:55,800 Speaker 1: most shocking tidbits of the case, often overlooking the journalistic 202 00:13:55,840 --> 00:14:00,560 Speaker 1: principle of impartiality. A striking example of this was a 203 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:04,200 Speaker 1: New York Times article with the headline A team's trouble 204 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:08,840 Speaker 1: shock Few at Duke. This piece, like many others, seemed 205 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:11,280 Speaker 1: to take for granted the guilt of the accused players, 206 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:17,720 Speaker 1: painting a picture of a university community unsurprised by such behavior. Similarly, 207 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:22,680 Speaker 1: Newsweek's cover, which read sex lies in Duke, was another 208 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:27,960 Speaker 1: instance where sensationalism took precedence over factual reporting. That author 209 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:31,600 Speaker 1: Susanna Meadows later admitted the only word in the title 210 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:35,880 Speaker 1: that was accurate was Duke. That's a shocking admission of 211 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:40,080 Speaker 1: malfeasance from a storied publication, don't you think. Of Course, 212 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:43,400 Speaker 1: just like coach Mike Pressler, some members of the media 213 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:46,479 Speaker 1: did exercise the courage to stand up for their beliefs 214 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:50,920 Speaker 1: and the integrity of their profession. Dan Oakrin, former public 215 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:53,400 Speaker 1: editor of The New York Times, described the coverage of 216 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:58,040 Speaker 1: the Duke lacrosse scandal as a quote journalistic tragedy, lamenting 217 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:00,960 Speaker 1: how even the most esteemed journalist in the country could 218 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:06,000 Speaker 1: misread and misrepresent the facts so profoundly. And Jay Billis, 219 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 1: an ESPN commentator and Duke basketball alone, penned a letter 220 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:14,320 Speaker 1: to Duke's school magazine openly criticizing university President Richard Brodhead's 221 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:18,880 Speaker 1: actions and calling for his dismissal. Jay Billis's letter, a 222 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:23,560 Speaker 1: passionate appeal for leadership and fairness, criticized President Broadhead from 223 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:27,320 Speaker 1: mishandling the challenges presented by the scandal, accusing him of 224 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:30,800 Speaker 1: fostering an aura of guilt among students and failing to 225 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:35,080 Speaker 1: protect their due process rights. Quote from the beginning, President 226 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:39,000 Speaker 1: Broadhead abdicated his responsibility as Duke's leader to stand up 227 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:43,080 Speaker 1: for fairness and truth. Instead, President Broadhead chose the path 228 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:47,720 Speaker 1: of political expediency. Unquote Billis Rodin, Now I'm going to 229 00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 1: drop a proteen scoop and stir this juice with a 230 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:53,320 Speaker 1: fury because you need to power up to wrap your 231 00:15:53,360 --> 00:16:00,640 Speaker 1: mind around what happened or didn't happen. Next Jill letter, 232 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:04,760 Speaker 1: which was well founded, intellectual, and a much needed voice 233 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:10,680 Speaker 1: of reason, was never published. Duke Magazine's website touts its 234 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:14,960 Speaker 1: publication as having quote a mission to facilitate and strengthen 235 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:20,479 Speaker 1: alumni engagement. As a champion of the university's vibrant intellectual community. 236 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:24,280 Speaker 1: Our storytelling is in service of the curious minds of 237 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:29,800 Speaker 1: our alumni. Unquote. Huh. That's the exact opposite of what 238 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:33,880 Speaker 1: Jay Billis experienced. He recounted inquiring about the status of 239 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 1: his letter, only to learn that Duke Magazine has been 240 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:40,560 Speaker 1: instructed on how to handle it. Quote. An editor told me, well, 241 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:44,600 Speaker 1: we've had your letter, Billis remembers, and I asked him, 242 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:47,480 Speaker 1: were you given instructions on how to handle it? He 243 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:52,200 Speaker 1: told me yes, they didn't print it. So deeply troubled 244 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:54,800 Speaker 1: was Ja Billis by the unfolding events and treatment of 245 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:57,480 Speaker 1: the scandal by his alma mater that he began his 246 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:01,640 Speaker 1: own independent investigation into the case, seeking to understand the 247 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:05,320 Speaker 1: facts and circumstances from every angle. There were a lot 248 00:17:05,320 --> 00:17:08,119 Speaker 1: of questions that needed to be asked, but questions needed 249 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:10,920 Speaker 1: to be asked on both sides, and it was apparent 250 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:13,840 Speaker 1: to me that questions were only being asked on one. 251 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:17,080 Speaker 1: Ja Billis commented in a later documentary filmed about the 252 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:21,520 Speaker 1: Duke lacrosse team case. Despite the efforts of press members 253 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:25,159 Speaker 1: like Jay Billis and Dan Oakrin, balanced stories by the 254 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:29,160 Speaker 1: media were far and few between, and while journalists certainly 255 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:32,080 Speaker 1: do bear blame for their largely biased coverage of the 256 00:17:32,119 --> 00:17:35,360 Speaker 1: Duke lacrosse scandal, that the eye of the media storm 257 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:39,439 Speaker 1: driving the onslaught of public outrage at the players was 258 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:44,480 Speaker 1: District Attorney Mike Kniphong. From the get go, da Kniphong 259 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:47,439 Speaker 1: played dirty. There were just no two ways about it. 260 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,920 Speaker 1: Clean prosecutors played by the ethics rules of the state 261 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:54,520 Speaker 1: they live and work in. In North Carolina, the ethics 262 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:57,479 Speaker 1: rules for prosecutors made it clear that Mike Kniphong had 263 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:00,199 Speaker 1: a duty to watch what he said in public. He 264 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:03,480 Speaker 1: was absolutely not within his rights as a prosecutor to 265 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:06,640 Speaker 1: publicly proclaim the guilt of the accused trio of players 266 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:10,480 Speaker 1: Dave Evans, Read Seligment and Colin Finnerdy, or to say 267 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:16,400 Speaker 1: things that were designed to prejudice a future jury. Prosecutors 268 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:19,160 Speaker 1: are committed to sticking with facts that are already public 269 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:22,520 Speaker 1: in the form of an indictment or preliminary hearing transcripts, 270 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:26,680 Speaker 1: but Mike Kniphong made all sorts of prejudicial public statements 271 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:29,840 Speaker 1: from day one of the scandal, including calling the accused 272 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:33,680 Speaker 1: lacrosse players by their names to the press. DA Mike 273 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:38,320 Speaker 1: Kniphong's lackadaisical attitude towards the prosecutorial rules about talking to 274 00:18:38,359 --> 00:18:43,080 Speaker 1: the press were incredibly daring, especially considering that in the 275 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:45,920 Speaker 1: privacy of his own office he was grappling with a 276 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:50,320 Speaker 1: breakdown in the evidence. Police had taken DNA and photos 277 00:18:50,359 --> 00:18:54,320 Speaker 1: of the entire Duke lacrosse team after Crystal Mangum's allegations. 278 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:57,480 Speaker 1: They had collected swabs from the player's mouths and even 279 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:01,000 Speaker 1: cut off bits of their hair and nails. Since Chrystilla 280 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:03,440 Speaker 1: had told the police that she fought against her attackers 281 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:06,800 Speaker 1: viciously and scratched at least one of them, police had 282 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:09,720 Speaker 1: the lacrosse players stripped to their skivies so they could 283 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:13,920 Speaker 1: be meticulously examined and photographed. Of course, many of the 284 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:17,800 Speaker 1: player's bodies were photographed were bruises and scratches because they 285 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:22,880 Speaker 1: played lacrosse. It's a violent sport consisting of very strong 286 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:27,040 Speaker 1: young men swinging around a metal stick, hitting one another often, 287 00:19:27,119 --> 00:19:32,280 Speaker 1: and wearing very few pads for protection. Ryan McFadden remembers 288 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:36,280 Speaker 1: what happened. Well, we all got basically naked, and they 289 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:38,960 Speaker 1: took pictures of our bodies. He said, I mean, we're 290 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:43,119 Speaker 1: lacrosse players. We're young, twenty year old guys were covered 291 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:47,440 Speaker 1: in bruises, were scratched up. I remember Reed Seligman had 292 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:50,040 Speaker 1: a bruise down his arm because we beat the shit 293 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:53,119 Speaker 1: out of him in practice. Oh my god. The police said, 294 00:19:53,119 --> 00:19:56,440 Speaker 1: take a picture of this, and they're documenting his arm. 295 00:19:56,920 --> 00:19:59,719 Speaker 1: And this is a clear example of DA Mike Kniphong's 296 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:04,560 Speaker 1: evidence being circumstantial rather than definitive, because you see what 297 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:08,480 Speaker 1: Ryan McFadden relayed is a classic example of something called 298 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:13,400 Speaker 1: confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out 299 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:17,320 Speaker 1: and interpret information in a way that confirms existing beliefs, 300 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:21,359 Speaker 1: and in this case, the existing belief of Da mc niphon. 301 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:28,600 Speaker 1: Confirmation bias is a cognitive bias that can and often does, 302 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:34,520 Speaker 1: lead to inaccurate conclusions. Let's break it down, Crystal told 303 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:38,240 Speaker 1: police that she fought her attackers. Police then found cuts 304 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:42,040 Speaker 1: and bruises on the lacrosse players' bodies, and voila. Her 305 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:48,359 Speaker 1: story is corroborated. But was it? Well, not really, because 306 00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:51,159 Speaker 1: here is the second and even more damning issue for 307 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:55,800 Speaker 1: da Mcniphong. At this point in the case, scrapings had 308 00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:59,120 Speaker 1: been taken from under Crystal Mangum's nails, as is routine 309 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:03,240 Speaker 1: with a rape kit, so if she had actually scratched 310 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:06,320 Speaker 1: any of the players, it would be logical to expect 311 00:21:06,359 --> 00:21:09,400 Speaker 1: the DNA under her nails to match with the DNA 312 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:12,600 Speaker 1: of one of the players. But on April tenth, two 313 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:16,960 Speaker 1: thousand and six, prosecutors and investigators got the news there 314 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:21,760 Speaker 1: was not one single DNA match between the lacrosse players 315 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,040 Speaker 1: and the DNA taken from the rape kit, from Crystal's 316 00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:30,960 Speaker 1: hospital exam, or from her cell phone or from her clothes, 317 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:35,040 Speaker 1: So even though the photographs of the lacrosse players could 318 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:39,440 Speaker 1: be consistent with an attack, there was no hard DNA 319 00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:43,720 Speaker 1: evidence indicating that their injuries had occurred from Crystal instead 320 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:48,159 Speaker 1: of on the lacrosse field. Defense attorneys announced the results 321 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:50,400 Speaker 1: to the public just a few hours after they came 322 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:54,240 Speaker 1: in believing that DA Mike Nifong would back down and 323 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:58,600 Speaker 1: the case against their clients would collapse. After all, there 324 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:02,359 Speaker 1: was still absolutely no evidence that the crime Crystal alleged 325 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:06,640 Speaker 1: had actually been committed. But did the DA back down? 326 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:10,440 Speaker 1: Did the lacrosse team get an apology from Duke president 327 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:15,399 Speaker 1: Richard Broadhead? Was their season suspension lifted? Was their coach 328 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:23,920 Speaker 1: Mike press the reinstated? Nope, Nope, nope, and nope. Instead, 329 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:28,320 Speaker 1: persecution of the Duke lacrosse team players continued, with DA 330 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:32,080 Speaker 1: Mike Kniphong leading the charge. As the DNA results were 331 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:35,600 Speaker 1: made public, a Raleigh newspaper reached out to Mike Kniphong 332 00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:38,640 Speaker 1: and he told them, quote, I'm not saying it's over. 333 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:43,200 Speaker 1: If that's what the players expect, they will sadly be disappointed. 334 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:48,119 Speaker 1: So Mike Kniphong now pushed prosecution of the lacrosse players. 335 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:52,720 Speaker 1: Dave Evans read seligment Colin finnerdy forward with no DNA evidence, 336 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:57,880 Speaker 1: circumstantial photos of the players, an illegal identification lineup, and 337 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:00,760 Speaker 1: the word of an alleged victim with her own history 338 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:06,399 Speaker 1: of mental health problems and legal offenses. Why why in 339 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:09,560 Speaker 1: the world would a District Attorney make the call to 340 00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:15,920 Speaker 1: continue prosecuting under these circumstances. Because Mike Kniphong's career now 341 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:21,520 Speaker 1: hinged on this high profile case period, he simply couldn't 342 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:24,280 Speaker 1: afford to lose so publicly in the Duke lacrosse case. 343 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:27,360 Speaker 1: When an election on the horizon, he had to come 344 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:31,240 Speaker 1: out on top. This is why the District Attorney's office 345 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:33,960 Speaker 1: moved full steam ahead with its case against the lacrosse 346 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:39,160 Speaker 1: players with absolutely no proof. Crazier than juicing with onions 347 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:41,879 Speaker 1: and horse radish if you ask me, but it happened. 348 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:46,720 Speaker 1: And even crazier was DA Kniphong's ability to convince a 349 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:51,280 Speaker 1: grand jury to formally indict the player's read seligment, Colin Finnerdy, 350 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:55,760 Speaker 1: and finally Dave Evans, for rape and kidnapping, among other charges, 351 00:23:55,800 --> 00:24:01,639 Speaker 1: without a shred of hard evidence. But Nifong's problems with 352 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:04,879 Speaker 1: the case continued to escalate. Despite his dubious win with 353 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:08,879 Speaker 1: the indictments. More negative findings were leaking out about the 354 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:12,600 Speaker 1: alleged victim, Crystal Mangum, and there was nothing that DA's 355 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:17,960 Speaker 1: office could do to stop the flood of information. The 356 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:20,480 Speaker 1: first news hit out of Granville County, which is about 357 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:23,960 Speaker 1: thirty minutes northeast of Durham. On April twenty fifth, two 358 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:27,360 Speaker 1: thousand and six, the Granville County Police revealed that Crystal 359 00:24:27,359 --> 00:24:31,639 Speaker 1: Mangam had reported another rape ten years earlier. In nineteen 360 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:35,040 Speaker 1: ninety six, when Crystel was just seventeen years old, she 361 00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:38,480 Speaker 1: filed a distressing claim that she had been kidnapped by 362 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:41,960 Speaker 1: three men, driven to a house in creed More, North Carolina, 363 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:46,119 Speaker 1: and been raped. Crystal had waited three years to file 364 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:48,919 Speaker 1: this claim, alleging that the rape had occurred when she 365 00:24:49,119 --> 00:24:53,119 Speaker 1: was fourteen years old. Among her alleged abductors was her 366 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:57,600 Speaker 1: former boyfriend, seven years her senior, whom she described as abusive. 367 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:02,560 Speaker 1: Underage rape is an extremely serious allegation, but one that 368 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:06,520 Speaker 1: Granville County Police Chief Ted Pollard didn't pursue with an investigation. 369 00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:11,879 Speaker 1: Why well, Police Chief Pollard says that Cristal's allegations were 370 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:16,600 Speaker 1: investigated because she promptly withdrew her accusations, saying that she 371 00:25:16,760 --> 00:25:19,960 Speaker 1: feared for her life if she sought justice. But it 372 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:23,800 Speaker 1: certainly not standard for police to drop such a serious case, 373 00:25:24,119 --> 00:25:26,919 Speaker 1: a case involving the abduction and gang rate of a 374 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:31,359 Speaker 1: fourteen year old girl, more likely, the Granville County Police 375 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:34,399 Speaker 1: had reason to doubt that the crime had actually taken place. 376 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:38,600 Speaker 1: Even within Crystal's own family, there are serious doubts that 377 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:42,200 Speaker 1: her story was accurate. Cristel's mother said that she believed 378 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:44,280 Speaker 1: that Cristel had been raped by someone when she was 379 00:25:44,359 --> 00:25:49,280 Speaker 1: seventeen or eighteen years old. Cristel's ex husband, Kenneth Nathaniel McNeil, 380 00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:51,560 Speaker 1: said he believed that Cristel had been raped in nineteen 381 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:55,240 Speaker 1: ninety three like she recounted, and Cristel's father insisted that 382 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:58,960 Speaker 1: she hadn't been raped or injured in nineteen ninety three. 383 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:02,280 Speaker 1: With so many confers accounts, and no chance of collecting 384 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:07,080 Speaker 1: physical evidence, how could police separate fact from fiction. The 385 00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:10,639 Speaker 1: matter was complicated further by Crystal Mangum's father revealing that 386 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:14,560 Speaker 1: she had undergone psychiatric treatment in nineteen ninety three, including 387 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:20,280 Speaker 1: medication for trauma induced suicidal tendencies. But had Crystal's trauma 388 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:24,439 Speaker 1: been induced by rape, or an abusive relationship, or some 389 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:28,560 Speaker 1: other trigger. No one could say for sure. The only 390 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:33,080 Speaker 1: definite outcome was that Crystal Mangum's previous rape allegation added 391 00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:36,919 Speaker 1: a significant layer of complexity and doubt. To her accusations 392 00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:42,320 Speaker 1: against the Duke lacrosse players. The revelation of her earlier 393 00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:46,520 Speaker 1: rape claim, which so closely mirrored her accusations against Dave Evans, 394 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:51,640 Speaker 1: Reed Seligman, and Colin Finnerdy, raised critical questions about her credibility. 395 00:26:52,359 --> 00:26:55,600 Speaker 1: After all, how plausible was it for one woman to 396 00:26:55,680 --> 00:27:00,240 Speaker 1: experience two such similar sexual violent attacks in North Carolina, 397 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:04,680 Speaker 1: all before the age of thirty. Each year in North Carolina, 398 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:09,040 Speaker 1: twenty seven out of every one hundred thousand people experience 399 00:27:09,119 --> 00:27:13,280 Speaker 1: in report rape. That puts the statistical likelihood of Crystal's 400 00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:17,879 Speaker 1: duplicate stories both being factual quite low, and the defense 401 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:21,119 Speaker 1: attorneys for the lacrosse players knew this and would without 402 00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:25,280 Speaker 1: a doubt lean into this information at any trial. D A. 403 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:28,639 Speaker 1: Mike Nifong probably felt the water heating up and starting 404 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,960 Speaker 1: to boil around him at this point, but he refused 405 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:36,280 Speaker 1: to back down. After all, in for a penny in 406 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:41,000 Speaker 1: four pound, what is that saying? So Nifong fought it out, 407 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:43,600 Speaker 1: even though it was becoming more and more difficult for 408 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:46,320 Speaker 1: him to control the narrative of the case. One of 409 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:49,840 Speaker 1: the indicted players, Dave Evans, confidently told press that the 410 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:54,840 Speaker 1: allegations against him were fantastic lies and with no DNA evidence, 411 00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:59,439 Speaker 1: Crystal's prior unpursued rape allegation, and the illegality of the 412 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:03,880 Speaker 1: prosecutor identification lineup. Finally, some members of the public were 413 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:07,480 Speaker 1: starting to wonder if the lacrosse players just might be 414 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:11,280 Speaker 1: telling the truth. Mike Kniphong couldn't bear to lose the 415 00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:14,679 Speaker 1: public support and almost certainly realized that he had to 416 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:18,560 Speaker 1: get real evidence and fast to stand a chance at trial, 417 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:21,720 Speaker 1: So he ordered all the DNA that had been taken 418 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:23,879 Speaker 1: from the Duke lacrosse players to be sent to a 419 00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:28,800 Speaker 1: private lab in Burlington called DNA Security, Inc. For testing. Again, 420 00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:33,600 Speaker 1: this was an incredibly unusual request and lent itself to 421 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:37,200 Speaker 1: a troubling question. Since the state crime lab results had 422 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:40,760 Speaker 1: come back favorable to the defendants. Was the prosecution looking 423 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:43,760 Speaker 1: for a little home cooking in the form of falsified 424 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:47,600 Speaker 1: results at a private lab facility, or did he Mike 425 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:51,040 Speaker 1: Kniphong just need the appearance of being out in actively 426 00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:58,120 Speaker 1: collecting evidence during his election campaign to remain district Attorney. 427 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:02,080 Speaker 1: Whatever his motivation, Nifong did get a brief boost in 428 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:06,040 Speaker 1: the public eye from his secondary DNA review. He won 429 00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:09,440 Speaker 1: his election and secured another term as district attorney in 430 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:12,640 Speaker 1: November two thousand and six. But he wouldn't enjoy his 431 00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:16,840 Speaker 1: political victory for very long. The very next month, the 432 00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:20,200 Speaker 1: private lab, DNA Security, Inc. Came back with their report. 433 00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:24,240 Speaker 1: Brian Mehan, the head of the lab, confirmed that none 434 00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:27,440 Speaker 1: of the Duke lacrosse players matched the DNA taken from 435 00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:32,280 Speaker 1: Crystal's rape kit. But what Mihan didn't initially and crucially 436 00:29:32,320 --> 00:29:36,000 Speaker 1: put in his report was that his lab, DNA Security, Inc. 437 00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:40,400 Speaker 1: Had uncovered a damning detail, a detail which the law 438 00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:44,480 Speaker 1: required the District Attorney's office to disclose to the defendants 439 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:49,720 Speaker 1: and their lawyers. So what was this detail? Well, the 440 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:53,680 Speaker 1: DNA results showed there were multiple men who contributed DNA 441 00:29:53,760 --> 00:29:56,800 Speaker 1: to Crystal's rape kit, but not one of them were 442 00:29:56,960 --> 00:30:02,040 Speaker 1: any of the lacrosse players. Not one. In fact, some 443 00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:05,080 Speaker 1: of the DNA discovered on Crystal belonged to her boyfriend 444 00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:07,720 Speaker 1: at the time, a man whom the police didn't even 445 00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:11,680 Speaker 1: collect DNA from to compare against until after Reed Seligman 446 00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:15,240 Speaker 1: and Colin Finnerdy will already indict it. If that's not 447 00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:18,160 Speaker 1: playing dirty, I don't know what is. And it gets 448 00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:22,800 Speaker 1: worse When Brian Mehan from DNA Security Incorporated reported his 449 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:26,880 Speaker 1: labs finding to District Attorney Mike Kniphong, he was instructed 450 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:30,120 Speaker 1: to leave the detail about other men's DNA being present 451 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:34,920 Speaker 1: on Crystal out of his report. Brian Mihn ultimately came 452 00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:38,360 Speaker 1: clean that Niphong had coursed him not to disclose this 453 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:42,080 Speaker 1: vital piece of information, and it's a good thing he did, 454 00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:46,280 Speaker 1: because his story laid bare the reality that DA Mike Kniphong, 455 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:49,720 Speaker 1: who was sworn to uphold justice in accordance with the Constitution, 456 00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:53,960 Speaker 1: including vindicating the right to the accused when necessary, instead 457 00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:59,280 Speaker 1: tried to hide exculpatory evidence. Exculpatory evidence is evidence that 458 00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:03,040 Speaker 1: is favorable to the defendant and usually clears them of guilt. 459 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:07,959 Speaker 1: The case against the Duke lacrosse players was now quickly unraveling, 460 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:11,480 Speaker 1: revealing itself to be a house of cards. Surely it 461 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:15,240 Speaker 1: would soon go boom under these latest allegations against the 462 00:31:15,320 --> 00:31:19,200 Speaker 1: DA's office of withholding exculpatory evidence and proof that Crystal 463 00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:21,920 Speaker 1: had engaged in sex on the night of the ill 464 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:25,280 Speaker 1: fated party, but not with any of the lacrosse players. 465 00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:28,680 Speaker 1: If it had been a clean case, then at this 466 00:31:28,840 --> 00:31:32,720 Speaker 1: point it would have collapsed immediately, but the prosecutors in 467 00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:35,880 Speaker 1: the DA's office were hell bent on playing dirty. They 468 00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:39,280 Speaker 1: had one goal, and that goal wasn't justice, It was 469 00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:43,600 Speaker 1: conviction at any cost. Back in nineteen thirty five, a 470 00:31:43,640 --> 00:31:47,959 Speaker 1: Supreme Court justice said this about prosecutors. He may prosecute 471 00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:51,760 Speaker 1: with earnestness and vigor, indeed he should do so. But 472 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:54,560 Speaker 1: while he may strike hard blows, he is not at 473 00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:57,600 Speaker 1: liberty to strike foul ones. It is as much his 474 00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:01,320 Speaker 1: duty to refrain from improper method that's calculated to produce 475 00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:04,960 Speaker 1: a wrongful conviction as it is to use every legitimate 476 00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:08,840 Speaker 1: means to bring about a just one. DA mc Kniphong 477 00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:12,680 Speaker 1: was striking foul blows, using all sorts of improper methods, 478 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,880 Speaker 1: and remain determined to get his conviction against the Duke 479 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:19,560 Speaker 1: lacrosse players, even though all the evidence now pointed to 480 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:24,840 Speaker 1: that being an untruthful, unjust outcome. Kniphoon was determined to 481 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:28,680 Speaker 1: carry on. I don't know about you, but I'm going 482 00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:31,160 Speaker 1: for some clean, fresh water after all that dirt by 483 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:34,880 Speaker 1: the DA's office. Join me You're behind the scenes, Barista 484 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:37,640 Speaker 1: to find out how this scandal shakes out. On the 485 00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:49,640 Speaker 1: next episode, of Playing Dirty Sports Scandals. Playing Dirty Sports 486 00:32:49,680 --> 00:32:54,120 Speaker 1: Scandals is a production of Dan Patrick Productions, never Ever Productions, 487 00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:58,560 Speaker 1: and Workhouse Media from executive producers Dan Patrick, Paul Anderson, 488 00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:03,480 Speaker 1: Nick Panella, Maya Glickman, and Jennifer Clary. Hosted by Jay Harris, 489 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:07,760 Speaker 1: Written and produced by Jen Brown, Francie Haiks, Maya Glickman, 490 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:14,840 Speaker 1: and Jennifer Clary.