Lawyer: Duke Players Felt Ripped Off
Allegations that three members of Duke University's men's lacrosse team raped an exotic dancer have taken a new turn with an assertion that some team members felt "ripped off" by the dancer and a colleague.
CBS News correspondent Trish Regan
The lawyer, Joe Cheshire, told Regan: "Some of the boys felt they'd been ripped off, and so they were angry. And were there ugly words that may have been spoken that are inappropriate? Yes. Was there any kind of rape that happened? No."
No one has been charged in the case, although Duke has suspended one member of the lacrosse team — sophomore Ryan McFadyen, 19, of Mendham, N.J. — from school. That action came after the release of a search warrant containing a graphic e-mail from McFadyen's account that detailed plans to kill and skin strippers in his dorm room.
McFadyen's attorney has declined to comment about the e-mail, and police have said they are looking into whether it was a serious threat or intended as a joke. Raleigh attorney Joe Cheshire said Thursday that other e-mails sent by lacrosse players after the alleged attack would bolster the team's claims of innocence.
"They're very helpful to these boys in showing there was no rape or sexual assault," Cheshire said.
The dancer, a student at North Carolina Central University, is black. She has said three white players pulled her into a bathroom and raped her at a March 13 off-campus party. The accusations have resulted in several protests at Duke and N.C. Central and deepened sometimes strained relationships between Duke and the city of Durham.
The lacrosse team's season was canceled Wednesday, the same day the team's coach of 16 years resigned. Authorities are testing DNA samples taken from 46 of the 47 team members; the sole black player has been ruled out. The team's captains have said the DNA test results, not expected until next week, will prove the allegations are false.
"I think you're going to see every lawyer release these results," said attorney Bill Thomas, who represents one of the team's captains.
Also Thursday, Duke launched several internal investigations, and the NAACP said it will keep watch on authorities during the investigation.
The organization wants "to make sure the perceived power, prestige and money behind Duke don't interfere with this case," Regan said.
"We are in the midst of a community and legal crisis," the Rev. William Barber told reporters outside of the Durham County courthouse. Black leaders "cannot tolerate less than equal justice from our court system."
Barber said that both the suspects and the accuser have an equal right to justice.
"As this process unfolds, it should be done in a transparent manner so the whole community will feel confident that justice is being served, without regard to racial, economic or social status," Barber said. "This is why we demand that neither vigilante justice by the public nor vilification of the victim by the defense be accepted or tolerated."
Al McSurely, an NAACP attorney, said Thursday he planned to meet with the Durham district attorney as early as Friday to discuss the case.