The 2006 Duke University lacrosse case resulted in a great deal of coverage in the local and national media as well as a widespread community response at Duke and in the Durham, North Carolina area.
Media coverage
Initial coverage (March–April 2006) The case attracted widespread media attention almost from the moment it became public. The apparent circumstances—three white males (David Evans, Reade Seligmann, and Collin Finnerty) from privileged backgrounds at an elite university apparently taking advantage of a student and single mother (Crystal Gail Mangum) from a crosstown black college (NCCU), trying to make ends meet by working as a stripper and escort—seemed tailor-made for wall-to-wall coverage. However, once the case deteriorated, critics saw it as a stinging showcase of bias in the media and the university system.
Among those giving extensive coverage to the matter was Nancy Grace. Before Duke suspended its men's lacrosse team's season, she sarcastically noted on the air, "I'm so glad they didn't miss a lacrosse game over a little thing like gang rape!" and "Why would you go to a cop in an alleged gang rape case, say, and lie and give misleading information?" Another, Susan Estrich, said "I teach criminal law. But what are we dealing with here? The mafia, or a sports team from a first-class university. Instead, they hire them lawyers to trash the victim and the prosecutor." Former prosecutor Wendy Murphy supplied the case with some of the most inflammatory claims and supported the withholding of evidence by Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong, saying, "Nifong should be rewarded for respecting the defendants' rights by not leaking the type of evidence that could help him personally respond to criticism." Murphy said "I never, ever met a false rape claim, by the way. My own statistics speak to the truth."
Feminist blogger Amanda Marcotte declared on her blog that people who defended the wrongly accused Duke students were "rape-loving scum". Time reported that in "late January, more ethics charges were heaped on the District Attorney in the Duke University sexual-assault case, and Marcotte attacked the news with her usual swagger and sarcasm:" Marcotte later deleted posts on her blog critical of her statements, then later deleted the entire entry.
Reason contributing editor Cathy Young has described Marcotte as a "leader of the cyber-lynch mob in the Duke University rape hoax". In "Marcotte's eyes, the real crime of the 'independent feminists' is helping preserve the idea that the presumption of innocence applies even in cases of rape and sexual assault."
Other outlets that have been accused of taking an initial pro-prosecution slants included, but are not limited to:
USA Today
The Herald-Sun
Rolling Stone
New York Times
News and Observer
Independent Weekly wrote articles affirming the stereotypes of affluence with respect to the three accused. The only position cited was the description of the players' characters by faculty member Peter Wood.
The case continues (May–October 2006) Grace continued to feature developments in the case on her program, with a pro-prosecution slant. On June 9, 2006, after hearing reporting on various defense motions, which the CNN reporter indicated might already prove reasonable doubt, Grace sarcastically asked, "Well I'm glad you have already decided the outcome of the case, based on all of the defense filings. Why don't we just all move to Nazi Germany, where we don't have a justice system and a jury of one's peers?" On June 22, 2006, she featured Sports Illustrated writer Lester Munson who opined, "I think the state has probably a better case than most observers are describing. I have studied this at some length ... There is some voracity to the victim's account."
On August 6, 2006, The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina, wrote that District Attorney Mike Nifong "promised DNA evidence that has not materialized. He suggested that police conduct lineups in a way that conflicted with department policy." The article went on to say that "he made a series of factual assertions that contradicted his own files: He suggested the players used condoms; he accused the players of erecting a wall of silence to thwart investigators; and he said the woman had been hit, kicked and strangled. The medical and police records show that the victim had said no condom was used, that police had interviewed three players at length and taken their DNA samples and that the accuser showed no significant bruises or injuries."