Duke suspends men's lacrosse games

Duke University announced at a press conference this evening that the university’s lacrosse team will not participate in competition until DNA tests the team’s captains say will vindicate the players are complete.

Police are investigating allegations that three teammates beat, strangled, raped and sodomized an exotic dancer at a party, held march 13 in a house rented by three of the team’s captains. DNA material was collected Thursday from 46 of the team’s 47 players as part of the investigation.

Duke President Richard H. Brodhead said the captains of the teams notified him and Director of Athletics Joe Alleva that the team wished to suspend competition until the DNA results come back. “In a slight modification, I have decided that future games should be suspended until there is a clearer resolution of the legal situation,” Brodhead said.

“I met with the captains this morning and they expressed regret for their errors of judgment and the embarrassment they had caused themselves, their families, the athletic department and the university. They repeated their denial of the criminal allegations that have been widely reported against three of the players,” he said.

In a prepared new release, the team captains said: “We also stated unequivocally that any allegation that a sexual assault or rape occurred is totally and transparently false. The team has cooperated with police in their investigation. We have provided authorities with DNA samples. ... The DNA results will demonstrate that these allegations are absolutely false.”