WASHINGTON — This Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the infamous Duke lacrosse scandal, a night where a team party ended with allegations of rape that lead to an extremely controversial and highly publicized legal case. And an ESPN film will revisit the case and its ramifications.
On the night of March 13, 2006, North Carolina Central University student and part-time stripper, Crystal Mangum and stripper, Kim Roberts arrived at an off-campus party that the team threw itself as a way to make up for not going on a spring break trip.
From there, there are different accounts as to what ensued, but what we do know is that the next day, police in Durham, North Carolina, began an investigation into rape charges.
Mangum had later accused three of the four co-captains of the team — David Evans, Reade Seligmann and Colin Finnerty — of raping and sexually assaulting her in a bathroom in the house. Subsequently, Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong told the press on the day he received his first briefing by police that “the circumstances of the rape indicated a deep racial motivation for some of the things that were done.”
From there, the case gained national attention and sparked debate across multiple media outlets as well as on college campuses. The head coach of Duke’s lacrosse team was forced to resign.
As it turned out, on April 11, 2007, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper dropped all charges against the players and declared the them innocent, victims of a “tragic rush to accuse.”[
When all was said and done, the lives of those involved in the case would never be the same. Nifong was eventually stripped of his law license. Crystal Mangum released a memoir in 2008, and was convicted of second-degree murder in an unrelated case in 2013. Two of the three players transferred from Duke, and all three reached settlements with the University.
Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Marina Zenovich directed a new 30 for 30 film on ESPN titled “Fantastic Lies,” which airs this Sunday at 9 p.m. EST.
Listen to her interview about the events that unfolded and the aftermath:
