Defense lawyers for the Duke lacrosse team implicated in the alleged rape of an exotic dancer revealed Monday that the DNA test results did not match the DNA of any of the lacrosse team players.
Residents of an off-campus house near Duke hired the dancer, a student from N.C. Central University, in March. She alleged that she was raped, choked, beaten and sodomized by three members of the lacrosse team.
The news has provoked an array of reaction from students across the University.
James Kling, a junior in political science, said with the recent findings, it seems as if the dancer’s story is fabricated and he really does not know who to believe.
“I’ll say her story definitely lost a lot of credibility,” Kling said.
He said that while her initial claims seemed to be credible, the case seemed to be turning, removing the blame from the players.
“The news is coming out from both sides. When it first came out, it looked they were guilty.” Kling said.
Sarah Baddour, a senior in political science, had a different perspective on the issue, saying she felt it could have been prevented completely.
“Both sides are in the wrong. She’s an exotic dancer. She’s putting herself in risky situations just by her job,” Baddour said. “The neighbors saw [the players] harassing the girl, so we know something was definitely going on.”
She said in cases like these, she thinks the victims are more likely to tell the truth.
“I believe her because if she was lying to get something out of it, she wouldn’t have called the police,” Baddour said. “She would have gone to the university or blackmailed the players.”
Whatever the final verdict may be, some students said there is still more information to be revealed until they can determine which side is telling the truth.
“I don’t have all the evidence to decide whether I think they’re personally guilty,” Heather Inman, a sophomore in business education, said.
Inman said she does not feel like the media have blown the story out of proportion. She added that the involvement of an athletic team isn’t a primary factor and if a nonathlete student was accused, the story would have gotten more coverage.
“If it occurred in the way that it was portrayed as, then it wasn’t blown out of proportion because people need to know that you can’t do that,” Inman said.
The team’s attorney advised them not to say anything about the incident to the press, and the lacrosse coach resigned April 5.
Inman believes the players made the right choice in not revealing any information.
“You can be tricked into saying things that can be used against you if it’s completely out of context,” Inman said. “Sometimes, it’s smarter not to say anything.”
