Fraternity of Silence

By Sean Gregory

Some of the best sports teams are tighter than brothers: on the field, the players read one another's every move, push one another to work harder and trust in their teammates, win or lose. Off the field they apply the same principles in the pursuit of fun. The party-loving Duke University lacrosse players--known, like the school's other teams, as the Blue Devils--ranked as high as No. 2 in the country this season. They share a bond that might have carried them to a national championship; instead, it has put their faces on WANTED posters on Duke's idyllic campus in Durham, N.C.

In response to allegations of sexual violence by athletes at one of the nation's premier universities, Duke students posted flyers with photos of most of the lacrosse players imploring them to PLEASE COME FORWARD. But what really happened during the early-morning hours of March 14? An African-American student from nearby North Carolina Central University claimed that three men, believed to be Duke lacrosse-team players, choked and sodomized her in the bathroom of an off-campus house during a raucous team party at which she was hired to strip. She also said some men yelled slurs at her, a claim backed by a neighbor who heard the words, "Hey, b____, thank your grandpa for my nice cotton shirt," as the alleged victim sped off in a car.

The players have formed a Blue line of sorts and stayed mum: the team's four captains issued a statement denying the assault allegations and claiming they and their teammates have cooperated with the police. Duke president Richard Brodhead has suspended their season until the investigation is resolved. Cops say the players have been less than forthcoming.

The campus has erupted: there have been at least half a dozen protests; some 500 people attended an annual Take Back the Night rally, chanting, "Out of the dark, into the streets, we won't be raped, we won't be beat!" Says Michelle Christian, a graduate student in Duke's sociology department, of the tight-lipped players: "It's just a very eerie veil of silence."

The Durham County district attorney, Mike Nifong, wants DNA to do the talking: he ordered samples from all the team's white players (46 of the 47), since the victim claimed her assailants were white. Nifong has yet to press charges, although he says the report from the emergency-room examination of the woman convinced him that a sexual assault took place.

The incident has increased the underlying friction that exists between Durham and Duke over the issues of race, gender and class. The timing of the scandal also inflamed the fervor: the weekend of March 25 was the Black Student Alliance Invitational, in which prospective African-American students visit the Duke campus.

One of the sorest points is the air of privilege surrounding Duke's lacrosse team. Lacrosse, originated by Native Americans, is a rapidly growing sport in the U.S., but it has historically been a game of the privileged and protected, played at elite prep schools and colleges and at public schools located mostly in wealthy areas. A favorite slogan at Duke: "There's only one fraternity on campus--LAX [the nickname for lacrosse]." Fifteen members of the team have committed prior, mostly frat-jock infractions, ranging from public urination to noise violations.

A recent alum, Jill Hopman, says she saw members of the team chugging shots of liquor and shouting "Duke lacrosse" at Charlie's, a popular student hangout, on Saturday, March 25, a full day after the allegations crept into the news. The Duke administration had already decided to forfeit that day's game against Georgetown as punishment for the underage drinking at the party. "I was thinking, You're representing more than yourself," Hopman says. "It was just giving Duke a bad name." She wrote an Op-Ed in the student newspaper, the Chronicle, describing the incident. She has been told she's no longer welcome in the bar.

The alleged racial slurs have pitted Durham, a town that is 44% black, against Duke, where only 11% of the undergraduate students are black. A woman called 911 the night of the party and said a man called her a racial epithet as she passed by the house where the alleged rape took place.

Defense lawyers questioned the 911 call, noting that the woman at one point said she was driving by the house, then later that she was walking by it. They also challenged the scope of the DNA sweep, since the team captains told prosecutors that not every player was at the party. Even outraged students and alums like Hopman are urging people not to prematurely judge the players. "We are all Blue Devils in the end," she says. Good teamwork can still bring Duke together. Even when it's tearing it apart.

With reporting by Al Featherston/Durham, Sarah Kwak/Durham, Carolina A. Miranda/New York