8 | THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2016
Where are www.dukechroniclesports.com
Mike Nifong Mike Nifong served as the Durham District Attorney at the time of the allegations against the Duke men’s lacrosse players and filed charges of rape against three of the players. In December 2006, he filed to drop the rape charges a week after the director of a private DNA testing lab admitted in court that he had withheld test results showing that the players’ DNA was not found in the alleged victim’s body or underwear. On January 12, 2007, Nifong asked to be removed from the Duke lacrosse case and requested that the North Carolina state attorney general appoint a special prosecutor in his place. The North Carolina State Bar later alleged that Nifong had lied to court and bar investigators, withheld DNA information and made misleading remarks in reference to the three formerlyindicted Duke lacrosse players.In June 2007, the North Carolina State Bar filed an order to disbar Nifong. He was then found guilty of contempt in September 2007 and was sentenced to serve one day in jail by Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith. Smith found that Nifong had knowingly provided defense attorneys with an incomplete report of DNA testing of the men’s lacrosse players. The omitted data contained test results showing the DNA of four men—none of whom were Duke lacrosse players—on Crystal Mangum, the stripper who claimed she was sexually assaulted at a March 2006 party held by the lacrosse team. Collin Finnerty, Reade Seligmann and David Evans, Trinity ‘06, launched a civil lawsuit against Nifong and other defendants in October 2007. Shortly thereafter, Nifong filed for bankruptcy, attempting to shield himself from the lawsuits. However, two judges ruled that the players’ claims should be heard in federal court, effectively nullifying his bankruptcy protection. In May 2014, the city of Durham settled the long-running lawsuit, according to the Charlotte Observer. Under the terms of the settlement, Finnerty, Seligmann and Evans received no money but the city agreed to make a $50,000 grant to the N.C. Innocence Inquiry Commission. In addition, Nifong agreed to give the commission $1,000, settling the case against him. In “The Price of Silence: The Duke Lacrosse Scandal, The Power of the Elite, and the Corruption of Our Great Universities,” a book by William Cohan released in April 2014, Nifong said he still believes that Mangum was attacked in the bathroom at the party..
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David Evans David Evans, Trinity ’06, was a co-captain of the 2005-06 men’s lacrosse team and was the third player charged with first degree forcible rape, first degree sexual offense and first degree kidnapping May 15, 2006—one day after his graduation. Evans was also one of the three members of the team who leased the house on 610 N. Buchanan Blvd., the location of the party that hosted members of the team and strippers Crystal Mangum and Kim Roberts. In a press conference after he was indicted, Evans asserted that the charges brought against him and his teammates were “fantastic lies.” The charges against him and his teammates were dropped April 12, 2007. Evans received his master’s in business administration from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 2013. According to his LinkedIn page, Evans is currently a principal for the consumer team at Apax Partners, a private equity and venture capital firm, in New York. Evans has remained out of the media spotlight after settling with the University for an undisclosed amount in June 2007. Evans could not be reached for comment.
Collin Finnerty Collin Finnerty, a sophomore on the men’s lacrosse team at the time, was charged with first degree forcible rape, first degree sexual offense and first degree kidnapping April 18, 2006. Finnerty turned himself in and was released on a $400,000 bail. Charges against Finnerty and his teammates were dropped April 12, 2007. Although he was allowed to return to Duke for classes in Spring 2007, Finnerty transferred to Loyola College in Baltimore, Md., where he continued to play lacrosse and started every game of the 2008 and 2009 seasons. He was named co-captain his senior year, and graduated in 2010 with a degree in communications. He currently works in equity sales trading for Deutsche Bank, according to his LinkedIn page. In recent years, Finnerty has remained out of the media spotlight after settling with the University for an undisclosed amount. The Chronicle was unable to contact Finnerty for comment.
Ryan McFadyen After returning from the March 13, 2006 lacrosse party, Ryan McFadyen, Trinity ’08—at the time a sophomore—sent an email to the members of the lacrosse team that joked about cutting the skin off strippers. McFadyen has said the email was a reference to the popular movie “American Psycho.” The day after the email’s release, Mike Pressler resigned as coach of the lacrosse team, and President Richard Brodhead decided to cancel the men’s lacrosse season. Although McFadyen was not one of the three players accused of rape, his email gained national media attention and resulted in his suspension from the University in March 2006. However, McFadyen resumed classes as a student in Fall 2006, continued to play on the lacrosse team and played as tight end on the football team during the 2008 season with Coach David Cutcliffe. He graduated in 2008 with a bachelor of arts degree in history and received a master’s degree in liberal studies from Duke in 2010. A 2014 article in Vanity Fair profiled McFadyen and revealed that he had changed his name to John in an effort to distance himself from the email. “I’ve been through a lot,” he said in the article. “I put most of it behind me, but I don’t think anybody can really comprehend, because to really understand what happened to me, how it affected me—I’m still not fully realizing what I’ve been through six years down the road.” McFadyen was also interviewed for the ESPN 30 for 30 special “Fantastic Lies” about the lacrosse case. According to his LinkedIn account, McFadyen is currently an associate developer for Post Road Residential. McFadyen did not respond to The Chronicle’s requests for an interview.
Joe Alleva Joe Alleva served as Duke’s athletics director from 1998-2008. He was responsible for many expansions in the athletic department during his tenure, but was highly scrutinized for his actions during the lacrosse case. During a press conference with Brodhead March 28, 2006, Alleva said the incident was just an example of “boys being boys”—a dismissal of the accuser’s story that attracted negative press attention. Alleva is also noted for forcing the resignation of Coach Mike Pressler. “It will be part of his legacy,” said Jon Jackson, associate director of athletics for communication, in a 2008 article in The Chronicle. “Any of us who touched that portion of our history, it’s going to be part of all of our legacies.” Alleva was succeeded by Kevin White, who still heads the department today. Alleva is currently the athletics director at Louisiana State University. At the end of last year, Alleva received unflattering media attention during speculation that Les Miles, famed LSU head football coach, would be fired due to a three-game losing streak after an undefeated start to the season.