It's Not about the Truth

Mike Pressler walked into the bottomfloor meeting room of the MurrayBuilding and, as he had done hundreds of times over a sixteen-year careerat Duke University, prepared to address his men's lacrosse team. Forty-sixplayers sat in theater-style chairs, all eyes riveted forward. It was 4:35 P.M. on Wednesday, April 5, 2006. The program's darkest hourhad arrived in an unexpected and explosive announcement. Pressler, a three-time ACC Coach of the Year, informed his team that itsseason was canceled and he had "resigned," effective immediately. Whilehis words reverberated off the walls, hysteria erupted. Players cried,confused over a course of events that had spun wildly out of control.What began as an off-campus team party with two hired strippers hadaccelerated into a rape investigation -- one that exposed prosecutorialmisconduct, shoddy police work, an administration's rush to judgment,and the media's disregard for the facts -- dividing both a prestigiousuniversity and the city of Durham. Wiping away tears, Pressler demonstrated the steely resolve that helpedhim win more than two hundred games. For the next thirty minutes, Presslerput his personal situation aside and encouraged his players to sticktogether. He also made a bold promise: "One day, we will get a chance totell the world the truth. One day." This is that day. Pressler, who has not done an interview since the saga began, has handedhis private diary from those three weeks to New York Times bestsellingauthor Don Yaeger, exposing vivid details, including the day Pressler wasfired, when the coach asked Athletic Director Joe Alleva why the school"wasn't willing to wait for the truth" to come out. "It's not about thetruth anymore," Alleva said to the coach in a signature moment that saidit all. In addition to Pressler, Yaeger interviewed more than seventy-fivekey figures intimately involved in the case. The result is a tale thatdefies logic. "It is tough to be one of fifty people who believed a story when fiftymillion people believed something else," Pressler said. "This wasn'tabout the truth to many of the others involved. My story is all about thetruth."