The Price of Silence: The Duke Lacrosse Scandal the Power of the Elite and the Corruption of Our Great Universities

About this book

A Duke alumnus whose work has been hailed as authoritative (The Washington Post) seductively engrossing (Chicago Tribune) riveting (The Economist) and masterful (Los Angeles Times) presents a stunning new account of the infamous Duke lacrosse team case. Bestselling author William D. Cohan whose reporting and writing have been hailed as gripping (the New York Times) authoritative (the Washington Post) and seductively engrossing (Chicago Tribune) presents a stunning new account of the Duke lacrosse team scandal that reveals the pressures faced by Americas elite colleges and universities and pulls back the curtain in a riveting narrative on the larger issues of sexual misconduct underage drinking and bad-boy behaviorall too prevalent on campuses across the country. Despite being front-page news nationwide the true story of the 2006 Duke lacrosse team rape case has never been told in its entirety and is more complex than all the reportage to date would indicate. The Price of Silence is the definitive magisterial account of what happens when the most combustible forces in American culture unbridled ambition intellectual elitism athletic prowess aggressive sexual behavior racial bias and absolute prosecutorial authoritycollide and then explode on a powerful university campus in the justice system and in the media. What transpired at Duke followed upon the universitys unprecedented and determined effort to compete directly with the Ivy League for the best students and with its Division I rivals for supremacy in selected sportsmost famously mens basketball where Duke has become a perennial powerhouse and the winner of four national championships. As Cohan brilliantly shows the pursuit of excellence in such diverse realms put extraordinary strains on the campus culture andwarned some longtime Duke observerswarped the universitys academic ethos. Duke became known for its work hard play hard dynamic and specifically for its wild off-campus parties where it seemed almost anything could happenand often did. Cohans reconstruction of the scandals eventsthe night in question the local police investigation Dukes actions the lacrosse players defense tactics the furious campus politicsis meticulous and complete. Readers who think they know the story are in for more than one surprise for at the heart of it are individuals whose lives were changed forever. As the scandal developed different actors fought to control the narrative. At stake were not just the futures of the accused players the reputation of the woman claiming she was raped and the career of the local prosecutor but also the venerable and carefully nurtured name of Duke University itselfthe Duke brand exceedingly valuable when competing for elite students world-class athletes talented professors and the financial support of its nationally prominent deep-pocketed alumni. The battle for power involved the Duke administration led by its president Richard Brodhead a blazing academic star hired away from Yale; the Duke board of trustees which included several titans of Wall Street; the faculty comprising a number of outspoken critics of the lacrosse players; the athletes parents many of whom were well connected in Washington and New York and ableand willingto hire expensive counsel to defend their sons; and ultimately the justice system of North Carolina which took over the controversial case and rendered its judgment. The price of resolving the scandal proved extraordinarily high both in terms of unexpected human suffering and the stratospheric costs of settling legal claims. The Price of Silence is a story unlike any other yet sheds light on what is really happening on campuses around the country as colleges and universities compete urgently with one another and confirms William Cohans preeminent reputation as one of the most lively and insightful journalists working today.