Duke Lacrosse came into the forefront of sexual assault in sports in March 2006. Crystal Gail Mangum, a black student at North Carolina Central University who worked as a dancer and escort, accused 3 white Duke players of rape. The rape was alleged to have occurred at the house of two of the team's captains. The night of March 13th, a party was held for members of the team since the team was not allowed to leave the area for spring break. Alcohol was present, and an escort was ordered for the night. An escort was ordered without the knowledge of some team members that came. Once they arrived, they were expected to help pay for the service. Mangum, along with a fellow escort, were paid to do a two hour set. This was cut short after a brief time,
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The media started a firestorm, making it seem as if their role as athletes was the driving force behind them committing these acts. When Mangum and her associate were there, a person attending the party yelled, “Tell your grandfather thanks for the cotton shirt.” This sparked not only a media frenzy with the accused being athletes, but also for them being white students shouting hate speech in a predominantly african american environment. The contrast between the prestigious Duke and the poorer surrounding area caused increased tension. Envy and hatred fueled the animosity aimed at Duke. Generally, people who were at Duke were on the path to success, while outside of Duke, people were faced with disappointment. Durham, a town of underprivileged, working-class African Americans was a town known for poor conditions and struggling families. The comments aimed at Mangum, paired with the knowledge the media had that these were student athletes, fueled a massive media …show more content…
“Within the first 36 hours of the events in this case, the accuser denied being raped, claimed she was raped by 20 men, then 5 men, then 2 men and then 3 men, claimed that she was carried against her will from a car by Nikki and “Brett,” claimed that she was dancing with three other women, multiple other women and then only one other woman, denied ever being struck with fists, claimed that Matt was getting married, told the forensic nurse that Matt raped her vaginally and orally, that
The media started a firestorm, making it seem as if their role as athletes was the driving force behind them committing these acts. When Mangum and her associate were there, a person attending the party yelled, “Tell your grandfather thanks for the cotton shirt.” This sparked not only a media frenzy with the accused being athletes, but also for them being white students shouting hate speech in a predominantly african american environment. The contrast between the prestigious Duke and the poorer surrounding area caused increased tension. Envy and hatred fueled the animosity aimed at Duke. Generally, people who were at Duke were on the path to success, while outside of Duke, people were faced with disappointment. Durham, a town of underprivileged, working-class African Americans was a town known for poor conditions and struggling families. The comments aimed at Mangum, paired with the knowledge the media had that these were student athletes, fueled a massive media …show more content…
“Within the first 36 hours of the events in this case, the accuser denied being raped, claimed she was raped by 20 men, then 5 men, then 2 men and then 3 men, claimed that she was carried against her will from a car by Nikki and “Brett,” claimed that she was dancing with three other women, multiple other women and then only one other woman, denied ever being struck with fists, claimed that Matt was getting married, told the forensic nurse that Matt raped her vaginally and orally, that