BOSTON - When the Blue Devils faced off against Northwestern in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships in Boston May 26, they were sporting more than goggles and mouthguards.
In a show of support for the embattled men's lacrosse team, many of the women's players wore bands on their arms or legs that read "No excuses, No regrets." Some players added the numbers of the three male players-Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and Dave Evans-who have been indicted on rape charges.
Although The Durham Herald-Sun originally said the wristbands would display the word "Innocent," head coach Kerstin Kimel denied the report, asking reporters, "Should you believe everything that's printed?"
"We had intentions of showing support for the men's program all along," Kimel said at a press conference after the game. "The message we were going to put on the bands was intended to be undecided until we came to Boston."
Kimel said the motto for the wristbands was adopted from the men's team.
"That was the message that the men started with this year," she said. "They expected to be in the same exact position that we were in, and we wanted the message to be something that they understood and was meaningful to them."
Kimel stressed that the wristbands and media attention devoted to them were not a distraction to the team in any way. She also the decision to wear the bands and the specifics of their message had been the players' decision.
"Any attention we got about the wristbands paled in comparison to having media staked out at your practice, and at your facility, and outside your dorm, and watching your friends be arrested, having your parents hounded by the 24-hour news cycle because they want comments from you," Kimel said.
When asked, Duke players declined to comment on the wristbands.
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