Brodhead's statement to the community isn't enough

I read with great interest the comments made by Duke's President Richard Brodhead, which were recently posted on Duke's website. It seems as though Brodhead has suddenly acquired the "intestinal fortitude," so to speak, that had previously been absent, given his comments and remarks regarding the Duke lacrosse case. In the past year, your university has been part of a "media circus" with extensive reach and considerable frequency. There are many questions that remain unanswered, that should be addressed by Duke's senior administrator: Why has the University tolerated the despicable behavior of the 88 professors who signed off on an ad that in essence supported Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong's outrageous allegations? Was this simply part of "business as usual" for a university that is clearly out of synch with it's own mission statement, common sense and the principle of "assumed innocent under the law."

Nowhere in Brodhead's statement did I see an apology to former head lacrosse coach Mike Pressler. This is a man who dedicated his life to Duke and the exceptional athletes that he served. In Brodhead's rush to judgment, the team's season was cancelled and Pressler lost his job. This is a man who in 2005 was the Coach of the Year. Duke's faculty and administration did not want to wait for all the facts to be presented-and many at Duke were clearly indifferent to the truth. It's no wonder that the two students who were invited by Duke to return to school after the rape case was dropped have not yet accepted the offer. What does that say about the compassion and understanding shown by their former teachers and the Duke administration? Can you blame them? If my son's image was splattered all over campus on bogus "wanted posters" created by Duke faculty members I would be seriously considering major litigation not only against Nifong, but Duke as well.

Bill Cleary

Saratoga, Calif.