Duke Lacrosse Rape Case: A Year Later, Coach K Speaks Out

It was a year ago tonight that a stripper in Durham alleged that she was gang-raped at a Duke Lacrosse team party. Today, Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski speaks out:

"The one thing that I wish we would have done is just out, publicly say, 'Look, those are our kids. And we're gonna support 'em, because they're still our kids.' That's what I wish we would have done," Krzyzewski told Bob Costas, a sports commentator who has a television show on HBO. "And I'm not sure that we did -- I don't think we did a good job of that."

For months, bloggers and others have criticized Duke, accusing the university of not standing behind the players as the judicial process unfolded.

Since the spring, defense lawyers have poked gaping holes in the prosecution's case against three former lacrosse players -- David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann. District Attorney Mike Nifong, the prosecutor who led the investigation, has resigned from the case and is in a battle to save his law license.

One segment of "Costas Now," an hour-long sports program that airs tonight at 10, will be a one-on-one interview with Krzyzewski, according to Kris Goddard with HBO Sports media relations. According to excerpts from the transcript, Krzyzewski criticizes Duke professors for their criticisms of big-time sports at the university.

"We had almost 100 professors come out publicly against certain things in athletics," Krzyzewski told Costas, "and I was a little bit shocked at that. But it shows that there's a latent hostility or whatever you want to say towards sports on campus. I thought it was inappropriate, to be quite frank with you."

Krzyzewski did not speak on the case as it began last year at the specific request of Duke University President Richard Brodhead. Brodhead seems to have had little problem with the "Gang of 88," a group of Duek Professors that were quick to condemn the players.

Rape charges have since been dropped against the players after teh accuser offered multiple and inconsitent stories, and DNA evidence showed that the accuser had sex with several men at the time DNA was collected, but none of them were Duke Lacrosse players.

Sexual assualt and kidnapping charges are still levied against the players, but those charges may be dropped. State prosecutors took over the case after Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong stepped down from the case in disgrace, after allegedly withholding DNA evidence that exonerated the players.