COACH K SAYS DUKE LAX COACH SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN FIRED

by DCScrap, on 205th - Editor

In an interesting bit of news, Men's Health recently did a story on former Duke lacrosse coach Mike Pressler and how his life has changed since the scandal involving his players. The story really starts with the Duke A.D. telling Pressler that despite the fact that he believed the players' denials Pressler was going to have to resign from what Pressler described as his dream job.

Says Pressler...

"In my world, if I tell you I believe you, it's the same as saying I'll stand by you," he says. "But the Duke administrators felt differently. They told me and the players they believed, but they didn't stand by us."

Even the legendary Coach K thinks the school messed up in making Pressler resign.

"Mike shouldn't have been fired, especially at that moment," Krzyzewski says. "The way it was handled and the timing made it seem like he was the reason all this occurred."

So, how did Pressler know his boys were innocent?

"When I told them they were being charged with rape -- and look," he says, his eyes narrowing, "I was livid that they had the party. Livid. But when I told them they were being accused of rape, the look of absolute astonishment in their eyes told me that they were innocent."

He was proven to be correct in his assessment, but still couldn't get a job. He applied for three jobs, but couldn't get an interview. He felt like he was blackballed.

Pressler eventually landed in Division II Bryant College where his teams are, as always, very good. So will we see him back in Division I anytime soon?

He'd been contacted about Division I jobs but said he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"I take offense to people who say, 'Coach, hang in there. You'll get better offers back in Division I.' I don't coach for the Roman numeral. I was just as excited to beat Le Moyne last year as I was to beat Virginia when I was at Duke."

Maybe this is why the Rich Rodriguez's and Bobby Petrino's and Nick Saban's of the world jump at the chance to move on to the bigger and better. Because even when you do show loyalty in college athletics you can still be a victim. Hopefully, for Mike Pressler, when one door was closed, another better one was opened.