April 11, 2007

BRYANT HEAD COACH MIKE PRESSLER TRANSCRIPT

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Following Wednesday's press conference in Durham, North Carolina, in which all charges were dropped against the three Duke lacrosse players, Bryant head coach Mike Pressler met with the media to discuss Wednesday's developments.

4:45 p.m., Wednesday April 11, Bello Center, Bryant University

Opening remarks: I'd like to say how thankful I am today about the decision in Durham and how grateful I am that the lacrosse community and Bryant community stood by us the entire time.

I said it a couple of weeks ago that I was very confident that justice would be served and I said that to all the people it applies to. What goes around, comes around, and we're counting on the powers that be in the state of North Carolina to do that.

Well I think early on I was pretty angry and bitter when I didn't have a job. But a lot of that changed to excitement when I came to Smithfield and was given this opportunity. We try not to live in the past. We're moving forward. Duke has a new coach and a new way of doing things and they're doing well. Bryant has a new coach and we're doing well too.

I said the truth at the appropriate time to the appropriate people. Two days after this happened; I knew what the truth was. When you say you believe in someone, you stand by them.

I have not heard from the President at Duke. We have not spoken since May when we put some closure to everything.

There was a rush to judgment by so many different people. We took our hits as a family. I said this early on; we had a pact between us and the players. If they could take it, then my two daughters, my wife and I could too.

Duke coach John Danowski asked me to speak to the team Tuesday. He was very gracious. I've had a speech rehearsed about a thousand times to give those guys. It was emotional in the beginning but we had some laughs and hung out and caught up. I don't know if the players got anything out of it, but I certainly did.

I think early on I certainly didn't like the image that was being played out. But when they reinstated the program, the excitement was there. The toughest thing would have been to not coach again. That would have been very tough personally. But we have a great challenge here, and the guys here are working their tails off. We have a very important game tonight.

These guys are smart guys; they know what's going on. They know the events of last year and they know what can happen. Innocent as they are now, you saw what came of it.

So many folks were so quick to put their agenda out there before looking at the facts. That's out there, that's not news to me. You have to step back, take a hard look at it, figure out the truth, and wait.

We were all on trial there for a couple months, and then all of a sudden, the evidence starts coming out. And then the rape charges were dropped in December. And then the public opinion polls are turned almost 180 degrees. I just wanted to coach again. I love what I do and I don't care what level it's at.

The (Bryant) guys are playing well. They're awfully fun to coach, and they're buying in to the system. We want to be up here with the media coverage what they're doing on the field. I tell my players here at Bryant what's going on based on a need to know basis. And they've been great about it.

I will never be the coach at Duke again, but I'll have a special place for that team, especially the class of 2006.

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