Dave Evans Statement

Here is the text of Dave Evans' statement from Wednesday's press conference:

Thank you all for being here. Just as this saga is ending, I’d like to say we all got stuck on the elevator on the way down and never thought we’d ever make it to here, but we finally have. But I’d like to start up by thanking the Attorney General and the special prosecutors for their diligent and professional job in reviewing the case file. It’s been 395 days since this nightmare began, and finally, today it’s come to a closure. From the very beginning, many of the men, who are sitting in this room, including myself, Reade and Collin, has said that we’re innocent. And we’re just as innocent today as we were back then. Nothing has changed. Facts don’t change. And we have never wavered in our story.

I’d also like to thank all the attorneys who are at the table before I get into anything. They’ve worked tirelessly, they’ve become family, and we owe them our lives. And that’s the most I can say and I’d like to, one more time. In addition, I’ve got many other thank yous and I could never get to them all, but my parents and my sister. Lord knows I’ve put them to hell and back and their support has let me remember and stay true to who I am in the face of tremendous scrutiny, speculation, and outright fantastic lies. When things were being said about me by people who have never met me, never cared to interview me, they kept me close and this could have separated us all, but we stayed close. And we’re a stronger family because of it.

I don’t take lightly the fact that their hard work, their success and their sacrifice has allowed me to be represented by such fine lawyers. And many people across this country, across this state would not have the opportunity that we did. And this could simply have been brushed underneath the rug just as another case, and some innocent person would end up in jail for their entire life. And it’s just not right. And I thank God every day that my parents have worked as hard as they have. Thank you and hugs and kisses. I won’t do it now. I’d like to thank all the members of the university lacrosse team, Duke University men’s lacrosse team, men’s and women’s, who stuck together. We know who we are.

The greatest disservice has been done to the sport of lacrosse in this whole thing and the stereotypes just aren’t true. They saw magazines, they saw newspapers, but they’re not anything that represents us as a sport, as a school, as a university, as a team, and they are wrong. Along these lines, I’d like to thank my coach, Mike Pressler, who sacrificed everything. 16 years he spent building up a team to fall on the swords that we could continue as a team at the university he loved. And we owe him everything. And I know he’s up there. I can say, over the past year I’ve gotten to know Reade, Collin and their families very well.

And you couldn’t have find two more incredible boys, men, people don’t like us being referred to as boys, we are men and we accept responsibility for that. I could never imagine what they’ve gone through. I was indicted the day after my graduation. As difficult as that weekend was finding out on Friday before I was indicted on Monday, I reached the past of my life where I could take some time off. I still work through it, I didn’t want to have idle hands. But these boys were ripped out of school.

The team that they love, their friends, everything they’ve ever worked for, based on lies. And now they try to regain whatever they had before, a university that will support them, their education most importantly. And I can tell you they are exceptional students, exceptional athletes, and exceptional young men who are mature vastly beyond their years. And I hope that universities across this country realize that they’re a true asset. And I hope that you come to them and offer some sign of support, come to their aid. All they want to do is go to school and graduate. I had that honor. Let’s just hope that they can as well.

I’d like to say once again, and I said it a long time ago, these allegations are false. These charges were false and should never have been brought. We fully cooperated from the beginning. There was never a blue wall of silence. Look at the facts of the case and you will see that. It’s - painful to remember what we went through on those first days and it’s just a testament to all of our character that we never lodge out. We’re still very strong. If you wanna know what character is, walk around your campus and see signs with your photo all over and you wanted signs, and have people in the media relating you to Hitler and other terrible people from history when you’ve done nothing wrong. That is character, to sit there and take that. That’s the young men of the Duke University men’s lacrosse team did.

I hope that something good can come from this. And this past year, those robs from our lives, all of the - Duke University men’s lacrosse team have gone to hell and back. But I hope, and all of our sincerely hope, that it was not in vain. So first and foremost, I hope people can realize innocent people can be charged of a crime and it is up to the justice system to determine guilt or innocence, not the news, not speculators, and not people with some other agenda. That is why there’s a legal system and today the legal system has prevailed. Secondly, I hope that the state of North Carolina can address some issues that arose from our case, most notably, the grand jury procedures. They are a check on the power of the prosecutor and in this case, there are no records of what was used to secure indictments against the three of us.

We have no idea. The evidence shows that exculpatory evidence was there but we cannot go back and understand why we are indicted. There was no there there, there was no factual evidence, it was speculation and we do not know, and how can we, as a country, in the legal system, control the people who are supposed to enforce it if they can simply say whatever they wanna say, produce whatever they wanna produce, and nobody else has an opportunity to see or ever question it. And I hope that the state assembly can address that. I know that they’re addressing other issues as it relates to this. In closing, I’m excited to get on with my life. It’s been a long year. Longer that you could ever imagine. But I hope these allegations don’t come to define me.

I hope that they way that I could be remembered is sticking up for my name, for my family, and for my team, against impossible odds, impossible odds, the entire country against us. And we fought back for our names. You can never tell what life’s gonna give you, what curve balls, but you can be judged on how you handle the situations that’s brought to you. And my family and I can sleep at night knowing that I did everything that I have always been told to do. I never lied. I went in and cooperated from a day after the party and I can walk with my head held high and sleep at night knowing that I could not have done anything else to prove my innocence. And this day’s been coming for a long time. But again, I’d like to thank the professionalism of the Attorney General’s office for giving me back my life and I look forward to living it. Thank you.