The Chronicle

Issue date: 2/20/07 Section: News
Last update: 2/20/07 at 5:52 AM EST

Media Credit: Jianghai Ho Earlier this month, a group held a fundraising walk from Koskinen Stadium to the Durham County Courthouse.

Eleven months after rape allegations thrust the Duke men's lacrosse team into the national spotlight, several of the team's supporters have undertaken major fundraising efforts to help members of the 2005-2006 team finance their legal expenses.

The Association for Truth and Fairness, a Delaware-based nonprofit organization, has raised $750,000 toward this cause, said Sherman "Tiger" Joyce, a founding member of ATAF.

Joyce estimated that legal bills for the three players accused of kidnapping and sexual assault have already reached a total of $3 million. ATAF organizers intend to raise $5 million, using excess funds to advocate against abuses in the criminal justice system, he added.

"Our goal is to prevent something like this from happening again," he said.

Rae Evans, mother of indicted player David Evans, Trinity '06, told The Chronicle that she has appreciated ATAF's outreach to her family and all the Duke lacrosse families.

The Evans family has also received widespread support, ranging from cookies left on their doorstep to hundreds of letters sent from both friends and strangers.

"It lets us know that other people believe in these young men's innocence and that the 'fantastic lies' have caused a great injustice," she said. "Innocence is a great foundation on which to build a base of support."

ATAF has received donations from hundreds of people, Joyce said.

"We continue to get donations through the website, and we're getting contributions from all over the country," he said. "It's very rewarding to think that our message is getting out. The case clearly resonates with the public."

ATAF's funds go toward financing the team of defense attorneys, who have spent hundreds of hours working on the case and have hired private investigators, pollsters and experts on DNA and forensics, Joyce said.

He added that ATAF's board of directors reviews payment requests from the parents of the indicted players-Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann. The association subsequently decides what funding can be made available for the families.

Continued...

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