By Todd McElwee

While researching my preseason men's lacrosse poll, I Googled "Duke lacrosse" in order to check out some stats. To my surprise, the first Web page that appeared was Wikipedia's entry for the 2006 Duke lacrosse case in which Crystal Gail Mangum, a North Carolina Central student at the time, falsely accused three Blue Devil lacrosse players for raping her at a party where she was dancing.

All charges were dropped in 2007 and the rest as they say is history … or is it? Three of the first 10 Web sites to come up had something to do with the scandal. The first related search was also scandal related.

Conversely, I Googled Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers All-Star who also was involved with and acquitted in a highly publicized a sexual assault trial. Nothing came up on the front page of the Google inquiry.

Both Bryant and the Blue Devils have claimed championships since their incidents. Both are also polarizing to their sport's respective fan bases. Bryant has been a far more controversial figure, helping to ship Shaq out of Los Angeles and nearly formulating a trade for himself when the Lakers weren't a playoff outfit. So, publicly, why has he been able to largely put the past behind him, while the Blue Devils, largely out of the national spotlight, have not?

Posted Feb. 9, 2012