This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Bryant chapter.

On Sunday, April 12, the popular investigative journalism television program 60 Minutes aired a special called Rush to Judgment about one of Bryant’s very own bulldogs. Known to most Bryant students as the coach who brought Bryant’s lacrosse team from a division II team to a division I team, Coach Mike Pressler has a much longer story of his journey to success at Bryant.

The 60 Minutes special tells the story of Coach Mike Pressler who was the head coach of Duke University’s lacrosse team for 16 seasons. In 2006, three members of his team were accused of raping an African American woman, sparking enormous reactions from students at Duke.

“I knew exactly from their reactions to the allegations that this was absolutely untrue,” said Pressler.

This baseless accusation led to traumatic times for both Pressler and his team. Despite the lack of evidence, students continued rallying against the lacrosse team. The episode shows hundreds of students marching with signs that read “Take Back the Night.” Even the district attorney Michael Nifong was publicly speaking out against the lacrosse team with certainty. His comments fueled the fire against the Duke’s lacrosse team, making the public believe they were guilty as well.

“A sizable portion of people in the university had turned their backs on those kids and believed that the most heinous crimes had been committed,” said Chris Kennedy, the senior deputy director of athletics at Duke. Before long, the public hatred for the Duke lacrosse team worked its way into Pressler’s personal life. The video shows his front yard being covered in harsh accusatory signs that even targeted his wife and daughters.

Then, Pressler was given an ultimatum from Duke: to resign immediately or wait to be fired. Pressler, who was the national coach of the year, chose to resign. After being denied from volunteer coaching positions for high schools and from his alma mater Washington and Lee, he had hit “rock bottom.” Fortunately for Pressler and for Bryant University, President Machtley was in the process of looking for a new lacrosse coach. He gave Pressler the chance that no one else would, and Pressler has been with Bryant ever since. As one of the best college lacrosse coaches in the country, Pressler is often offered higher paying jobs for other schools, but he has always chosen to stay with Bryant.

“That kind of loyalty which he showed to this team, and which his team ultimately showed back to him, is something that’s very rare in society today,” President Machtley said of Pressler’s loyalty.

oach Pressler still keeps in touch with several of the players from his 2006 Duke lacrosse team, many of which donate to Bryant’s programs. His players were proven innocent, and Duke eventually issued an apology to Coach Pressler.

60 Minutes did an excellent job of telling Coach Pressler’s story, and the episode sure makes Bryant students and staff proud.

Rush to Judgement: Bryant’s Coach Pressler on 60 Minutes

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