Singularly Unimpressed

Duke University yesterday invited back two of the Lacrosse players accused of rape last spring:

Duke University and its lacrosse team have offered to reinstate two players accused in an alleged sexual assault of a stripper at an off-campus team party -- but at least one of them, Collin Finnerty of Garden City, wants to first legally establish his innocence before re-enrolling, his father said.Soon after Duke President Richard Brodhead invited the accused players back Tuesday, lacrosse coach John Danowski talked with Finnerty and told him he was welcome to rejoin the nationally ranked team, his father, Kevin Finnerty, said.

"Collin's reaction was very mature," Kevin Finnerty said. "He said, 'Dad, I'd love to be there, playing with my friends for Coach Danowski. But I don't think I should be going back until this is successfully resolved.'"He's not going to go back until we get a successful resolution of these charges, and that means an innocent verdict or dropping of the other charges," Kevin Finnerty said.

The reinstatement offer came after Durham County, N.C. District Attorney Michael Nifong last month dropped rape charges against the Duke players, saying the accuser had changed her story.

Nifong left standing kidnapping and sex offense charges that could bring more than 30 years in prison for Finnerty, Reade Seligmann, of Essex Fells, N.J., and a third Duke player, David Evans, of Bethesda, Md., who graduated in May.

In a statement, Brodhead said, "We have decided that the right and fair thing to do is to welcome back Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty. ... The circumstances in this case have changed substantially."

In otherwords, "Please don't sue the pants off us!"