Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Duke University will be sued by 38 members of the 2006 men's lacrosse team who claim they suffered emotional distress when school officials failed to support them during a rape investigation, a spokesman for the players said.

The lawsuit, to be filed today in U.S. District Court in North Carolina, also will name Duke President Richard Brodhead, Duke's medical center, and the city of Durham, North Carolina, according to a statement posted on a Web site run by players' spokesman Bob Bork. University officials remained silent during the rape probe, even though they had evidence that the players were innocent, according to the statement.

``These young men want acknowledgment that they were wronged by institutions and individuals that they trusted to treat them honestly,'' attorney Chuck Cooper said in the statement. ``They were victimized by a corrupt investigation that ignored or suppressed evidence that would have cleared them. And, all for a crime that never took place.''

Three players were charged in the case, which led to the cancellation of the lacrosse team's season and the coach's resignation. The prosecution of white team members David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann began with a black stripper's accusation that she was attacked after dancing at an off-campus team party on March 13, 2006. State Attorney General Roy Cooper dropped charges against all three athletes in April and said he concluded they were innocent.

Racial Tensions

The case raised racial tensions between the majority white school and Durham, the largely black city where Duke is located. Duke, where about 6,300 undergraduates pay tuition and fees of almost $36,000 a year, is ranked eighth among national universities by U.S. News and World Report. Alumni include Morgan Stanley Chairman John Mack and Bill Gross, managing director of Pacific Investment Management Co.

Seligmann, of Essex Fells, New Jersey; Evans, of Bethesda, Maryland; and Finnerty, of Garden City, New York, initially were accused of forcible rape, sexual assault and kidnapping. The accuser was a black student at North Carolina Central University in Durham.

Duke canceled the lacrosse season on April 5, 2006, the same day Mike Pressler resigned after 16 years as coach. The university suspended Seligmann and Finnerty, both sophomores, two weeks later after they were arrested. Evans, a senior and team captain, was indicted that May.

Prosecutor Sued

The three players who were charged have sued former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong, the city and the laboratory Nifong hired, claiming the rape charges filed against them were knowingly based on false allegations. Duke said in June it reached a settlement with the three players. Details of the accord weren't released.

The suit to be filed by the 38 team members doesn't name Nifong as a defendant because he is protected by U.S. bankruptcy laws, Chuck Cooper said. Nifong filed for protection from creditors in January.

Duke spokesman Geoffrey Mock declined to comment to Bloomberg News last night because the lawsuit hadn't been filed. Durham Interim City Attorney Karen Sindelar didn't return a call seeking comment after business hours.

Nifong was removed from the practice of law last year for unethical conduct in the 2006 investigation. He served a night in jail for lying to a judge about the evidence.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Van Voris in New York at rvanvoris@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 21, 2008 12:31 EST