Duke Lacross players have sued the University for "emotional distress" suffered by 38 players when the Administration failed to support them:

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.''

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.