Former Duke Lax Coach Mike Pressler Retires At Bryant

Coach Mike Pressler, who moved to Bryant after the Duke lacrosse hoax exploded, has announced his retirement from Bryant and the sport.

Pressler, who had been at Bryant for 16 years after leaving Duke, was forced out in the early part of the bizarre “scandal.” In fairness, he was responsible for his team and though the case involving Crystal Mangum and her accusations against ultimately fell apart, clearly his program could have tightened things up and the reported sense of entitlement curtailed. It’s the sort of thing that might have been discussed privately, but he certainly wouldn’t have been fired for what were relatively minor or unproven offenses.

But he was forced out by former President Broadhead and replaced by John Danowski, who, from all appearances has been entirely admirable.

We kept up with Pressler though and enjoyed seeing his redemption as he build Bryant into a respected national lacrosse power.

He’ll never fully escape the lacrosse hoax scandal but his post-Duke success means that he also won't be defined by it, either. We wish him the best of luck in retirement.