Via Chris Lawrence, I just learned that the Duke men’s lacrosse season has been cancelled and the coach has been fired in the wake of the release of a disgusting and hateful email sent by a lacrosse player after the alleged rape:

[Brodhead’s] statement comes in the wake of the Durham Police Department releasing two documents: an e-mail sent by one of the players and a search warrant of an Edens 2C Dormitory residence.

The e-mail was sent from sophomore lacrosse player Ryan McFadyen’s account, just hours after a March 13 party at which an exotic dancer has alleged she was raped by three players of the team.

“After tonight’s show, I’ve decided to have some strippers over to edens 2c,” the e-mail read, the writer noting, however, that there would be no nudity. “i plan on killing the b- as soon as [they] walk in and proceeding to cut their skin off while c- in my duke issue spandex.”

The search warrant, which includes the full text of the email, has been made available online by the News and Observer in PDF format.

Brodhead’s decision was the right one. However, Duke and Durham must be cautious about a rush to judgment. The email — however repugnant — does not prove that a crime was committed before it was sent.

PS For those who have complained about the lack of cooperation from team members, it’s worth noting that the McFayden email was provided to police by an anonymous source who is probably a lacrosse player.

Update 4/6 8:25 AM: According to the Herald Sun, McFadyen reportedly attended the Take Back the Night march:

McFadyen reportedly was one of about 500 people who attended a Take Back the Night march during Sexual Assault Awareness Week at Duke.

“I completely support this event and this entire week,” McFadyen told The Chronicle, Duke’s student newspaper. “It’s just sad that the allegations we are accused of happened to fall when they did.”