Woman involved in UO basketball sex case sues university, Dana Altman 01/08/2015
Woman involved in UO basketball sex case sues university, Dana Altman
Update: The complaint is here:
Update: Andrew Greif in the Oregonian. Brandon Austin’s mother calls Dana Altman a liar:
… The players were barred from campus for at least four years, and up to 10, in June, by the university. But before that discipline was handed down, the suit alleges, the university struck a deal before its scheduled hearing. The players waived their right to a hearing in exchange for an “administrative conference,” the suit says, an agreement that gave the university full control over the discipline. In exchange, the suit says the players were not expelled and that their transcripts would omit any reference to “sexual misconduct” — both of which would make transferring to another school more difficult.
“UO delayed taking any action on the sexual assaults for over two months while it prioritized winning basketball games over the health, safety and welfare of its students, including plaintiff,” it says.
… Within days of the police report going public on May 5, Oregon announced it had actually dismissed the players back on May 1. Throughout, Altman and athletic director Rob Mullens said that though they knew Austin had been suspended and under investigation by Providence College before transferring to Oregon in January, they never knew the reason.
“He did not give specifics so my line of questioning probably didn’t go deep enough there in retrospect,” Altman said May 9. “But I did not have a specific reason.”
The suit disputes that.
“Upon information and belief, Altman and other UO personnel were fully aware of the basis for Austin’s season-long suspension,” it says. “In fact, Austin’s mother, when asked about what the UO coaches knew, said, ‘We told them everything. They knew everything.'”
Just the sort of info UO needs to fire Dana Altman for cause, and avoid having to pay him $12M or so in severance.
1/8/2015: That’s the headline of the story by Josephine Woolington in the Register Guard, online now:
The student who says she was raped by three University of Oregon basketball players is suing the university and UO head basketball coach Dana Altman for allegedly violating her federal civil rights for recruiting one of the involved players to attend the university after he had previously been accused of rape elsewhere.
In the lawsuit filed today in U.S. District Court in Eugene, the 18-year-old woman, referred to as “Jane Doe,” argues that the UO and Altman prioritized winning basketball games over her claim that she had been raped repeatedly by the now former players, Damyean Dotson, Dominic Artis and Brandon Austin.
So it looks like we may finally get a serious public review of how UO handled this case. The UO Matters timeline is here. Video of Dana Altman’s news conference from May:
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