Lawsuit claims UNL, athletic department protect Huskers accused of sexual assault

[Ulty]

By the way, UNL's Title IX coordinator left for a VP level job at Michigan in December. Just another wrinkle in this whole situation.

 

[Toe]

16 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

I am confused about something and I'm interested in learning more.  Hunt and Lagrone were kicked off the team and banned from campus.  If there were no investigations into the allegations, how did UNL come to the point where they took these actions

 

It sounds like there were two separate incidents and allegations, only one of which led to an investigation. Apparently they did this s#!t twice:

 

Quote

They went to the office a third time in August 2019 after learning the two football players had been accused of rape by another UNL student. An investigation was launched at that point, according to the suit, which led to the football players confronting the women at a Halloween party later that fall.

 

Those two are the gift that keeps on f#&%in' giving...

[Ulty]

10 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

This needs to be looked into and investigated heavily.  It also needs to be reported precisely what happened.  A)  If UNL did everything the way they were supposed to, they need to report that and let the public know so we all can be comfortable that UNL is doing the right thing.  B)  If they didn't, it needs to be reported so that the appropriate people at UNL are appropriately reprimanded.

The article quoted UNL communications officer saying that they received a copy of the lawsuit and could not comment on pending litigation. However, I guarantee that the conversations right now between the Title IX office, general counsel, and upper admin are very heated and unpleasant right now as they try to get their ducks in a row. I would like to think that even though they cannot comment on pending litigation, they can refer to the actual process of what happens when a report is received so people understand how the system is supposed to work. 

 

10 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

I am confused about something and I'm interested in learning more.  Hunt and Lagrone were kicked off the team and banned from campus.  If there were no investigations into the allegations, how did UNL come to the point where they took these actions?

If I read the article correctly, it wasn't until the third complaint that an investigation was finally launched, resulting in the actions against Hunt and Legrone. The implication is, if investigations had been done sooner, these other incidents could have been avoided.

[84HuskerLaw]

22 minutes ago, Ulty said:

The article quoted UNL communications officer saying that they received a copy of the lawsuit and could not comment on pending litigation. However, I guarantee that the conversations right now between the Title IX office, general counsel, and upper admin are very heated and unpleasant right now as they try to get their ducks in a row. I would like to think that even though they cannot comment on pending litigation, they can refer to the actual process of what happens when a report is received so people understand how the system is supposed to work. 

 

If I read the article correctly, it wasn't until the third complaint that an investigation was finally launched, resulting in the actions against Hunt and Legrone. The implication is, if investigations had been done sooner, these other incidents could have been avoided.

Be careful to not assume the article is accurately reporting the matter.  A few key words can completely distort the case.  

It seems highly unlikely that UNL did not investigate these matters but quite likely that complaining parties and the accused may not like or agree with the results. These are nearly always he said she said cases with only credibility of each or all concerned to base a decision on.   

It may well be that the essence of the complaints focus on the process or methods as much as anything.  The trouble is that finding physical or third party evidence to cortoborate or refute things may be impossible and often statements come in that are inconsistant or dubious.  

This is common in neatly all investigations across many subjects.  

[BigRedBuster]

24 minutes ago, Ulty said:

If I read the article correctly, it wasn't until the third complaint that an investigation was finally launched, resulting in the actions against Hunt and Legrone. The implication is, if investigations had been done sooner, these other incidents could have been avoided.

Oh s#!t!!!!

[Husker03]

1 minute ago, 84HuskerLaw said:

Be careful to not assume the article is accurately reporting the matter.  A few key words can completely distort the case.  

It seems highly unlikely that UNL did not investigate these matters but quite likely that complaining parties and the accused may not like or agree with the results. These are nearly always he said she said cases with only credibility of each or all concerned to base a decision on.   

Admittedly it is hard to follow from the article, but it sounds like the 2018 incident went unreported, then Capri and another reported groping in spring of 2019 which was turned over to Title IX investigation, and then the initial Legrand incident in summer 2019 was reported which was also investigated fully and led to swift removal of players. The Adrian fatherhood rumors are only significant here, imo, if Adrian was involved in something sinister but the article indicates they are admittedly still on friendly terms. I'm not ready to cast stones on this one, yet, would like to at least hear something from the other side and will trust that it was all handled the way it has been set up to be handled until I see evidence to the contrary. 

[ColoradoHusk]

51 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

It's also going to be interesting to see if any current FB players are involved in the alleged incidents. (Martinez)

 

I could be wrong, but it sounds like the complaints were against Legrone and Hunt, and the University/Athletic Department were slow to respond.  I don't think Martinez is involved in any wrong-doing, other than the rumor that went around campus that he got Capri Davis pregnant, as Martinez and Davis were in a consensual relationship during the time.

[teachercd]

8 minutes ago, ColoradoHusk said:

 

I could be wrong, but it sounds like the complaints were against Legrone and Hunt, and the University/Athletic Department were slow to respond.  I don't think Martinez is involved in any wrong-doing, other than the rumor that went around campus that he got Capri Davis pregnant, as Martinez and Davis were in a consensual relationship during the time.

Yep...

 

[Ulty]

Please allow me to think outloud about a few things in the article, some of which will be devil's advocate. This is all a bunch of musing, without knowing any of the actual facts of the cases, but a few things to ponder...

 

Quote

“UNL has fostered a culture in which female victims are discouraged from reporting sexual assaults, sexual harassment, stalking, and other forms of general discrimination when those acts are perpetrated by male student-athletes in order to protect UNL, the male athletics program, male student-athletes, and the NCAA, at the expense of female victims,” the lawsuit states.

Honestly, this kind of complaint is pretty common at many universities, often by people who have been impacted by sexual misconduct but for whatever reason did not take full advantage of the resources that are available. I certainly don't want to blame any victims, as these situations are scary and confusing. But I have heard similar statements at the college where I work (printed on social media and student newspapers, for example) but when we look at the actual incidents, we have always found that one of these scenarios: the process was followed perfectly but the evidence just wasn't sufficient enough to take disciplinary action, or resources and accommodations were offered to a student but the student did not take advantage, or the incidents were either not reported at all or the victim specifically chose not to pursue an investigation. There was even one newspaper article where someone said an investigation was done against her wishes, when she had very clearly chosen to pursue it every step of the way, but then it didn't turn out in her favor. But of course the university was not allowed to comment on the case at all.

 

Every situation is different, and we have no idea at this point if UNL actually did the right thing in these cases or not. But this is a pretty vague (yet believable) statement, and I wonder what could have or should have been done differently in each case that would have been better. I have actually asked this exact question to many people ("what could we have done differently?") during and after investigations, but I almost never get any actual suggestions. These statements are usually borne out of frustration, not facts.

 

Quote

The women reported the incident to UNL’s Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance, the office responsible for investigating instances of sexual misconduct and harassment under Title IX, but the lawsuit states no investigation was initiated as is required by law.

Davis later told an instructor at UNL about the alleged assaults, and the employee reported the incident to the Title IX office, but still no investigation was started.

So, if a report was made, there will be a record of it. If the trail stops there, that is bad news for everyone. But an incident report alone typically does not result in an investigation. The complainant will choose to pursue such an action, or they can choose not to pursue. The choice should be made in writing. If there are actual allegations to be investigated, those allegations will also be in writing. UNL's policy (https://studentconduct.unl.edu/student-code-conduct#appendix-A) says:

2a. Upon receipt of a sexual misconduct complaint or report, the University will provide the Complainant a written notice describing the options of pursuing a criminal complaint with a law enforcement agency, filing an administrative charge with an external agency, and/or using the University’s investigation and disciplinary processes. The Complainant may go forward with one or more options at the same time, but the University’s investigation may need to be delayed temporarily by, or scheduled around, an ongoing criminal or external administrative investigation.

 

2b. Any member of the University community may submit allegations of sexual misconduct against a student. Allegations shall be prepared in writing and directed to the Student Affairs Officer or designee. The Student Affairs Officer shall then direct the allegation(s) to a Conduct Officer for investigation. Any allegation should be submitted as soon as possible after the alleged misconduct takes place, preferably within, but not limited to, seven (7) University business days after the misconduct occurred.

 

2c. The Complainant must state, in writing, if he or she wishes to pursue a complaint. If he or she does not wish to pursue the complaint and/or requests that his or her identity remain anonymous, the Student Affairs Officer will make note of that wish in the report. Regardless of the Complainant’s choice, the University is still required to investigate reports of sexual misconduct. The Complainant must be informed if the University cannot ensure anonymity.

 

I have also often heard people say "this was reported to your office in the past but nobody did anything." It usually turns out that it was the complainant's choice in those cases not to move forward.

 

Having said that, even if there is not a willing complainant, if there is a potential rapist running around out there and it is an issue of public safety, the university can and should move forward anyway. But it depends on what information is known and how cooperative a complainant is.

 

 

Quote

The lawsuit states Davis was not offered any accommodations from the university to shield her from the sexual harassment, leading her to become withdrawn, her grades to slip, and her health to suffer.

The question here is what resources, if any, were offered to her. Did she request any accommodations? Again, these conversations should be documented somewhere.

 

 

Quote

Another former UNL student, Sheridan Thomas, reported being raped by a football player in 2015 to administrators and Title IX investigators, but said the office did not interview potential witnesses she provided and later found there had been no wrongdoing.

So in this case, there was an investigation. An investigator should interview relevant witnesses, but not necessarily everyone a complainant suggests. Many people often provide "witness" names who are nothing more than character references, or a friend who was told about the incident second or third-hand ("talk to them, they know what happened!"). Most of the time, those particular witnesses have no actual evidence to offer (although a friend who was told about the incident can sometimes discuss the victim's response at the time and can be used to see if details are consistent). It is also disingenuous to say "found there had been no wrongdoing." I would bet that there is no report that says there was no wrongdoing. Instead, it would say that there is not enough evidence to show this or that, which is very different than definitively saying that nothing happened.

 

 

Quote

The lawsuit alleges UNL does not require students to go through comprehensive training on its Title IX policies and definitions, and leaves students at risk of not understanding their rights when asking the university to address instances of sexual violence.

UNL's website (https://studentaffairs.unl.edu/title-ix-training-staff) says: "When students enroll at the University of Nebraska, they are required to complete an online training on Title IX. Likewise, employees need to complete this training after being hired."

 

Now, it is easy to be confused about what to do and what resources are available when an incident actually occurs, but universities are drilling this stuff into students and employees these days, with extra training for certain staff (residence life, for example). Again, if you asked what they should be doing differently, what would the specific answers be?

[teachercd]

2 minutes ago, Ulty said:

Please allow me to think outloud about a few things in the article, some of which will be devil's advocate. This is all a bunch of musing, without knowing any of the actual facts of the cases, but a few things to ponder...

 

Honestly, this kind of complaint is pretty common at many universities, often by people who have been impacted by sexual misconduct but for whatever reason did not take full advantage of the resources that are available. I certainly don't want to blame any victims, as these situations are scary and confusing. But I have heard similar statements at the college where I work (printed on social media and student newspapers, for example) but when we look at the actual incidents, we have always found that one of these scenarios: the process was followed perfectly but the evidence just wasn't sufficient enough to take disciplinary action, or resources and accommodations were offered to a student but the student did not take advantage, or the incidents were either not reported at all or the victim specifically chose not to pursue an investigation. There was even one newspaper article where someone said an investigation was done against her wishes, when she had very clearly chosen to pursue it every step of the way, but then it didn't turn out in her favor. But of course the university was not allowed to comment on the case at all.

 

Every situation is different, and we have no idea at this point if UNL actually did the right thing in these cases or not. But this is a pretty vague (yet believable) statement, and I wonder what could have or should have been done differently in each case that would have been better. I have actually asked this exact question to many people ("what could we have done differently?") during and after investigations, but I almost never get any actual suggestions. These statements are usually borne out of frustration, not facts.

 

 

Yeah, I agree with everything you said.  We study this stuff in one of the classes I teach.  The girl that carried the mattress around campus for a year is one that comes to mind.  Also, I am not comparing the cases and saying they are the same...I am just linking an article that got a lot of press.

 

https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/08/columbia-university-mattress-girl-emmas-sulkowicz-paul-nungesser-lawsuit-rape-accusation-exonerated/

[Moiraine]

1 hour ago, BigRedBuster said:

I am confused about something and I'm interested in learning more.  Hunt and Lagrone were kicked off the team and banned from campus.  If there were no investigations into the allegations, how did UNL come to the point where they took these actions?

 

 

 

 

Quote

Capri Davis, a former Husker volleyball player who left the program in December and is named as one of the plaintiffs in the suit, said she and another unnamed female student-athlete were groped without consent by two members of the Husker football team in the spring of 2019.

 

The unidentified female student-athlete also reported being raped by one of those football players and another Husker student-athlete in August 2018, an incident she said she did not report because she “wanted to try to forget what had happened and move on.”

 

The women reported the incident to UNL’s Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance, the office responsible for investigating instances of sexual misconduct and harassment under Title IX, but the lawsuit states no investigation was initiated as is required by law.

 

Davis later told an instructor at UNL about the alleged assaults, and the employee reported the incident to the Title IX office, but still no investigation was started.

 

They went to the office a third time in August 2019 after learning the two football players -- both are unnamed in the lawsuit -- had been accused of rape by another UNL student. An investigation was launched at that point, according to the suit, which led to the football players confronting the women at a Halloween party later that fall.

 

 

Based on the word "women" in the 3rd paragraph, the two reported the groping incident (but not the rape in 2018), and were ignored 2 times. Then they found out someone else had allegedly been raped by the same 2 players.

[funhusker]

 

 

1 hour ago, BigRedBuster said:

This needs to be looked into and investigated heavily.  It also needs to be reported precisely what happened.  A)  If UNL did everything the way they were supposed to, they need to report that and let the public know so we all can be comfortable that UNL is doing the right thing.  B)  If they didn't, it needs to be reported so that the appropriate people at UNL are appropriately reprimanded.

 

I am confused about something and I'm interested in learning more.  Hunt and Lagrone were kicked off the team and banned from campus.  If there were no investigations into the allegations, how did UNL come to the point where they took these actions?

 

It's also going to be interesting to see if any current FB players are involved in the alleged incidents. (Martinez)

Martinez was described as a "friend" of Davis.  The only complaint I saw involving him was that the athletic dept asked her to deal with the rumor publicly, but didn't ask him to.  I didn't read anything in there that would accuse Martinez of anything improper.

[Ulty]

36 minutes ago, 84HuskerLaw said:

Be careful to not assume the article is accurately reporting the matter.  A few key words can completely distort the case.  

It seems highly unlikely that UNL did not investigate these matters but quite likely that complaining parties and the accused may not like or agree with the results. These are nearly always he said she said cases with only credibility of each or all concerned to base a decision on.   

It may well be that the essence of the complaints focus on the process or methods as much as anything.  The trouble is that finding physical or third party evidence to cortoborate or refute things may be impossible and often statements come in that are inconsistant or dubious.  

This is common in neatly all investigations across many subjects.  

Yep, everything you said in this post is correct, and I'm not assuming $h!t about any of it.

[krc1995]

God bless these women for coming forward. If this is the climate of the athletic department, it’s no surprise that athletes are jumping ship. Who would ever want to be a part of this culture? And how can an athletic department with a budget like ours, let two serial rapist derail everything?

   
And it sounds like AM  is a victim in this too. 

[Cdog923]

1 hour ago, BigRedBuster said:

This needs to be looked into and investigated heavily.  It also needs to be reported precisely what happened.  A)  If UNL did everything the way they were supposed to, they need to report that and let the public know so we all can be comfortable that UNL is doing the right thing.  B)  If they didn't, it needs to be reported so that the appropriate people at UNL are appropriately reprimanded.

 

I am confused about something and I'm interested in learning more.  Hunt and Lagrone were kicked off the team and banned from campus.  If there were no investigations into the allegations, how did UNL come to the point where they took these actions?

 

It's also going to be interesting to see if any current FB players are involved in the alleged incidents. (Martinez)

 

Was it UNL that took these actions, or the football program? From everything I've read, Hunt and LeGrone were removed from the team as soon as the staff found out about the allegations, and from everything I'm reading here and until we know more, this seems more like a University issue than a program issue. Regardless of what is true, I'm deeply embarrassed of my alma mater this morning.