FORMER U of MEMPHIS Football Player Sues University Over His Endless Suspension After Sexual Assault Charges Were Dropped
A former University of Memphis defensive lineman is suing his university after he was suspended over a sexual assault accusation that was eventually dropped by local police. The football player was accused of sexually assaulting a female student in 2017. He was arrested just before the school was to play the Naval Academy’s football team. The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported that the charges were dropped eight months later after the state could not “carry its burden of proof on to the elements of this offense.” The student still faced disciplinary charges at UM, which require a lower burden of proof and do not have the same protections as the regular legal system.
The student alleges in his lawsuit that UM never completed its investigation, but suspended him from the university and cut him from the football team, causing him to lose his scholarship. Because the school still hasn’t made a decision as to his culpability, he cannot appeal UM’s punishment. He wrote in his lawsuit that he lost his “scholarship, reputation, job prospects and a potential career in the NFL” due to the university’s lack of due process in its procedures. While the student is seeking monetary damages, he mainly wants his disciplinary record cleared and to have the accusation completely removed from school files. The student further claims that race may have been a factor in his treatment. He alleged in his lawsuit that after a white student was indicted on rape charges in 2017 — the same year the football player, who is black, was arrested — he was able to return to campus. The football player was barred from campus after he was arrested.
dailywire– Ashe Schow
