U leaders punished football players to be ‘heroes’ against sexual assault, lawyer say

BleedGopher

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
60,566
Reaction score
15,640
Points
113
per Verges:

Ten black football players were punished in 2016 so that University of Minnesota administrators would look like “heroes of the fight against sexual violence,” their lawyer said in court Friday, Feb. 22.

University lawyers say the student discipline process worked “exactly as it should have,” with just four players ultimately being expelled.

The alleged gang rape of a white female student in September 2016 did not result in criminal charges. But it played a role in head coach Tracy Claeys' dismissal and sparked a short-lived team boycott of the Holiday Bowl when all 10 accused players were forced to sit out.

The players now are suing the school in U.S. District Court, alleging the U denied them due process and discriminated against them on the basis of race and sex. They want compensatory damages and for the expelled players to be reinstated with clean discipline records.

U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank heard oral arguments Friday on the U’s motion to dismiss the players’ case. He gave no indication how or when he might rule.

Plaintiffs attorney David Madgett pointed to a July 2015 email by Kim Hewitt, director of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, that warned other administrators about a “potential pattern” of sexual misconduct by Gopher football players.

That email became public soon after Athletics Director Norwood Teague resigned that August accused of sexually harassing two colleagues -- the second of at least three white male athletics employees in four years to lose their positions over sexual misconduct scandals.

Madgett said that when a white female student reported that 10 to 20 football players gang-raped her in September 2016, President Eric Kaler and Title IX Coordinator Tina Marisam saw an opportunity to show what they’re doing to address sexual violence on campus.

“There was a prior motivation to go after members of the football team, in particular,” he said.

Marisam accepted the white woman’s version of events, Madgett said, while “the stories of 10 African-American males are universally discredited.”

Three months after the female student's report, Marisam concluded her investigation and 10 players were suspended for sexual assault or sexual harassment. Their teammates then announced they would boycott the bowl game but changed their minds after Marisam's report was leaked to the media.

Ultimately, five players were cleared of wrongdoing after contested student conduct hearings, and a sixth had his suspension reversed on appeal to the provost. The other four were expelled.

Carrie Ryan Gallia, associate general counsel for the U, said the disparate outcomes demonstrate that Kaler and Marisam did not discriminate against the players.

“If that’s what they were doing, the nuanced decision-making here wouldn’t be necessary,” she said.

The process, she said, demonstrated “fair, nuanced, careful consideration by multiple decision-makers of the facts presented to the University.”

Further, Gallia Ryan said, the expelled players could have appealed yet again to the state court system but chose not to. She said the players can’t claim due process violations when they didn’t exhaust all their options.

https://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news...ball-players-be-heroes-against-sexual-assault

Go Gophers!!
 

My favorite quote.....

University lawyers & Cruze say the student discipline process worked “exactly as it should have,”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

My favorite quote.....

University lawyers & Cruze say the student discipline process worked “exactly as it should have,”


You heard it from me first.
 


It was a mess, but I'm not gonna take their lawyer's word on the characterization.
 


Whether a discipline or legal process worked exactly as it should have or designed is not really the issue. I can think of several throughout history that worked exactly as designed despite them having no elements of the pursuit of truth, fundamental fairness, or due process. It is pretty clear the U feels that the system worked as designed, but unfortunately for the U and fortunately for this nation, we require a higher standard.
 

Whether a discipline or legal process worked exactly as it should have or designed is not really the issue. I can think of several throughout history that worked exactly as designed despite them having no elements of the pursuit of truth, fundamental fairness, or due process. It is pretty clear the U feels that the system worked as designed, but unfortunately for the U and fortunately for this nation, we require a higher standard.

My code always works exactly as written.

That code blew things up and that is exactly what I wrote...
 

“Further, Gallia Ryan said, the expelled players could have appealed yet again to the state court system but chose not to. She said the players can’t claim due process violations when they didn’t exhaust all their options.”

Weasel argument. Deep-pocketed entities can wear down and discourage those without resources via endless legal maneuvers, eg a band of young minority men. Yeah they didn’t “exhaust all their options”.

When your “investigation” and process is a god-damn disgrace this is all you have left to say?
 

“Further, Gallia Ryan said, the expelled players could have appealed yet again to the state court system but chose not to. She said the players can’t claim due process violations when they didn’t exhaust all their options.”

Weasel argument. Deep-pocketed entities can wear down and discourage those without resources via endless legal maneuvers, eg a band of young minority men. Yeah they didn’t “exhaust all their options”.

When your “investigation” and process is a god-damn disgrace this is all you have left to say?

It’s this sort of “due process” that just makes all the lawyers’ pockets deeper, regardless of justice.
 




The former players should’ve hired themselves a different attorney. This guy is the definition of an ambulance chaser and not a very good one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Nobody in GopherHole should be surprised if the U wins their motion to dismiss. The days of colleges and universities ignoring sexual assault and harassment on their campuses are over (at least in Minnesota). Nothing the Trump administration has done is going to change it.


St. Thomas student suspended for alleged sexual assault loses lawsuit

The University of St. Thomas has prevailed in a lawsuit challenging its suspension of a former student for an alleged sexual assault. U.S. District Judge John Tunheim on Thursday granted the school’s motion for summary judgment against the anonymous plaintiff.

The judge earlier had dismissed all but one legal claim — that the school breached its duty of care with regard to the plaintiff. In his ruling Thursday, Tunheim wrote that while St. Thomas did owe the student “a duty of reasonable care,” the school acted properly as it investigated the case and punished the student.

Plaintiffs attorney Beau McGraw argued the school’s administrators had a bias against male sexual assault suspects and that the school denied his client access to the people and documents needed to defend himself.

But college students facing discipline for sexual misconduct under the federal Title IX law don’t get the same protections as criminal suspects. “Doe seems to be under the erroneous impression that he would be able to mount something of a full defense and become intricately involved in the investigatory process,” Tunheim wrote. “UST’s policy was never intended to provide the protections of a trial.”

The case stems from a brief sexual encounter with a female student in a bathroom in December 2015. The plaintiff was given a lengthy suspension, which the school upheld on appeal.

“At the University of St. Thomas, we take reports of sexual assault very seriously and are diligent in exercising our responsibilities to fully investigate complaints, while treating all parties fairly,” the school said in a written statement. “We are pleased that the Court dismissed John Doe’s lawsuit and found our actions to be appropriate in exercising due care for our students.”

McGraw did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The case is one of many across the country to accuse colleges of mistreating male sexual assault suspects in the student discipline process. The Trump administration has pressed colleges to strengthen due process protections for accused students.

Read complete article at: https://www.twincities.com/2019/02/...ded-for-alleged-sexual-assault-loses-lawsuit/
 
Last edited:

My favorite quote.....

University lawyers & Cruze say the student discipline process worked “exactly as it should have,”

The flaw in this argument (one of several flaws) is that for the players who were eventually 'cleared' by the university in the later stages of review, substantial damage had already been done and is irreversible in some respects.

This woman who wrote the initial report, Marisam or whatever, is an awful investigator and if she is a lawyer, should be disbarred. I read her report. The analysis and conclusions are just laughably poor, biased, and obviously results-driven. My first year law students would have done better.
 



The former players should’ve hired themselves a different attorney. This guy is the definition of an ambulance chaser and not a very good one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Are you very familiar with his work?

Sent from my RS988 using Tapatalk
 

"Fairness" is in the eye of the beholder. For most people, a "fair" outcome is the one that favors their side.

There were no winners in the Gopher 10 case. Everyone lost. The players, the team, the coaches, the University. All losers.

Is there anyone who thinks the incident was handled well by all sides? No. The only people happy with the outcome are the people who think "their" side came out looking better.

and, IMHO, we still do not "know" what really happened that night. we will probably never "know" with any degree of certainty. The people who were in the room that night probably each "believe" their own version of events, but memory is a tricky thing.
 

This is another reason the U needs deep administration reform. This entire EOAA process is still rooted in the Us vs Them mentality of the 1960s Civil Rights movement. Haven't there been social changes since then?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 

The process, she said, demonstrated “fair, nuanced, careful consideration by multiple decision-makers of the facts presented to the University.”

Oxford "nuanced
ADJECTIVE
Characterized by subtle shades of meaning or expression."

So "nuanced" really means "having a result determined ahead of time and then letting the 'process' get you to that pre-determined result."

I see.
 

"Fairness" is in the eye of the beholder. For most people, a "fair" outcome is the one that favors their side.

There were no winners in the Gopher 10 case. Everyone lost. The players, the team, the coaches, the University. All losers.

Is there anyone who thinks the incident was handled well by all sides? No. The only people happy with the outcome are the people who think "their" side came out looking better.

and, IMHO, we still do not "know" what really happened that night. we will probably never "know" with any degree of certainty. The people who were in the room that night probably each "believe" their own version of events, but memory is a tricky thing.

Centuries of legal evolution, common sense, and an understanding of human behavior has led to a system where both sides have rights and protections in civil cases and these processes are considered as close to “fair” as currently feasible.

Considering the economic damages the accused will suffer after being branded a sexual predator these processes need a total makeover in the model of a civil trial. Better yet, turn these matters over to legitimate law enforcement and legal entities for determination of guilt.

A process consisting of

- sole EOAA investigator without oversight
- no recorded interviews
- accused and witnesses threatened with adverse rulings if they do not comply with interview schedule, and not provided legal representation or informed they are at risk
- no opportunity for cross examination
- exclusion of key evidence based on the feelings of the accuser
- consent doctrine - impossible for the defense to prove consent throughout encounter
- biased appeal panel chair
- biased appeal panel
- defendant inbility to participate in selection of panel members
- pre-hearing indoctrination of panel members in fringe/scientifically-unsupported “recovered” memory and traumatic memory science, designed to assuage concerns about plaintiff’s faulty testimony and recall
- arbitrary and insufficent hearing time limit
- breaking their own guidelines, trying groups of defendants instead of individually

Is far from sufficient or fair. Universities of all places should be better than this.



.
 
Last edited:


Yes


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
What about the body of his work tells you he is a bad ambulance chasing attorney?

Sent from my RS988 using Tapatalk
 

This is another reason the U needs deep administration reform. This entire EOAA process is still rooted in the Us vs Them mentality of the 1960s Civil Rights movement. Haven't there been social changes since then?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I think there is some issues larger than the university outside the university’s control.

Especially for athletes who are public figures it is interesting.
I compare the football scandal to the basketball scandal (Lynch).


Lynch process is probably closer to what it is supposed to look like. However, nearly impossible for publicly known figures to not have their names tarnished by an accusation even with the process.



I am not going to call people fascists.
Not am I going to say I like the current secretary of education.
However, at a public school, I agree with her that a person’s 4th, 5th, and 6th amendment rights should probably be taken into consideration before depriving someone of an education.
I don’t believe that any of the football players could’ve been expelled from a k-12 school for their “offense.”
Nor do I believe Reggie lynch could’ve been.


I don’t blame the u of m for it though. I blame the federal government. Poor legislating leaving non-specific language opens it up for large variations of executive interpretation of law.
 

What about the body of his work tells you he is a bad ambulance chasing attorney?

Sent from my RS988 using Tapatalk

It’s the type of cases he has involvement in and how has proceeded in those cases.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Whether a discipline or legal process worked exactly as it should have or designed is not really the issue. I can think of several throughout history that worked exactly as designed despite them having no elements of the pursuit of truth, fundamental fairness, or due process. It is pretty clear the U feels that the system worked as designed, but unfortunately for the U and fortunately for this nation, we require a higher standard.
A racist system worked exactly as it was designed. Nothing to brag out...
Once again, a white person cries foul and black men pay the cost. Yep, the system worked exactly as it was designed...
 

A racist system worked exactly as it was designed. Nothing to brag out...
Once again, a white person cries foul and black men pay the cost. Yep, the system worked exactly as it was designed...

I mean...this +100000
 

Once again, a white person cries foul and black men pay the cost. Yep, the system worked exactly as it was designed...

No doubt the “white person” was wearing a MAGA hat.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 


A racist system worked exactly as it was designed. Nothing to brag out...
Once again, a white person cries foul and black men pay the cost. Yep, the system worked exactly as it was designed...
Okay, the Us vs Them mentality of Civil Rights still exists. I was wrong.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 

The flaw in this argument (one of several flaws) is that for the players who were eventually 'cleared' by the university in the later stages of review, substantial damage had already been done and is irreversible in some respects.

This woman who wrote the initial report, Marisam or whatever, is an awful investigator and if she is a lawyer, should be disbarred. I read her report. The analysis and conclusions are just laughably poor, biased, and obviously results-driven. My first year law students would have done better.

That and questions about the testimony given have been raised, supposedly hand written notes that players say were not accurate / they did not get the option to correct.

Appeals that the accused were unaware of (I think by design...).

A player claimed that at one point he wasn't able to show evidence that he wasn't even there....

Then after appeals left the EOAA suddenly the results shifted in a different direction.

Now those were just the players claims but if any are true it's amazing that adults were in the room when someone drew up such a system. The later recommendations that came down from an outside review seemed to imply that some of those accusations were potentially true.
 


That and questions about the testimony given have been raised, supposedly hand written notes that players say were not accurate / they did not get the option to correct.

Appeals that the accused were unaware of (I think by design...).

A player claimed that at one point he wasn't able to show evidence that he wasn't even there....

Then after appeals left the EOAA suddenly the results shifted in a different direction.

Now those were just the players claims but if any are true it's amazing that adults were in the room when someone drew up such a system. The later recommendations that came down from an outside review seemed to imply that some of those accusations were potentially true.

The thing is, if I remember right the "player that wasn't even there" was Shenault. The problem was he wasn't accused of participating, he was accused of covering it up afterward. He put out that statement to try to win sympathy when that was never why he was suspended in the first place.

Also, only one result shifted on appeal that I know of, and that was Williams, right? The EOAA did not punish five guys and the appeal reversed Williams'.

I'll be shocked if they win anything, unless someone who could legally release the report leaked it. Up until that point all the U said was that 10 players were suspended for the Bowl game. The media put 2+2 together and figured it out it went back to the accused rape, then the players made comments, then things got out of hand. But the way Title IX is written, the U has a responsibility to protect the potential victim potentially at the expense of the accused, so I'm guessing the court will find they were within their rights to punish the players how they did.
 




Top Bottom