Former Gophers football players' lawsuit against University of Minnesota is dismissed

[BleedGopher]

per Rochelle:

A federal judge has dismissed the gender discrimination lawsuit against the University of Minnesota filed by nine former Gophers football players accused of sexual assault in 2016.

U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank dismissed the lawsuit late last week, saying the former players had failed to "produce sufficient evidence of sex discrimination."

The lawsuit filed in 2018 by players identified as John Does sought unspecified damages for willful and malicious discrimination. The men claimed they suffered severe emotional distress and financial damage as a result of being falsely cast as sex offenders.

In dismissing the case, Frank said the players failed to provide evidence for any of their claims, including allegations of bias by university investigators or pressure from Athletic Director Mark Coyle and former President Eric Kaler.

University of Minnesota spokesman Jake Ricker said in a statement that the U appreciates the decision affirming its actions. "The important work of preventing sexual misconduct is ongoing," Ricker said. "We will continue to focus on sexual misconduct awareness, prevention and response through the president's Initiative to Prevent Sexual Misconduct and other programs for our students, faculty, and staff."

The allegations and the graphic investigative report on the incident rocked the football program with players threatening to boycott the team's trip to the Holiday Bowl in protest. But after they read the graphic 80-page report, the players reversed their stance and agreed to play the game.

The victim alleged that as many as a dozen football players at an off-campus party repeatedly raped her or watched and cheered as others did. After its own investigation, the U found 10 Gophers football players responsible for sexual misconduct.

Former Gophers football players' lawsuit against University of Minnesota is dismissed

Nine former players claimed discrimination after they were accused of sexual assault in 2016.

www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[MNVCGUY]

Amazing how slow the system moves. See this all the time when some case from 4-5 years ago finally gets resolved.

 

[highwayman]

Amazing how slow the system moves. See this all the time when some case from 4-5 years ago finally gets resolved.

Over 6 years ago.

 

[Gophers1992]

So nobody was convicted of anything but we are still referring to this woman as the victim rather than the accuser?

 

[Pompous Elitist]

The allegations and the graphic investigative report on the incident rocked the football program with players threatening to boycott the team's trip to the Holiday Bowl in protest. But after they read the graphic 80-page report, the players reversed their stance and agreed to play the game.

Not quite. Correlation/causation error. That’s like saying they ended the boycott because the sun rose in the east. The team stated they obtained some concessions from the U on the EOAA panel to help reduce bias. The EOAA extra-judicial process at the U was an absolute mess and slanted, whether fine points of the law on bias and discrimination law can be “proven” or not. Pages and pages of evidence back then. No winners, and a learning experience for everyone.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

This isn't my specialty so take it with a grain of salt, but I think the discrimination lawsuit here was a terrible strategy. The problem wasn't discrimination, the problem is that Title IX super-judicial EOAA process violates their due process (IMO). I think the same BS would impact any accused male.

The problem with going down that road is that it's harder to collect because an amorphous constitutional interpretation question.

Eventually one of these Title IX cases will run up to the Supreme Court.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

I assumed this was about Troy Stoudemire’s hoodies.

 

[BleedGopher]

I assumed this was about Troy Stoudemire’s hoodies.

This legit made me laugh out loud!!

Go Gophers!!

 

[Husker Dont's]

This legit made me laugh out loud!!

Go Gophers!!

Has anyone sent him his hoddie yet?

 

[Spaulding!No!]

Yeah, at Quintez got his day In Court and welcomed back to the UW.

 

[HoustonTXGopher]

As I recall, this may have been the final demise of our prior head coach as well.

 

[Plato]

This isn't my specialty so take it with a grain of salt, but I think the discrimination lawsuit here was a terrible strategy. The problem wasn't discrimination, the problem is that Title IX super-judicial EOAA process violates their due process (IMO). I think the same BS would impact any accused male.

The problem with going down that road is that it's harder to collect because an amorphous constitutional interpretation question.

Eventually one of these Title IX cases will run up to the Supreme Court.

Cephus is suing the U of WI for exactly that.
It will be interesting to see how that turns out.
I completely agree that the Title IX process seems to absolutely lack due process.

 

[Plato]

Yeah, at Quintez got his day In Court and welcomed back to the UW.

He was welcomed back because, on his day in court, he was very quickly found not guilty by a jury.
The powers that be at U of WI realized Cephus was railroaded.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

He was welcomed back because, on his day in court, he was very quickly found not guilty by a jury.
The powers that be at U of WI realized Cephus was railroaded.

Violated student code of conduct agreement.

 

[Plato]

Violated student code of conduct agreement.

Whatever that means.
Cephus was approached by the white woman student and her friend when he was bowling with his friends, Cephus and a buddy accompanied them to an apartment. Sex was had by all. The woman was filmed walking and coherent, she texted Cephus after the episode asking for her vape that she left behind.
Then she had buyer's remorse and told her very well-to-do pater who exploded at the idea that his catholic, white little girl had sex with a Black guy.
The rest is history.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Not quite. Correlation/causation error.

Well ... to throw your own argument right back at you: if you take the sentence very literally, it doesn't necessarily imply causation!

It says: the players read the report, then, some time after they read it, they changed their minds, for an unspecified reason.

 

[Gophers_4life]

the problem is that Title IX super-judicial EOAA process violates their due process (IMO). I think the same BS would impact any accused male.

The problem with going down that road is that it's harder to collect because an amorphous constitutional interpretation question.

Eventually one of these Title IX cases will run up to the Supreme Court.

This would be very interesting, to hear the legal arguments of both sides.

But, wouldn't the defense of schools go something like: "there is no 'tangible loss' from having an Title IX/EOAA process rule that you should be expelled from school. You never had a right to attend the school in the first place, and so the school should be allowed to arbitrarily rule that you no longer should have that privilege, especially since no money or freedom has been 'lost' because of the ruling".

Not saying that is a correct stance or that I agree with it, just saying I think something like that would be the argument.

 

[Gophers_4life]

As I recall, this may have been the final demise of our prior head coach as well.

Well, that's the excuse they used to let Coyle hire Fleck and get rid of Claeys, anyway.

 

[Gophers_4life]

I completely agree that the Title IX process seems to absolutely lack due process.

What laws say that a decision to be expelled from a school should have to go through, at least, the standard legal system for civil suits?

I don't think there is any such law.

One could be made, and maybe it should.

 

[Plato]

What laws say that a decision to be expelled from a school should have to go through, at least, the standard legal system for civil suits?

I don't think there is any such law.

One could be made, and maybe it should.

The point is that Title IX should have been designed better to guarantee some due process provisions for the accused.
The lack of those is why the expelled or disciplined students are going to civil courts for redress.

 

[Gophers_4life]

The point is that Title IX should have been designed better to guarantee some due process provisions for the accused.
The lack of those is why the expelled or disciplined students are going to civil courts for redress.

Title IX has nothing to do with schools holding investigations to determine if they think a student violated student code by committing sexual misconduct against another student (or even person, period!)

It is a very basic piece of language that says educational institutions receiving federal funding (so, that's almost every school in the nation, because of FAFSA) cannot commit discrimination on the basis of sex (gender).

Full stop

 

[Plato]

Title IX has nothing to do with schools holding investigations to determine if they think a student violated student code by committing sexual misconduct against another student (or even person, period!)

It is a very basic piece of language that says educational institutions receiving federal funding (so, that's almost every school in the nation, because of FAFSA) cannot commit discrimination on the basis of sex (gender).

Full stop

It seems that some schools are using accusations of rape and sexual assault to as being harmful and discrimintory to the female students and causing Title IX to prosecute the alleged accused students.
The initial meaning of the title was very good and well-intentioned and really worked for now over 50% of students in law and medical schools are women
And women's sports are guaranteed equal funding.

 

[Gophers_4life]

It seems that some schools are using accusations of rape and sexual assault to as being harmful and discrimintory to the female students and causing Title IX to prosecute the alleged accused students.
The initial meaning of the title was very good and well-intentioned and really worked for now over 50% of students in law and medical schools are women
And women's sports are guaranteed equal funding.

The U established the EOAA office, of their own doing. Nothing in the law says you need to establish any such thing.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Aside from Title IX entirely, it seems like a reasonable thing to consolidate all claims/complaints of sexual discrimination/harassment/misconduct into one investigation unit.

But I disagree with how they refer to it as a "Title IX office".

 

[Pompous Elitist]

Well ... to throw your own argument right back at you: if you take the sentence very literally, it doesn't necessarily imply causation!

It says: the players read the report, then, some time after they read it, they changed their minds, for an unspecified reason.

My stern 10th grade English composition teacher would have marked my paper with EXTRANEOUS!! or IRRELEVANT! if I had written a sentence such as: “But after they ate ham sandwiches, the players reversed their stance…”. That would just be a silly sentence. A graduate of an esteemed liberal arts school like Hamline University would never make such a middle school error, or even two as we see in the same paragraph . Surely they address logical fallacies in the Hamline Univ curriculum? I don’t know. Maybe the editor injected some HYPERBOLE!! (another favorite) for reasons. Maybe journalism is dead (yes, hyperbole. RIP Mr _____).

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

Title IX has nothing to do with schools holding investigations to determine if they think a student violated student code by committing sexual misconduct against another student (or even person, period!)

It is a very basic piece of language that says educational institutions receiving federal funding (so, that's almost every school in the nation, because of FAFSA) cannot commit discrimination on the basis of sex (gender).

Full stop

The EOAA departments were set up to address Title IX grievances. They are a creature created by Title IX - this isn't disputed, it'd be clear on every EOAA office at every school in the country. Whether you or I agree or disagree with this notion is irrelevant, the idea is that the amount of sexual misconduct on a college campus, specifically towards women, is a form of discrimination. They are discriminated against because they cannot receive an education without being sexually assaulted.

Know Your Rights: Title IX Prohibits Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Where You Go to School

Dear Colleague Letter: Know Your Rights: Title IX Prohibits Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Where You Go to School

www2.ed.gov

It is absolutely, 100%, a Title IX issue.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

This would be very interesting, to hear the legal arguments of both sides.

But, wouldn't the defense of schools go something like: "there is no 'tangible loss' from having an Title IX/EOAA process rule that you should be expelled from school. You never had a right to attend the school in the first place, and so the school should be allowed to arbitrarily rule that you no longer should have that privilege, especially since no money or freedom has been 'lost' because of the ruling".

Not saying that is a correct stance or that I agree with it, just saying I think something like that would be the argument.

No, that wouldn't be their argument. By all definitions, losing a scholarship is a loss.

Their argument is that they did receive due process. The Title IX departments have their own processes. They are clearly defined and they followed that process. The law doesn't require the same process/standards as a criminal conviction.

The question would be:
(1) Is the process appropriate?
(2) If it is appropriate, did we follow the process?

Note - this is the same reason why firing a public sector employee is difficult, it's considered a loss. Think of these things (scholarships, admittance in college, jobs) as almost like property interests that the government cannot take away without due process.

 

[Gophers_4life]

By all definitions, losing a scholarship is a loss.

Agree 100% that a loss of a scholarship is a loss. So would be the loss of employment, as a student who was employed by the school in some job function. Sure, agree.

Setting those cases aside, there are still plenty of students outside those who get accused of sexual discrimination/harassment/misconduct.

I had them moreso in mind. What is their tangible loss from being expelled?

They can go to a new school and transfer the credits they've completed.

The law doesn't require the same process/standards as a criminal conviction.

But what about civil?

the government cannot take away without due process.

You can say that public schools are like "the government" taking it away, but what about private schools then?

 

[Gophers_4life]

The EOAA departments were set up to address Title IX grievances. They are a creature created by Title IX - this isn't disputed, it'd be clear on every EOAA office at every school in the country. Whether you or I agree or disagree with this notion is irrelevant, the idea is that the amount of sexual misconduct on a college campus, specifically towards women, is a form of discrimination. They are discriminated against because they cannot receive an education without being sexually assaulted.

Know Your Rights: Title IX Prohibits Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Where You Go to School

Dear Colleague Letter: Know Your Rights: Title IX Prohibits Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Where You Go to School

www2.ed.gov

It is absolutely, 100%, a Title IX issue.

Obviously in a legal sense, I have to defer to you and what the current laws & precedents are. It would be absurd for me to argue something like "the (accepted) law, is not actually the law". Of course, I won't do that here. The following is not an attempt to do that. Hopefully I've made that bit of clear.


As a lay person: I will disagree that the intent and spirit of Title IX had anything to do with sexual harassment, assault, quid pro quo, or any misconduct in that sense.

The spirit and intent of Title IX was to give women equal opportunities. That means (to me), creating new opportunities for women where they did not exist at all (like women's varsity athletics), or giving fair consideration to women applying for opportunities that could reasonably equally be fulfilled by people of either sex.

NOT to address the concept that sexual harassment, etc. against a student in an educational setting could be viewed as a type of discrimination on the basis of sex.


That it (T9) has been co-opted for that purpose, rather than a new law made, bothers me. That bothers me in general: laws should not be able to be co-opted beyond their original context, in such manner. New law should have to be made.

 

[Go4Broke]

The point is that Title IX should have been designed better to guarantee some due process provisions for the accused.
The lack of those is why the expelled or disciplined students are going to civil courts for redress.

The U's handling of the cases looked like "due process" to most people. The EOAA investigated the claims and the U Administration held individual hearings in which the football players could have an attorney present. Ten players where accused of violating the Student Code of Conduct and four were fully cleared after the hearings and remained on the football team. The following article didn't address it but the initial suspensions pending the outcome the Student Code of Conduct hearings were in accordance with the U's student disciplinary procedures for all students. The football players challenged the U's handling of the cases on due process grounds multiple times in both state and federal court and lost every time.

Outside Review: University of Minnesota properly handled football suspensions​

The University of Minnesota followed law and policy properly when it suspended 10 football players last fall following an accusation of sexual assault, according to an external review commissioned by the university's Board of Regents. The review released Wednesday blamed "weak leadership" by the coaching staff for a threat by remaining players to boycott the Holiday Bowl. The Dorsey and Whitney law firm's review also said administrators and regents could have done a better job managing the threatened boycott.

The university contends it acted properly under federal Title IX guidelines, which require campuses to investigate reports of sexual misconduct. "We are pleased with the conclusion that the University's actions were consistent with University policies and federal law," its statement read Wednesday. The Board of Regents commissioned the outside review in May. The review was presented Wednesday to a special oversight committee of the board.

Minneapolis attorney John Marti, who conducted the review along with attorney Jillian Kornblatt, told the oversight committee that critics of the player suspensions failed to understand that the university is obligated to investigate sexual assault complaints, even when prosecutors decline to file charges. "The university did not have a choice," Marti said. "You were required by law to do so." The report found that the threatened boycott resulted from "weak leadership by the football coaching staff" and "impaired communications and a breakdown in trust" between university leadership and the football team "due in part to the University leadership's inability to share private student information." The review also concluded that the boycott may have been managed better "had the Board of Regents collectively, individual Regents, and University administration, the Athletics Department, and football team coaches responded in a more coordinated and unified manner."

The woman alleged that she was pressured into having sex with multiple Gopher football players after a season-opening win over Oregon State. The players who acknowledged having sex with her called it consensual. A report by the university's Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action department determined the 10 players, including several who did not have sex with the woman, violated the student conduct code. Of the 10 suspended players, four were fully cleared by the EOAA report and remain on the roster: quarterback Seth Green, running back Kobe McCrary, cornerback Antonio Shenault and safety Antoine Winfield Jr.

Review: Minnesota properly handled football suspensions

The University of Minnesota followed law and policy properly when it suspended 10 football players last fall following an accusation of sexual assault, according to an external review commissioned by…

www.sj-r.com