LANE COUNTY, Ore. ― Two former University of Oregon basketball players dismissed in 2014 as a result of rape allegations involving a freshman student are suing the university for $10 million each.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday by Dominic Artis and Damyean Dotson in Lane County Circuit Court, The Oregonian reported. More than four months ago a third player accused, Brandon Austin, filed a lawsuit against the school seeking $7.5 million.
Attorney Alex Spiro, who represents Artis and Dotson, told The Oregonian the suit is “a matter of principle.”
“The University of Oregon failed Mr. Artis and Mr. Dotson ― two remarkable student-athletes ― and must be held responsible,” Spiro said in a statement.
Oregon prosecutors decided there wasn’t enough evidence to criminally charge the players, who say the sexual contact was consensual.
The new lawsuit claims five defendants including: the university; former university president Michael Gottfredson; vice president of student life and interim dean of students Robin Holmes; director of student conduct and community standards Sandy Weintraub; and Chicora Martin, the university’s then-assistant dean of students.
It says they “breached their duty” by engineering a “kangaroo court” hearing with the purpose of finding that Artis and Damyean committed a sexual assault that did really happen.
The suit also alleges that Oregon’s investigation was biased against the players and that each player’s future income has been damaged by the accusations.
