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Former Oregon players suing school for $10 million
Nearly two years after being dismissed following an accusation – but no charges – of rape, former Oregon basketball players Dominic Artis and Damyean Dotson are suing the university.
Artis and Dotson, along with Brandon Austin, were all dismissed from the university after being named in a police report alleging they sexually assaulted a woman in March 2014. None of the three were charged with a crime due to a lack of evidence, but they were dismissed from school in May 2014. Austin, who was investigated for a separate alleged sexual assault from his time at Providence (before he transferred to Oregon), also filed a suit against the school late last year and is seeking $7.5 million.
According to the Oregonian, Artis and Dotson are both seeking $10 million from the school. Alex Spiro, an attorney representing the two players, 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.
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The lawsuit, which comes three days before the Ducks open NCAA tournament play as a No. 1 seed, claims Artis and Dotson’s future earnings were damaged by the rape allegations, among other things.
Among other claims Artis and Dotson's suit alleges the Oregon's investigation was biased against the players and that each player's future income has been damaged by the accusations.
In particular, it singles out the university's handling of a disciplinary hearing — what the suit calls "an unconstitutional 'sham court' of the very worst order" — that ultimately banned each from campus for up to 10 years.
The suit claims the five named defendants "breached their duty" by "refusing to allow Artis and Dotson to subpoena witnesses who would be supportive of his defense, refusing to provide unredacted reports, refusing to provide a contested case hearing, refusing to allow cross-examination, refusing to provide due process, and engineering a 'kangaroo court' hearing with the purpose of finding that Artis and Dotson committed a sexual assault that did not in reality occur."
In an emailed statement to the Oregonian, an Oregon spokesperson said the lawsuit is “no surprise.”
"Mr. Artis and Mr. Dotson's lawsuit is no surprise since their attorney has reached out multiple times seeking a financial settlement that we did not entertain," university spokesman Tobin Klinger wrote. "As we said when Mr. Austin filed his claims in October, we intend to vigorously defend the university. We remain confident that all these individuals were afforded fair and consistent due process that fully complied with the university's legal obligations."
When questioned by law enforcement after the alleged rape, both Artis and Dotson said the sex was consensual. The alleged victim in the case settled a lawsuit against Oregon in August for $800,000. Her lawsuit said Ducks head coach Dana Altman was aware – or should have been – of the sexual assault investigation of Austin during his time at Providence, where he never played a game due to multiple suspensions.
Dotson averaged 13.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this season for Houston, which plays Georgia Tech in the NIT on Wednesday night. Artis landed at UTEP and led the Miners with 11.7 points and 5.1 assists per game. Artis was also a Conference USA All-Academic team selection.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
