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Former Nebraska volleyball player among among several women suing NCAA for negligence
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A former University of Nebraska-Lincoln student and volleyball player is among seven women who have filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, accusing the association of failing to protect them from alleged sexual assaults that occurred on campus, according to reports.
Two former Nebraska students have been named in the case: Sheridan Thomas and Capri Davis, according to a report from the Omaha World-Herald. Davis was a former member of the Husker volleyball team.
According to the lawsuit, Davis took a leave of absence from the volleyball team during the season but decided to depart from the school after she filed a complaint that she was groped by two football players at a party.
From the Omaha World-Herald:
Davis filed a complaint with NU’s Title IX office in April 2019. Her friend — the unnamed plaintiff — claimed she was raped by two football players in August 2018, right after she enrolled in school. One of the two men she said raped her was also one of the men who groped her and Davis at the party.
According to the lawsuit, Nebraska’s Title IX office did not start an investigation after Davis’ complaint. In August 2019, Davis learned that the same two football players who had groped her had been accused of rape by another UNL student.
The two football players who were accused of rape were Andre Hunt and Katerian Legrone have been charged with first-degree sexual assault. They were dismissed from the football team and suspended from the university.
Shortly after Davis took a leave of absence from the volleyball team, a rumor began that she was pregnant and that the father was a member of the Nebraska football team. The rumor was untrue, and Davis was encouraged by Nebraska’s media and communications staff to deny the rumors.
Davis tweeted out, “thank you for the concerns for my health this season but just so we’re clear, i will not be expecting ANYBODYS child any time soon,” in November 2019.
The lawsuit alleges that “UNL has fostered a culture in which female victims are discouraged from reporting sexual assaults, sexual harassment, stalking, and other forms of gender discrimination when those acts are perpetrated by male student-athletes in order to protect UNL, the male athletics programs, male student-athletes, and the NCAA, at the expense of the female victims.”
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB