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Tennessee Lawsuit Alleges Football Players Assaulted Teammate for Helping Rape Victim

This certainly sounds like a culture that enabled sexual assault.

In addition to the rape allegations against Tennessee basketball player Yemi Makanjuola and former football players A.J. Johnson, Michael Williams, Riyahd Jones, and a current football player listed as John Doe, a federal lawsuit claims several football players assaulted former Volunteers wide receiver Drae Bowles for assisting one of the four rape victims.

The suit, which you can read below, claims that Bowles drove Jane Doe IV to the hospital the night of her alleged assault and was supportive of her decision to report the incident. The suit relies on police interviews and incident reports compiled during the investigation. Bowles, who transferred to Chattanooga in 2014, testified at the Grand Jury that eventually indicted Johnson and Williams, but in interviews he has denied knowing both that Jane Doe IV was raped and that he was assaulted. He said she simply asked for a ride home.

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The suit, however, claims that he was assaulted twice, and that members of the coaching staff were present when he was jumped by teammates the day after the alleged rape.

From the Knoxville News Sentinel:

The "factual allegations" section of the lawsuit claims that Bowles had taken the alleged victim, a plaintiff in the lawsuit referred to as Jane Doe IV, to the hospital the night of her assault and supported her decision to report the incident to the authorities. It claims that the fifth plaintiff in the case, who is referred to as Jane Doe V and the only plaintiff who was not an alleged rape victim, witnessed several football players "jumping" Bowles on Nov. 17, 2014, the day after the alleged rape occurred.

The lawsuit says Jane Doe IV later understood that "athletic coaches were present" during that altercation. It also says Jane Doe IV learned that Bowles was assaulted a second time by the same players in a team facility.

The suit further alleges that former linebacker Curt Maggitt admitted to police that the assault occurred, but did not say whether he was part of it. One of the accused, Michael Williams, is also quoted as saying former DB Geraldo Orta told him the team "had 'a hit' out on Drae Bowles" for "betraying the team." He also is quoted as saying "people got shot" for doing that where he's from.

This whole situation is ugly, to say the least, and if the facts are as they have been alleged—that coaches witnessed the assault on Bowles—then it certainly paints a picture of school-wide culture that not only enabled sexual assault, but reinforced an environment that valued the team above all else and punished anyone who threatened it.

[Knoxville News Sentinel]

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