Former Athletes Sue NCAA for Alleged Negligence in Sexual Assaults

Former Nebraska volleyball player Capri Davis and ex-Michigan State sprinter Emma Roedel are part of a seven-women group suing the NCAA, saying the organization was negligent and failed to protect them from sexual assaults.

ESPN's Paula Lavigne broke the news Wednesday evening and wrote the following in part:

"The lawsuit accuses the NCAA of negligence, fraud and breach of contract. It argues that the NCAA, as a regulatory body for college athletics, had a duty to the women 'to supervise, regulate, monitor and provide reasonable and appropriate rules to minimize the risk of injury or danger to student-athletes and by student-athletes.'"

"The NCAA 'knew or should have known that their actions or inaction in light of the rate and extent of sexual assaults reported and made known to [the NCAA] by male student-athletes...would cause harm to female student-athletes and non-student-athletes at NCAA member institution campuses in both the short- and long-term,' the lawsuit states."

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan on Wednesday. Per Lavigne, "each of the women allege they were sexually assaulted by male athletes at three institutions: Michigan State, Nebraska and one unnamed Division I college from the America East Conference."

Roedel spoke with Lavigne about the lawsuit:

"To be a part of a group really symbolizes it's not just one person going against the NCAA. By standing in a group we're saying, 'Hey, this isn't just one of us, it is all of us. And if this is happening to all of us, you need to do something and take action.'"

Roedel is also filing a Title IX lawsuit against Michigan State.

The NCAA lawsuit provides a list of alleged examples of university coaches and administrators failing to act responsibly in response to sexual assault and harassment allegations, per Lavigne.

According to the lawsuit, Roedel told an assistant coach in 2017 a male teammate raped her, to which the coach allegedly said that "if she pursued any claims against [the male teammate], no one would like her, and that because Roedel is 'pretty,' she would become a 'distraction.'"

After telling a Title IX officials that a male basketball player raped her, an American East Conference swimmer was allegedly told by an athletics employee that a Title IX process would not result in the player's suspension, saying it "'wouldn't be fair to other players' and it 'would have a negative impact on the community' who attended games expecting to see [him] play," per the lawsuit.

Davis said that two football players grabbed her buttocks and did the same to a friend at a party. Lavigne provided more information:

"The report was made in April 2019 to the school's Title IX office that investigates sexual misconduct.

"Although the lawsuit does not name them, a description of the men in the lawsuit indicates that the players Davis and her friend reported were redshirt freshmen Katerian LeGrone and Andre Hunt. In January, the school's Title IX office found them not responsible for the alleged groping incident involving Davis and her friend, according to the complaint.

"Davis' friend, who is not named in the lawsuit, also told university investigators in fall 2019 that she had been raped in August 2018 by LeGrone and a different, other teammate, according to the lawsuit. The school notified her in January that 'no finding was being made against' the two players, according to the lawsuit.

"LeGrone and Hunt have been criminally charged with first-degree sexual assault in connection with a report a different female student made in August 2019 that the two men had sex with her without her consent. For that incident, Nebraska's Title IX office found them responsible for sexual misconduct last fall and they were expelled as of April 3."

Davis also said she dealt with false rumors about her being pregnant with the child of a football player. Per, the lawsuit, athletic department officials said she should address the rumors on Twitter, to which she did.

However, Davis said she was sexually harassed because of the rumors and that the athletic department did not investigate. Furthermore, she said she was not offered any support.

An NCAA spokeswoman did not immediately provide comment on the lawsuit. A Michigan State spokeswoman said she was unaware of the lawsuit as well as Roedel's Title IX lawsuit. A Nebraska spokeswoman declined to comment on account of the pending litigation.