Due Process (Joe Dillard #9)(15)
“We have a problem besides just the police investigation,” the president said. “I spoke to the chief of police an hour ago. The young woman making the accusations is also a part-time student here, which means Title IX and all of its ramifications come into play.”
He looked across the table at George Darden, the school’s general counsel. Darden was in his late forties. His blond hair was thinning quickly and his eyes were a robin’s egg shade of blue. He was an avid runner who competed in marathons and was, therefore, slightly built. He’d graduated from Yale law school and was a seasoned lawyer and a tough negotiator. Brady trusted him completely.
“George,” the president said. “Why don’t you bring them up to speed?”
“It’s actually pretty tricky in this case,” Darden said. “I’m sure everyone in this room knows that Title IX is a federal civil rights statute passed in 1972 to protect women from sexual discrimination on college campuses across the country. The fact that the woman making these accusations is a student here, added to the fact that the house where those three captains live is owned by the university, may obligate us to conduct our own investigation into the incident and eventually hold a hearing to see whether the players should be expelled for their conduct. If she doesn’t file a formal complaint, however, then we may not be obligated. I’m just not sure. I know of no precedent where a stripper who was also a student at a university sued the university after being sexually assaulted by other students on property controlled by the university. They say there’s nothing new under the sun, but this might be. Right now, she’s gone to the authorities and they are apparently actively investigating this as a possible kidnapping and rape. If it happened, if she was really raped or sexually assaulted in any way, and the criminal justice system indicts them and tries them, we’re going to get sued and we’ll wind up paying through the nose. The girl will allege we didn’t protect her. She’ll probably sue us even if there is no criminal prosecution. So again, it goes back to you, Coach, as far as the institution is concerned. Did you or any of your assistant coaches know anything about this? Should you have known? If you didn’t know, then why not? The ultimate question will be: ‘Just what kind of program are you running?’”
“And I’ll be the scapegoat,” Coach Springer said.
“It might come down to that, but you might not be alone,” Darden said. He turned his attention to Raymond Winters, the university’s athletic director.
“Is there anything we should know, Raymond?”
Winters, who was nearing sixty and had been the director of athletics for fifteen years, raised his eyebrows.
“Like what?”
“Have there been Title IX accusations of sexual assault against athletes that you haven’t told us about? Anything swept under the rug? Because it’s becoming a thing right now for plaintiffs’ lawyers to go after universities because universities aren’t good at dealing with sexual assaults, especially when it comes to athletes. Baylor’s football program got crushed. The president, the athletic director, the head football coach and nearly the entire football staff were sent packing. They’ll pay out tens of millions before it’s over. The University of Tennessee just paid out three million to eight plaintiffs. It’s happening all over the country. If we get hammered with a big payout, the Board of Trustees will disband the football team again and it won’t be back.”
“We can’t hire lawyers for these guys, can we?” Coach Springer said.
“No. And if some alumni or booster tries to go around the rules and starts hiring lawyers, again, football will be gone.”
“I got a call from a police captain,” the coach said. “He wants to know whether all of my guys will voluntarily give DNA samples and come in for interviews. The three players that were in the house, Kevin Davidson, Dominic Vasso and Henry Treadway, already talked to them and gave them DNA samples. I told him I’d have to talk to you about it first, George. What do you think?”
“My first instinct is to tell them no,” Darden said. “I wouldn’t want to give them the opportunity to manipulate evidence the way that fool prosecutor did at Duke University ten years ago. Besides, they have the right to remain silent and that’s always a good policy when you might be a suspect in a crime. If the DA gets subpoenas from a judge for DNA samples from every player, we can fight it. If we lose, we lose, but at least we’ll look like we’re backing our players.”
“I disagree,” Dr. Brady said. “Blakely, you write up a release for the press and I’ll go over it,” President Brady said. “Make it as noncommittal as possible. Raymond, I want you back in here by noon to give me a report on Title IX cases and how they’ve been handled. Don’t write anything down. And Coach Springer, you go to your guys and tell them I said thanks a hell of a lot. With one act of stupidity, rape or no rape, they’ve tarnished the reputation of this university and have endangered everything we’ve worked so hard to build. I also want you to tell them to cooperate fully with the police. Interviews, DNA samples, whatever they need.”
“I just don’t think that’s in their best interests,” Darden said.
“I don’t give a damn about their best interest right now,” Brady said. “I care about this university and what it means to this community. If one or more of those guys is a rapist, then I want their scalps hanging from the upper deck of the football stadium. Everybody cooperates with the police. Let’s do anything and everything to get this out of the news and behind us as quickly as we possibly can. And George?”