College Athletics Puts Title IX In The Spotlight

Law360, New York (September 11, 2015, 9:49 AM EDT) -- In recent years, a number of universities and colleges have been implicated in Title IX cases against schools for allegedly mishandling sexual assault allegations. The most high profile Title IX cases involve sexual assault allegations in regards to members of college sports programs. Members of the Universities of Oregon, Pacific and Tulsa basketball teams and the Universities of Colorado, Baylor and Arizona State football teams are just a few examples of student athletes involved in Title IX actions against their schools for alleged sexual violence against another student. The most famous example of Title IX and college athletics colliding occurred in December 2014 when Heisman Trophy winner and top pick of the 2015 NFL draft Jameis Winston successfully won his Title IX hearing at Florida State University ("FSU"). (Full disclosure: I was part of the legal team that represented Winston in his Title IX hearing at FSU.) Erica Kinsman, the woman who initiated Title IX charges at FSU against Winston, filed a civil Title IX lawsuit against FSU, after former Florida Supreme Court Justice Major Harding (who was appointed by FSU to hear the Winston Title IX Hearing) ruled in Winston's favor. The above-referenced examples illustrate the latest trend to use Title IX as a new theory of liability against schools in sexual violence cases. As of April 2015, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights ("OCR") is investigating 106 colleges and universities due to concerns that these schools may have violated Title IX in mishandling sexual assault accusations.[1]...

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