A Title IX lawsuit against the University of Tennessee-Knoxville has been settled for $2.48 million with a group of eight women who accused the school of fostering a “hostile sexual environment,” listing incidents dating back to 1995, mostly involving allegations against male student athletes.

The announcement of the settlement comes just two days before the university has to formally respond to the case in the U.S. District Court. However, though UT is paying out nearly $2.5 million, it is not admitting guilt or negligence.

The lawsuit was first filed in February, when six women filed a civil suit claiming that athletes who were found guilty of assault went unpunished. They alleged that perpetrators and their teammates discouraged women from reporting rape charges, and that an athlete who tried to help a woman who had been assaulted was attacked by a fellow athlete. The women are dismissing the lawsuit against UT, according to David Randolph Smith, the Nashville attorney who represents the eight women.

“My clients and I are dismissing the lawsuit with prejudice and signed the settlement agreement,” Smith said in a statement. He added:

We are satisfied that, while universities everywhere struggle with these issues, the University of Tennessee has made significant progress in the way they educate and respond to sexual assault cases. My clients and I are also convinced that the University’s leadership is truly committed to continue its exemplary efforts to create a model as it relates to sexual misconduct.

The lawsuit claimed UT’s administrative hearing process was one-sided and denied victims the “rights to a hearing and to the same equal procedural, hearing, and process rights as given to perpetrators of rape and sexual assault.” It also accused the university of interfering with investigations and providing lawyers for students accused of misconduct. The $2.48 million payout from UT to the eight women will be split between UT’s athletic department and central administration. The money will not come from taxpayer dollars, student fees or donor funds, according to the school’s lawyers.

Joe DiPietro, UT System President, announced that in the next few weeks he will appoint an independent commission to review the current programs in place that combat sexual assault, and assess what areas need to be strengthened.

“I continue to say that one incident of sexual misconduct is one too many,” DiPietro said. “But unfortunately, on a college campus, these incidents will happen. When they do, I want the confidence of knowing that we did everything within our power to appropriately deal with the situation, and we provided the necessary support for all involved. There are no excuses for anything less.”

UT Chancellor Jimmy Cheek is also spearheading his own initiatives—he will hire six more people for Title IX compliance positions.

Inez Nicholson

Inez is an editorial intern at Law Street from Raleigh, NC. She will be a junior at North Carolina State University and is studying political science and communication media. When she’s not in the newsroom, you can find her in the weight room. Contact Inez at INicholson@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was poised to go down as one of the greats after his record breaking Super Bowl win set himself up for a “story book” retirement. But now Manning is struggling to keep his clean-cut image intact after 20-year-old sexual assault allegations from his time at the University of Tennessee were brought back into the national spotlight thanks to a recent lawsuit.

The 39-year-old football star was cited in a lawsuit filed by six anonymous women last Tuesday who claim the University of Tennessee violated Title IX by fostering a “hostile sexual environment” that allowed for sexual assault and rape allegations to be met with “deliberate indifference.”

To reiterate that point, testimony was included from Dr. Jamie Naughright, a highly regarded Tenessee trainer, who claims that in 1996 Manning forcefully maneuvered his naked testicles and rectum directly on her face with his penis on top of her head while she was examining him for a foot injury. According to ESPN, Dr. Naughright reported the incident, but Manning was never investigated by the police. She went on to file a lawsuit against him, but in 1997 it was settled and she was forced to leave the university.

Manning apparently wrote about the encounter from his perspective in 2000 in an autobiography titled “Manning: A Father, His Sons and A Football Legacy.” In the book he denies the sexual assault allegations saying instead that he was “mooning” track athlete Malcolm Saxon, he also describes Dr, Naughright as having a “vulgar mouth.”

For those of you who are unfamiliar, Title IX is a federal law that bans gender discrimination at schools that receive federal funding. If the University of Tennessee officials did fail to properly investigate sexual assault allegations in a deliberate attempt to protect student athletes, that would make them in violation of the law.

But Manning wasn’t the only athlete named in the new lawsuit. According to ESPN, the lawsuit names 10 former Tennessee players in total, including Manning and former football players A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams. The latter two are both awaiting separate trials for aggravated rape charges.

Some people have come to Manning’s defense, criticizing the allegations against Manning based on how old they are, but, as ESPN writer Sarah Spain puts it, the matter deserves a second look as more details surface. For example, in the 74-paged court document  Saxon, the supposed recipient of the “mooning”, clearly refuted Manning’s story and even told Manning in a letter that he lost his student athlete eligibility over the matter.

Saxon wrote,

Peyton, you messed up. I still don’t know why you dropped your drawers. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe not. But it was definitely inappropriate. Please take some personal responsibility here and own up to what you did.

These potential revelations are the last thing Manning needed, after already suffering a beating to his image when Al Jazeera alleged he was part of an illegal doping ring in an undercover investigative piece. If the football star does in fact intend on hanging up his cleats for good soon, these accusations may end up a permanent stain on his once-clean image.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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