Minnesota football players’ discrimination lawsuit dismissed

Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
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MINNEAPOLIS — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by nine former University of Minnesota football players who were accused of sexual assault in 2016 in a case that roiled the school’s football program.

The lawsuit against the school claimed that the players faced emotional distress and financial damage after being falsely accused of being sex offenders. The players, who were identified in the lawsuit as John Does, sought unspecified damages for willful and malicious discrimination.

A woman alleged up to a dozen football players raped her or watched and cheered at an off-campus party in 2016. None of the players were ever charged.

The university found that 10 football players committed sexual misconduct. Five of them were expelled or suspended for violating student conduct codes, and the others were cleared on appeal.

In their lawsuit, the players alleged that the woman initiated the sexual encounters with players and an underage recruit.

U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank dismissed the lawsuit last week, saying the former players did not prove any of their claims, including allegations of bias by university investigators or pressure from Athletic Director Mark Coyle and former President Eric Kaler, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.

David Madgett, an attorney for the players, said Tuesday that they are considering an appeal but have to determine if it makes sense financially and in terms of letting the former players get on with their lives. He said it was disappointing that the outcome was determined by the judge’s version of events and not decided by a jury.

“It’s disappointing to see disputes decided in this way,” Madgett said. “That’s the way things are decided more and more these days. … It’s disappointing you don’t get your day in court.”

When the allegations became public in 2016, players threatened to boycott the team’s trip to the Holiday Bowl. But after a graphic report of the investigation was released, the players agreed to play in the game.

University of Minnesota spokesman Jake Ricker said the school appreciated the judge’s decision affirming the actions taken in the case. He said the university would continue its work focusing on sexual misconduct awareness, prevention and response.

Frank dismissed the lawsuit in 2019, but an appeals court reinstated part of it in 2021 and returned it to Frank.

The players, all of whom are Black, also initially claimed racial discrimination, but that claim was previously dismissed.

The only remaining claim alleged Title IX gender discrimination. The former players noted that they never faced criminal charges, but Frank’s ruling said that “is certainly not evidence of a judicial adjudication or that plaintiffs ‘were proven innocent.'”

The men also claimed that an investigator for the university’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action used “manipulative tactics” with them in interviews and that their accuser helped draft the report. The players also alleged that “prior failed investigations motivated” the the school to punish them.

Frank said all the claims were unsupported by the evidence and “no reasonable jury could find that the University disciplined plaintiffs on the basis of sex.”

Ibrahim powers Minnesota past Syracuse in Pinstripe Bowl

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NEW YORK — Mohamed Ibrahim rushed for 71 yards on 16 carriers with a touchdown and became Minnesota’s all-time rushing leader in the Golden Gophers’ 28-20 win over Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Thursday.

Ibrahim, who missed virtually all of last year with a ruptured Achilles, closed out a solid career in dramatic fashion. After getting injured in the 2021 season opener against Penn State, Ibrahim returned for a sixth season and finished his career with 4,668 yards and 53 rushing touchdowns in 40 games since joining the Golden Gophers as a two-star recruit from Baltimore.

Ibrahim broke the school record held by Darrell Thompson (4,654 yards from 1986-89) on a 10-yard gain with about 2 1/2 minutes left in the first half. Before breaking the record, Ibrahim scored a gritty 4-yard run with 13:39 remaining in the half before sitting out the final periods. The TD gave him 20 and moved him past Gary Russell (19 in 2005) for the most single-season TDs in school history.

Trey Potts replaced Ibrahim in the backfield and had 27 yards on 10 carries. Daniel Jackson hauled in a pair of TD passes – a 20-yard reception in the second and a 25-yard grab in the final minute of the third.

Athan Kaliakmanis started at QB for Minnesota (9-4) and completed 7 of 9 passes for 80 yards before being helped off the field with an injury. Tanner Morgan made his first appearance since Nov. 5 and completed 4 of 7 passes for 58 yards.

Syracuse (7-6) ended what was a promising season on a down note, playing without star running back Sean Tucker, who declared for the NFL draft on Dec. 17. Syracuse’s offense totaled 477 yards, but struggled at times as the Orange lost six of their final seven games after a 6-0 start elevated them to No. 14 in The Associated Press Top 25 Poll.

LeQuint Allen replaced Tucker and finished with 103 yards on 16 carries.

Garret Shrader faced constant pressure and completed 32 of 51 passes for 329 yards. He ran for both of Syracuse’s TDs, and also overthrew receivers at times.

Ibrahim opened the scoring and nearly took a tackler with him up the middle with 13:39 left in the second quarter for a 7-0 lead. After Kaliakmanis was injured, Jackson made a leaping catch in the right corner of the end zone seven minutes later.

Shrader’s run moved Syracuse within 14-7 by halftime, and a 40-yard field goal by Andre Szmyt made it 14-10 early in the third. The Golden Gophers took a 21-10 lead when Coleman Bryson stepped in front of a pass intended for Oronde Gadsden II and returned the interception 70 yards.

Jackson’s second TD put Minnesota up 28-13 with 38 seconds left in the third. Syracuse caught a break when Allen lost a fumble, but it was negated due to Minnesota having 12 men on the field. Shrader scrambled from eight yards out with 2 1/2 minutes remaining.

UP NEXT

Syracuse: The replacement for Tucker will become a major storyline ahead of the season opener against Colgate on Sept. 2.

Minnesota: Whoever Ibrahim’s successor is in the backfield will open the season Aug. 31 against Nebraska. The Gophers also will face powerhouses Michigan and Ohio State in the same season for the first time since 2015.

Minnesota gives P.J. Fleck 1-year extension, plus raise

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MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck had his contract extended by an additional year with a $1 million raise in annual salary, after the latest round of big spending by Big Ten rivals.

The new seven-year deal will run through the 2029 season, the university announced without releasing terms. Fleck will now make $6 million per year, a person with knowledge of the contract confirmed. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been finalized.

Last week, Nebraska hired Matt Rhule and Wisconsin hired Luke Fickell to put them in the top tier of head coach compensation in the conference. In terms of average annual value, the 42-year-old Fleck is eighth in the Big Ten behind Michigan State’s Mel Tucker, Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Rhule, Fickell, Penn State’s James Franklin, Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh and Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz. All seven of those coaches make $7 million or more per season.

The Gophers (8-4) play Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 29. They’re 3-0 in bowl games under Fleck, who was hired away from Western Michigan in 2017.

Minnesota tied for second place in the Big Ten West Division this year, behind Purdue. Fleck is 43-27 overall with the Gophers, including 26-26 in conference play. They’re 0-6 against Iowa and 3-3 against Wisconsin, their primary rivals.

Fleck’s winning percentage is third-best in program history among coaches with 45 games or more, behind Henry Williams (1900-21) and Bernie Bierman (1932-41).

“What P.J. and his staff have done in a short amount of time is remarkable,” athletic director Mark Coyle said in a statement distributed by the university. “He has recruited and developed some of the best student-athletes to ever play at Minnesota and his team continues to excel academically, athletically and socially.”

This is the fifth time in six years on the job that Fleck’s deal has been adjusted to keep up with the competition, as power conference coach contracts these days rarely have less than five years on them at any time. Minnesota extended his deal a year ago, too.

In that iteration of his contract, the termination fees Fleck would owe Minnesota if he were to hop to another program were bumped way up. Those numbers landed at $7 million in 2023, $5 million in 2024, $4 million in 2025 and $3 million in 2026. Details about those figures in the new deal were not immediately available.