Two former University of Missouri students have come forward with assault allegations against ex- Missouri running back Derrick Washington. Washington was accused of sexually assaulting a tutor in 2010 which led to his release from the Missouri football team and a five year prison sentence.
This week, ESPN's "Outside the Lines" reported there were two additional alleged incidents. A female soccer player claims she was physically assaulted by Washington in 2010, and that her coach threatened a loss of her scholarship if she came forward.
The second woman claims Washington raped her in 2008. These allegations were known by the Athletics Department, but not reported per Title IX regulations.
Mike Alden is the MU Director of Athletics. Alden and Gary Pinkel, MU Head Football coach, held a press conference at Mizzou Arena Friday. Alden said the department knew about the allegations, but did not know they were required to report them. "There's many of us that are much more aware of reporting requirements here on our campus. But, back in 2008, I was not aware of those types of procedures," he said.
Pinkel added, "There was a policy that referred in 2008 that if you were arrested for anything, you were immediately suspended, could be for five minutes, could be five hours, five days, five weeks, it didn't matter, whether you were arrested for a misdemeanor or whatever would take place that was a policy we had at that time."
Moving forward, MU Athletics Department officials said they will do everything they can to prevent incidents like this from happening again, especially with the July addition of a Title IX Coordinator.
