University of 蜜柚直播 attorneys have denied that the athletic department ever claimed to have a 鈥渮ero-tolerance鈥 policy toward domestic violence, in response to a federal lawsuit.
A woman who was assaulted by former Wildcats running back Orlando Bradford filed the lawsuit earlier this month, saying that the UA knew that Bradford had been abusive towards women but failed to take action to protect other students.
Bradford was arrested last year and charged with 10 felonies and five misdemeanors after two other women told police that Bradford hit and choked them on multiple occasions.
Five days after Bradford鈥檚 first arrest and subsequent dismissal from the team, UA coach Rich Rodriguez told reporters: 鈥淲e have a rule. You put your hands on a woman, you鈥檙e done. That鈥檚 it. If you did it, if you put your hands on a woman in any way, shape or form, you鈥檙e done. Next.鈥
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The UA鈥檚 response to the lawsuit doesn鈥檛 address that specific statement by Rodriguez, but denies a portion of the lawsuit that says the athletic department had a 鈥渮ero-tolerance鈥 policy for acts of domestic violence committed by athletes on or off campus, and that a single act would result in expulsion from the team.
The lawsuit鈥檚 claims of negligence, civil rights violation and intentional inflection of emotional distress stem from the victim鈥檚 discovery of a third woman who told athletic department staff that Bradford was abusive toward her nearly 10 months before his arrests in connection with the other two cases.
The civil rights violation is in reference to Title IX, a federal law the university must adhere to that protects students from gender discrimination. It includes protections against sexual assault and relationship violence.
The Star does not generally name alleged victims of domestic abuse or sexual assault.
The third woman, a member of the UA鈥檚 softball team, alerted coach Mike Candrea to Bradford鈥檚 behavior in December 2015, the lawsuit says. Four months later, the woman called campus police to report that Bradford had been outside of her dorm room for several hours the night before, the lawsuit says.
An athletic department official was present when the woman told police what happened and that Bradford, now her ex-boyfriend, had choked her multiple times when they were in a relationship, the UA police report shows.
Bradford wasn鈥檛 arrested in connection with the incident; instead, the UA issued a 鈥渘o contact order鈥 and told Bradford to stay away from the woman. Bradford moved off campus to a house with other football players, according to the lawsuit.
The UA鈥檚 response says that Bradford was removed from the same residence hall as the woman and reassigned to another dorm.
University lawyers deny nearly every allegation in the lawsuit, except for a few basic facts, such as the year Bradford began attending the UA, the fact that a member of the athletic department was with the woman when she spoke to campus police and the UA鈥檚 issuance of a 鈥渘o contact order.鈥
The lawsuit says that the UA鈥檚 actions after the woman鈥檚 effort to report Bradford were deficient, and he was allowed to victimize two other women as a result.
UA lawyers responded: 鈥淒efendants exercised reasonable care to prevent and promptly correct any sexually harassing behavior and ... plaintiff unreasonably failed to take advantage of preventative opportunities or to otherwise avoid harm.鈥
Bradford pleaded guilty in Pima County Superior Court last month to two counts of domestic violence aggravated assault and admitted to choking two of his previous girlfriends. In exchange for his guilty plea, the Pima County Attorney鈥檚 Office dismissed the eight other felonies and five misdemeanors he was charged with in connection with the cases.
鈥淲e would be interested in knowing whether anybody else has had experiences of this type with other athletes at UA in recent years, and how they were handled,鈥 said Isabel Humphrey, a Phoenix attorney representing the woman who filed the lawsuit. Humphrey declined to comment further on the case, citing ethics rules.
Bradford was taken to jail straight from the hearing and is awaiting sentencing next month. His guilty plea carries a sentence of between two and 7茠 years in prison.
Both the plaintiff in the federal case and the UA have requested a jury trial, according to records from the U.S. District Court in 蜜柚直播.
