Former Wisconsin recipient Quintez Cephus said in a lawsuit against the university on Tuesday that he was used as a scapegoat during an investigation into sexual assault that led to his temporary eviction.
Cephus is claiming unspecified damages in his lawsuit filed in federal court in Madison, accusing the defendants of violating his rights to law, violating Title IX provisions and breach of contract.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Cephus was suspended from the Badgers football team in August 2018 and was expelled from the University of Wisconsin-Madison for violating the non-academic misconduct code as part of a Title IX investigation into his arrest on charges of sexual assault on the second and third degree.
After a jury acquitted Cephus, he was reinstated and led Wisconsin during the 2019 season when the Badgers were 10-4 and reached the Rose Bowl. Cephus recently completed his rookie season with the Detroit Lions, which took him into the fifth round of the 2020 draft.
University officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Cephus’ attorney, Andrew Miltenberg, said he had spoken to NFL agents and draft analysts, who believe Cephus would have been drafted earlier if he had not been suspended.
“He wants to set a precedent so that schools are more careful and diligent about how they deal with these matters and not just continue to judge when they know they do not have all the evidence,” Miltenberg said. .
The complaint states that Wisconsin is “trying to pursue harsh male prosecutions to rectify the long-standing failure to address allegations of sexual assault.” The complaint adds that Cephus’ status as a well-known footballer makes him “the perfect candidate for the university to prove his investigative efforts and punish accused men on a high profile.”
Defendants include Chancellor Rebecca Blank, the Campus Title IX coordinator, Lauren Hasselbacher, and the school’s governing body.
The criminal complaint stemmed from an incident in Cephus’ Madison apartment in April 2018. Cephus was engaging in sexual acts with two 18-year-old Wisconsin students, who later said they were raped and too drunk to consent. Cephus said the sex is consensus.
Cephus ‘lawyers say in the complaint that the title of the schools’ IX investigation was “a serious miscarriage.” The investigation concluded that Cephus “sexually assaulted the women”.
Advocates of Cephus argue that the university should have delayed the investigation until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings because there was relevant evidence that would only be released after the criminal case was closed. They say it contains video evidence that disputes the women claiming they were intoxicated that night.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
They say the school admits that he tried unsuccessfully to obtain this evidence and in any case continued with his disciplinary hearing.
The complaint also states that two female students’ statements are viewed at face value throughout and that the investigation was biased with a lack of transparency.
The lawsuit comes five months after one of the female students involved in the case sued the university over its 2019 decision to block Cephus’ eviction and allow him back into the football team.