Cases of sexual misconduct involving student athletes are often contentious, pitting the safety of the victim against the value the athlete adds to the school. The case of Jack Montague, a Yale basketball player who was expelled in February, is no different, and he’s now planning to sue the school, according to the Huffington Post.
Montague was expelled based on allegations of sexual misconduct filed by a female student. However, his attorney has just released statement saying the sex between the two students was consensual, and that he will sue Yale. According to Montague’s attorney, his expulsion was “wrong, unfairly determined, arbitrary and excessive by any rational measure.”
According to ESPN, when Montague was expelled, it was decided by the panel based on “preponderance of the evidence.” That is basically big legal talk for saying that the panel felt that the female student’s story was probably “more true” than Montague’s—and isn’t the same as being tried in a criminal court, where Montague’s guilt would have to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Montague’s lawyer, Max Stern, claims that he is being used as a “whipping boy” for the university. An Association of American Universities report noted that there is a serious problem with sexual assault on the Yale campus, according to the Huffington Post. If the university were to overlook the claim, the worry about sexual assault at the school would only increase. With the opportunity to show the world that the university is tightening up on sexual assault claims, the school’s reputation remains intact as a safe school to attend.
The jury is still out on whether or not the preponderance of the evidence will be able to serve as strong enough evidence to keep Montague expelled.