University of Minnesota lawyers are making good on their promise to "vigorously defend" a federal civil rights lawsuit filed against the school by nine Gophers football players.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for willful and malicious discrimination of the players after a woman alleged she was the victim of a gang rape on Sept. 2, 2016.
But in a 44-page motion to dismiss the suit, the U argues that the plaintiffs failed to use all other methods of appeal and suffered no deprivation of rights.
The U says it "did indeed 'discriminate' but not on the grounds of gender or race," as the players claim.
"Instead, the process discriminated among the student-athletes, not against them, by carefully determining who had violated the student conduct code and who had not," according to the motion.
The victim alleged that as many as a dozen football players at an off-campus party repeatedly raped her or watched and cheered as others did. No criminal charges have been filed.
After its own investigation, the U found 10 Gophers football players responsible for sexual misconduct.
The players appealed that finding to the Student Sexual Misconduct Subcommittee (SSMS), where they received a two-day hearing and were allowed to bring counsel, present evidence and confront their accuser, the motion said.