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Oregon dismisses Damyean Dotson, Dominic Artis and Brandon Austin from program

Dana Altman

Oregon head coach Dana Altman reacts in the final minutes against Washington in the second half of an NCAA men’s college basketball game Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014, in Seattle. Washington won 80-76. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

AP

With the futures of three Oregon basketball players in doubt, University of Oregon president Michael R. Gottfredson announced Friday afternoon that Damyean Dotson, Dominic Artis and Brandon Austin will no longer be members of the basketball program.

The cases of Dotson, Artis and Austin have received a high level of attention in recent days, with their being accused of raping a female student back in March. However after investigating the matter no charges were filed due to a lack of evidence.

One question that arose in the aftermath was why Dotson and Artis were allowed to continue to play in games, including the NCAA tournament. Earlier this week the school stated that the Eugene Police Department told them to not take action, with the fear being that doing so would jeopardize the criminal investigation.

As for Austin, athletic director Rob Mullens stated Friday that the program was unaware of the incident Austin was involved in at Providence with the school suspending both he and fellow freshman Rodney Bullock for the entire season. The two players were the subjects of a sexual assault investigation that was still open when Oregon accepted Austin as a transfer.

This case comes at a time when the federal government pledging to make sure colleges do more to address sexual assaults on campus.

Also of note during the press conference was Gottfredson stating that the school will bring in an independent panel to take a look at the school’s recruiting practices, and Mullens’ statement that Altman will remain head coach. But the question now is how much will he have to change his recruiting practices, with transfers playing an important role in the program’s success under Altman.

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