Back in May 2014 Brandon Austin was one of three players dismissed from the Oregon basketball program for their roles in an alleged sexual assault. While no charges were filed in the incident, the details of the full report on the case were such that the school decided to part ways with Austin, Dominic Artis and Damyean Dotson.
This would be the second time that Austin left a program under such circumstances, as he was given a year-long suspension at Providence (and ultimately decided to transfer) for his involvement in another sexual assault investigation that did not result in either he or then-teammate Rodney Bullock being charged.
While Artis (UTEP) and Dotson (Houston) have found new schools at which to play, Austin hasn’t been able to find a new Division I program to call home. And on Thursday it was reported by The Oregonian that Austin has filed a $7.5 million lawsuit against the University of Oregon, former school president Michael R. Gottfredson, Oregon director of Student Conduct & Community Standards Sandy Weintraub, assistant dean of students Chicora Martin and vice president of student life Robin Holmes.
While harm to his professional prospects is one of the reasons cited in the suit, Austin is also arguing that his rights were violated in the process that ultimately led to his dismissal (and 10-year ban from campus).The suit claims that prior to his expulsion, Austin was “outrageously suspended” from the university and that his rights were violated when the defendants “refused to (among other things) allow Mr. Austin to subpoena witnesses who would be supportive of his defense, refused to provide unredacted reports, refused to provide a contested case hearing, refused to allow cross-examination, and otherwise refused to provide the due process required by the United States Constitution and applicable laws.”
The suit also claims that Holmes refused to respond to Austin’s requests for an appeal and wouldn’t return multiple phone calls from Austin’s counsel “in violation of Mr. Austin’s right to procedural and substantive due process.”After being dismissed from the Oregon program Austin played at Northwest Florida State College last season, helping the team win an NJCAA national title. However the on-court success did not result in another chance at the Division I level due to the off-court issues.