CINCINNATI (AP) – A star University of Dayton basketball player has sued the Ohio school in federal court over his suspension after a sexual assault accusation.
Dyshawn Pierre’s lawsuit asks a U.S. district court judge to order his reinstatement, and also seeks unspecified damages. The lawsuit notes that Montgomery County prosecutors declined to file charges against Pierre after what he says was a consensual sexual encounter with a female UD student last spring.
His lawsuit filed Wednesday says the school’s own investigation was “fundamentally unfair” and reached a “wholly irrational, unsubstantiated” conclusion after a hearing that failed to accommodate Pierre’s learning disability.
Pierre is represented by New York-based attorney Peter Ginsberg, whose athlete clients have included former Xavier University basketball player Dez Wells.
Wells, who went on to play for Maryland and was signed recently by the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, was expelled from Xavier in 2012 after a student at the Cincinnati school accused him of sexual assault. A grand jury declined to indict Wells, whose federal lawsuit was settled under confidential terms. Wells contended he had consensual sex with his accuser.