The NCAA has asked a judge to dismiss a class action lawsuit brought by three former student-athletes who say they were sexually abused by their coach, arguing that the association has no legal duty to protect athletes from sexual harassment or abuse.
The lawsuit was brought by Olympic high jumper Erin Aldrich and former Texas track athletes Jessica Johnson and Londa Bevins.
Aldrich told The Orange County Register that she wasn’t surprised by the NCAA’s argument.
“You don’t expect a coward to come out and take responsibility,” Aldrich said. “They’ve basically responded sadly in the way they’ve responded for years.”
Aldrich, Bevins and Johnson contend that the NCAA has helped create a national sexual abuse epidemic by failing to impose rules that would force member schools to take steps to prevent and report abuse by coaches.
“We aren’t hoping for change here. We are demanding change from the NCAA,” Aldrich said.
Aldrich, Bevins and Johnson contend they were sexually harassed and abused by their coach, John Rembao. In the lawsuit, Aldrich alleges that Rembao sexually abused her while she was at Arizona and harassed her while she was at Texas. Johnson and Bevins allege Rembao sexually abused and harassed them. Both say they gave up their scholarships at Texas because of the abuse and transferred to Arkansas.
Rembao was head coach at Southern Methodist University, as well as an assistant at Texas, Arizona, Stanford and Cal/Poly. He was placed on temporary suspension for allegations of misconduct by the U.S. Center for SafeSport in December.
Aldrich contends the NCAA is selling out with its argument.
“They’re selling out all athletes by taking this huge step back and not protecting against sexual assault that happened during a time when a student athlete is at an age when it’s an incredibly important developmental time in their life.”
For its part, the NCAA argues that it cannot be held legally responsible for sexual abuse on campuses nationwide. Attorneys for the NCAA contend “more specifically, what the NCAA’s legal responsibility is for the alleged sexual abuse (all outside California) by one track coach twenty years ago. The NCAA respectfully submits the Complaint is flawed as a matter of law and that all claims against the NCAA and its Board be dismissed and/or stricken.”
“We believe the law supports our claim that the NCAA has abrogated its responsibility,” said Elizabeth Fegan, an attorney for the three women. “Since we filed the case, we’ve heard from student-athletes with similar experiences, so this is certainly a broader, more widespread issue than the NCAA would like the public to believe.”
