Texas Tech has confirmed that Pop Isaacs, the Red Raiders' leading scorer, "remains in good standing" after a report emerged of a civil lawsuit accusing Isaacs of sexual assault of a minor.
According to the local ABC affiliate, the lawsuit accuses Isaacs of assaulting a 17-year-old girl when Texas Tech played in a tournament in the Bahamas in November.
The lawsuit alleges that Red Raiders coach Grant McCasland was contacted by the plaintiffs Dec. 14 and reported the incident to athletic director Kirby Hocutt and other university officials. Isaacs has played in four games in since the lawsuit was reported.
The accusations were immediately reported to the school's Title IX office and in investigation was promptly started.
According to a statement, the athletic department “reached out to the Title IX office on two occasions and was informed both times that based upon the information, Pop Isaacs remains in good standing, and there is no reason to withhold him from university activities, including basketball competition."
Texas Tech said that it will continue its Title IX investigation regardless of how the civil lawsuit plays out.
The lawsuit was filed in Lubbock County, where the Texas Tech campus is, by the parents of the girl who says she was assaulted. The age of consent in the Bahamas is 16, but the lawsuit says the girl was intoxicated and could not give consent.
ESPN, which obtained a copy of the lawsuit, reported that the lawsuit alleges a Texas Tech booster bought alcoholic drinks for Isaacs and a teammate. They were in a room with two girls, ages 17 and 16. The lawsuit says Isaacs and the 17-year-old went to another room, where she was sexually assaulted after she "attempted to fight him off."
