In a final round of appeals, three Minnesota football players have been granted a reprieve from punishments stemming from sexual assault and harassment allegations made in September.
The allegations resulted in a university investigation and the suspension or expulsion of ten players from the university. In February, the university appeals panel upheld those punishments for only five players, expelling Dior Johnson, Tamarion Johnson, KiAnte Hardin and Ray Buford and suspending Mark Williams, while dropping Carlton Djam’s recommended expulsion to a one-year suspension.
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Appeals were made to the provost by several players and the victim of the attack. The provost reviewed written submissions from all appealing parties before ruling to uphold the decision to expel Hardin and suspend Djam for one year. Suspensions were annulled for Mark Williams, Kobe McCrary and Antoine Winfield Jr., attorney Ryan Pacyga told ESPN on Monday.
In a twitter post, Winfield wrote, "These couple of months have been nothing short of a nightmare for me and I want to thank everyone who has reached out to me and shown nothing but love. Today I have officially been cleared and I am excited to tear up the field for my brothers and my gopher fans."
Winfield, McCrary and Williams will return to team practice on Tuesday, having been prevented from participating during the appeals process. Pacyga said some of the other players’ attorneys are looking for another legal path, including taking the university to federal court over the Title IX investigation.
