University of Minnesota officials this summer noted a “concerning pattern” of misconduct by football players, including allegations of sexual assault and harassment.
Players were accused of sexual assault twice in the last year, according to an email Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action director Kim Hewitt sent the former athletic director. Groups of players twice were also accused of sexual harassment.
The school released the email to The Associated Press and other media outlets Wednesday after open records requests.
Interim athletics director Beth Goetz says the school promptly handled each allegation and investigated what it could. The email from Hewitt says university officials didn’t investigate sexual assault concerns because the reporting students didn’t want to proceed. A player involved in a sexual harassment incident was found to have violated school policy.
