San Jose State to pay $1.6 million in athlete sex abuse case

[Horse Dewormer Will Save America]

LATIMES.COM
San Jose State to pay $1.6 million in athlete sex abuse case - Los
Angeles Times
Colleen Shalby

San Jose State University has agreed to pay $1.6 million to 23 female
athletes, part of a settlement with the Department of Justice that
found that the university failed to properly handle the students'
allegations of sexual abuse by a former athletic trainer.

The federal investigation found the university to be in violation of
Title IX, a civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination
at any federally funded education program. It found that San Jose
State did not take adequate action in response to the athletes'
reports and retaliated against two employees who raised repeated
concerns to the university about Scott Shaw, the former director of
sports medicine.

The Justice Department and San Jose State have identified the 23 women
who allege that they were inappropriately touched by Shaw. In
reviewing rosters from 2009 to the present, the Justice Department
estimates that roughly 1,000 women student athletes could have been
exposed to treatment by the trainer.

The Times could not reach Shaw for comment and was not able to
immediately identify his attorney. Shaw has not been criminally
charged and has previously denied allegations, according to multiple
news outlets.

An FBI criminal investigation into sexual misconduct at the university
is ongoing. No further information -- including whether the
investigation is solely about Shaw or if others are involved -- has
been released.

Allegations against the former trainer, who resigned in 2020 after 14
years at the university, surfaced in December 2009, when several
student athletes, including some who were minors at the time, reported
to an employee that the trainer had touched their breasts, genitals
and buttocks during treatment that was described to them as
"trigger-point therapy" or "pressure-point therapy," according to the
report. Former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar has been
accused of similar abuse.

In the years since, several students reported similar allegations, as
recently as February 2020, after Shaw was told by the university not
to treat student athletes pending a university investigation, separate
from that of the the Justice Department.

The California State University systemwide Title IX compliance officer
concluded in April 2021 that the 2009 allegations of improper touching
and those that followed were substantiated.

"We all share the concerns going back to 2009. SJSU's Human Resources
Department and campus police conducted initial investigations in
2009-2010. It was determined at the time that there was no
wrongdoing," the university said in a statement. "The DOJ finding
furthers our need for answers to questions about the original
2009-2010 investigation, and how the university responded to those
findings, which is why SJSU and President [Mary] Papazian launched an
external Title IX Procedural Response Investigation. The investigation
is currently ongoing."

Shounak Dharap, whose law firm represents 12 former student athletes
who have alleged abuse by Shaw, said the findings have offered his
clients a form of vindication, but not closure.

"Our clients have alleged always that San Jose minimized and ignored
their reports," Dharap said. "That has taken a very, very severe toll
on each of their lives.

"The findings raise a couple of burning questions for our clients. Why
did San Jose fail for decades to take action to protect our athletes
from a known threat? And how was this abuse even allowed to occur in
the first place?"

In the time since the investigation was launched, Marie Tuite stepped
down as director of athletics at the university, which said it is
working to restructure and expand its Title IX office and has
established a chaperone policy during examinations of student
athletes.

"The department's findings provide a stark reminder that schools must
respond quickly to protect students from sexual harassment. Title IX
requires no less," Stephanie M. Hinds, acting U.S. attorney for the
Northern District of California, said in a statement. "We acknowledge
the San Jose State University students and employees whose efforts
shined a light on this issue and look forward to working with the
university to implement this important agreement."

--
_____,,;;;`; ;';;;,,_____
,~( ) , )~~\| |/~~( , ( )~;
' / / --`--, .--'-- \ \ `
/ \ | ' ` | / \