NORFOLK, Va. — Two men who participated in the Norfolk State University (NSU) football program filed lawsuits against the school, claiming they were sexually assaulted while a part of the team.
Shawn Fahey came forward with his allegations back in May, before the lawsuits were filed. He held a press conference with his lawyer, encouraging other victims to come forward.
Nearly a month later, Fahey and a "John Doe" are taking the university to court, asking for jury trials.
Fahey's lawsuit alleged when he joined the team back in June 2021, his new teammates fondled, groped and otherwise turned "grooming behaviors" on him while he was trying to adjust to the football program.
His lawyer, Diane Toscano, said, at that point, assaults like that had already been normalized for the team, and a coach with NSU Football called it "playful," saying: "We just never took [it] seriously."
"Because Norfolk State University had created a culture – spanning two coaching staffs – that enabled sexual assault and hazing of younger football players, Plaintiff gave up his position on the football team, along with his full tuition and housing scholarship, and did not register for classes – all to protect himself from further sexual assault and hazing," the complaint reads.
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John Doe, the anonymous man who is coming forward against NSU Football, alleged the culture of hazing made him vulnerable to attempted rape.
Doe claimed that during a movie night with teammates, an unnamed upperclassman went into his room and threatened to break some of his things. When Doe went in to stop the teammate from doing that, he said the upperclassman trapped him in the room, pushed him down onto the bed and straddled him.
The lawsuit said another person stepped in and stopped that rape attempt.
After reporting the incident, the lawsuit alleged teammates retaliated against Doe, calling him a "snitch" and saying "no one likes you," and pressuring him to apologize to the upperclassman "for ruining [his] chance to play football his final year of eligibility."
The suits also detail alleged hazing events. Fahey and Doe said prior head coach Latrell Scott knew about many of the hazing rituals, and while he discouraged them, there was no discipline to stop the sexual harassment.
They also claim Scott didn't report the problems to the Title IX coordinator or police, as required.
The lawsuits said Coach Dawson Odums, who took over the program, did report Doe's attempted rape to the Title IX coordinator, but not to the police.
Toscano is asking the court to enforce new policies for the football program and to pay back both Fahey and Doe's scholarship and tuition costs, the costs associated with recovering from the assault and other damages from loss of future income and loss of sports name recognition.