A basketball player at the University of New Mexico (UNM) has sued the school after it suspended him indefinitely when it learned about allegations of domestic violence.
Attorneys for junior point guard J.J. Caldwell filed suit in federal court earlier this month, seeking an immediate injunction that would allow Caldwell to return to the team. Specifically, the attorneys charge UNM has violated their client’s rights under the 14th Amendment, or the right to due process.
“This case arises out of the University of New Mexico’s unlawful action banning Joseph Caldwell from the University campus, evicting him from his residence, disallowing him from playing basketball for the University and banning him from registering for courses for the 2020 Spring Semester,” according to the complaint.
Named as defendants were the UNM Board of Regents, UNM Dean of Students Nasha Torrez and the Lobo Development Corporation. The latter owns an apartment complex, which allegedly evicted Caldwell.
The media has reported that Caldwell’s case is linked to a police report filed by an ex-girlfriend, who alleged that Caldwell hit her with an open hand, grabbed her by the arms and put his hands around her throat during an incident on Dec. 16. At the time of the complaint, Caldwell had not been arrested or charged in the case.
The plaintiff received by email a message on Dec. 19 from the Dean of Students Office “banning him from campus,” while UNM’s Office of Equal Opportunity office reviewed the case. Caldwell alleged in the complaint that the “ suspension, should it continue, will altogether prevent [Caldwell] from completing his coursework and from practicing and playing basketball at the university, will cause him to lose his athletic scholarship, will likely destroy any prospects of playing professional basketball in the future and will severely further damage his reputation.”
Caldwell does have a history. The media has reported that the junior transferred to UNM after being suspended and later kicked off the team at Texas A&M after being charged with drug possession in 2018.
While not commenting on specific litigation, UNM officials did provide the media with a statement regarding the plaintiff’s emergency ban from campus:
“An emergency ban can be instituted as an interim measure under Title IX for safety reasons, as per the UNM Student Grievance Procedure, section 4.3 and University Administrative Policy 2740 section 10. Interim bans for safety reasons are not common, nor done lightly since it can have a major impact on a student’s life.
“For example, in 2019 there were only 7 emergency bans for students, 4 of which were for Title IX reasons. When deciding whether an interim ban is necessary for safety reasons under Title IX, the Student Conduct Officer and the Title IX Coordinator use a rubric for all students that considers things like whether the allegations occurred on campus, if weapons or other actions of lethality may have occurred, and whether there were multiple allegations made about the same student. Federal law and UNM policy 2740, section 10, allows for interim measures under Title IX to ensure the safety of individuals and our campus community. UNM uses a rubric that was created based off national best practices, and vetted by the Department of Justice to determine whether these concerning factors were present in the allegations. It is used equally in all student matters, and implemented on a case by case basis.
“When a student is emergency banned from campus, they do have an appeal under the Student Grievance Procedure, section 4.3, by meeting with the Dean of Students. An emergency ban is not a final sanction for a violation of the student code of conduct. If, after an Office of Equal Opportunity investigation, it is determined that the evidence showed it was more likely than not that the student’s actions violated UNM policy and the student code of conduct, then the student may face a conduct sanction and would be entitled to due process under policy 2740.”
