Lawyers representing two women, who allege that the University of Colorado was reckless and then indifferent as far as recognizing a climate of sexual abuse within the school’s athletic departments, have appealed a loss at the hands of a district judge to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Plaintiffs Lisa Simpson and Jane Doe, who both claim that they were raped by football players and recruits, are pursuing their claim under the basis of the federal gender discrimination law known as Title IX.
Earlier this spring, District Judge Robert Blackburn wrote that “there is much about the incidents evidenced in the record of this case that cries out for justice. There is no doubt that some of the harassment, abuse and assaults reflected in the record are shameful at best and criminal at worst. A cry for justice, however, does not mean that Title IX should be expanded to provide justice simply because the cry for justice has not been answered otherwise.”
Blackburn had found that the university did not have advanced notice of the sexual abuse and that it was not indifferent to the claims of the women.
Along with the notice of appeal, the plaintiffs also announced that they were beefing up their legal team, adding Pamela Karlan, a law professor at Stanford University, and Patricia Wald, the former chief judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
The impetus for the litigation was an incident at an off-campus party on Dec. 7, 2001, which involved large quantities of alcohol, football players and recruits, and the plaintiffs. In the wake of the incident, several of the school’s administrators have resigned or been fired, including the president, head coach and athletic director.
CU attorney Larry Pozner remains adamant that the school is not liable, telling the local papers “Title IX does not make universities liable for everything that happens off campus between its students. If it did, all universities would be broke.”
