Former Yale basketball captain sues school over expulsion

In response to the filing of the suit, Yale stated that its “procedures for addressing allegations of sexual misconduct are thorough and fair”.

Montague was expelled from Yale in February. Montague maintains that the encounter was consensual – one of multiple sexual encounters between the two of them – and that the woman left his room but then returned to spend the night with him.

The 53-page suit accuses Yale and its office in charge of Title IX compliance of having made Montague a “poster child” for its enforcement of equality laws, singling him out because of his prominence as captain of the unexpectedly successful basketball team. “He was deprived of the ability to join the Yale men’s basketball team in the NCAA playoffs (a feat the team had achieved, with Mr. Montague’s skill and leadership, for the first time in 54 years), and he was unfairly branded a sexual assailant, a label he may never be able to shed”. “Allegations are investigated by an impartial fact-finder, heard by five trained members of the Yale community, and decided by the accused student’s dean”. That sparked an outcry on campus, with leaflets turning up imploring the team to “Stop supporting a rapist”.

She did, however, speak to Yale’s Title IX committee because she wanted a representative to talk with Montague about what she called a non-consensual incident. He claims he didn’t commit “sexual misconduct”, and shouldn’t have been kicked out in February.

The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Connecticut Thursday, actually makes its own Title IX complaint, arguing that Montague was a victim of gender inequality in that he would not have been prosecuted had he not been a man. “Throughout the process, all parties have advisors, which can be legal counsel, and they can appeal a decision”.

“But when Yale learned Mr. Montague was the alleged perpetrator, it saw an opportunity”, the complaint reads.

The lawsuit asks that Montague be reinstated as a student or for Yale to reopen the proceedings against him.

The attorneys representing Montague released a statement saying that the dispute is over an October 2014 encounter in which the woman claims she did not consent to sex. The reason Gleason gave to Roe was also patently false: Montague, said Gleason, had already been the subject of a complaint of sexual assault and had already received related training, so repeat training was not an option for him.

That complaint, according to the lawsuit, was filed by Yale’s senior deputy Title IX coordinator Jason Killheffer. Montague says he got on top of Roe to engage in sexual intercourse. Conroy said the decision to expel a student is made only after careful consideration, based on facts, and when appropriate, on disciplinary history.