A tumultuous situation continues to unfold between the University of Oregon and former student and basketball player, Brandon Austin. The young man has filed a lawsuit worth $7.5 million to pay for unfair treatment, negligence, emotional distress, interference with economic relations, and damages done to his potential NBA career, among other things.
For those who are yet unfamiliar with this story, it all began based on alleged incidents that are said to have occurred on March 9, 2014. Following a campus-wide celebration of an Oregon Ducks victory, a woman accused Austin, as well as two other basketball players, of rape. Just the tip of the iceberg, the players were allegedly denied due process, kicked off the team, and suspended from playing indefinitely, until he was eventually cleared in July of the same year. Furthermore, according to Austin, he was not only wrongfully accused, but he was also vehemently denied the right to defend himself.
Once considered one of, if not the most promising player in terms of a prospective career in the NBA, Austin and his attorney argue that his chances of ever making the league have been severely effected by the events surrounding his suspension. What’s more, given that Lane County prosecutors declined to officially charge the students due to the lack of substantial evidence, it can be further argued that the university jumped the gun on handing out such detrimental consequences to the players.
Following his dismissal from Oregon, Brandon Austin transferred to Northwest Florida State College. Continuing his career in basketball, coaches seem highly impressed with this player, who averages 15.8 point per game, and started in 35 of the games on a team that went on to win the junior college national title. Nevertheless, now that Austin no longer attends a division 1 school, his chances of ever reaching the NBA have been all but diminished. Given that the university settled a $800,000 lawsuit which also promised to cover housing, tuition, and other fees for the so-called victim for 4 years, it certainly calls to question why the accused, who have been exonerated, would not also receive some sort of financial compensation.
