Reggie Lynch Found Responsible for Second Sexual Assault, Still Practicing With Minnesota

The university's Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action has recommended that Lynch be expelled.

Reggie Lynch has been accused of sexual assault by three women and has been found to be at fault in two of those instances, but the senior center is still practicing with Minnesota, reports the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

The first allegation against Lynch dates to April 7, 2016, and he is accused of assaulting a woman at an off-campus location. Lynch is also accused of assaulting another woman at a campus dorm on April 28, 2016, three weeks after the first incident allegedly took place. Neither accuser notified police or the school in the immediate aftermath of the assault, but the EOAA launched investigations into both accusations in October. On Jan. 4, the EOAA notified both accusers that Lynch had been found responsible of sexual misconduct in both instances and recommended he be suspended from the university and banned from campus until Aug. 1, 2020. He was suspended from appearing in games by athletic director Mark Coyle on Jan. 5. 

Lynch is currently appealing the EOAA's findings to the school's Sexual Misconduct Subcommittee, which can either affirm or negate the EOAA's suggestion, according to the Star-Tribune. The appeal process is what is allowing Lynch to remain on campus.

Mutliple outlets reported that Lynch had been found responsible for misconduct in connection with the April 28 incident, but the one from three weeks earlier only became public knowledge on Tuesday, when the Star-Tribune obtained a complaint detailing it.

Lynch, who transferred to Minnesota from Illinois State following the 2014-15 season, was previously arrested after Kayla Bollingmo accused him of assaulting her in his dorm room. Police did not pursue the case due to a lack of evidence, and Lynch was found not to have violated the school's student conduct code. 

Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle and basketball coach Rich Pitino have said that Lynch is still a member of the team and can still practice, though he is not allowed to play in games. Pitino confirmed that Lynch was at practice on Monday—even after he was found responsible for the second assault. 

"He was there," Pitino said, per the Star-Tribune. "It was more of a short (practice) because we're so banged up right now, but he is there if need be with certain things."

Lynch, who set the school record for blocks in a single season in 2016-17, last appeared for the Gophers in a Jan. 3 win over Illinois. That was one day before the EOAA notified his accusers that he'd been found responsible for two separate sexual misconduct incidents. For the season, Lynch is averaging 10.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.1 blocks.