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Lawsuit Alleges Three Michigan State Players Raped A Woman Shortly After 2015 Final Four

The woman suing Michigan State claims the university told her information to deter her from reporting the incident to police.

A woman is suing Michigan State, alleging the university talked her out of reporting to police about an alleged rape involving three members of the basketball team, according to Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan Southern Division alleges the Michigan State University Counseling Center did not advise or inform the woman of all the possible legal or medical resources available to her after she informed a counselor of the alleged incident, according to the Free Press.

Additionally, according to the Free Press, the lawsuit says another person was brought into the room with the woman and a counselor after the woman said it was basketball players who allegedly raped her, and from there, MSUCC staffers, "made it clear to the Plaintiff that if she chose to notify the police, she faced an uphill battle that would create anxiety and unwanted media attention and publicity as had happened with many other female students who were sexually assaulted by well-known athletes."

The lawsuit alleges three unnamed members of the 2014-15 Spartans were at Harper's Bar on the night of April 11, 2015, when they convinced the then-18-year-old woman to come with them to an off-campus apartment for a party, according to the Free Press. The lawsuit also says the woman believes she may have been drugged, because she did not have much to drink before leaving with the players, but was having trouble holding her glass and after arriving at the apartment and realizing there was no party going on, she could not control her thumbs while trying to send a text message, according to the Free Press.

According to the Free Press, the lawsuit says the woman was feeling traumatized and depressed during October 2015 and had to withdraw from classes. The lawsuit adds that university officials did not offer her academic assistance or refer her to the Title IX office, and when she spoke to MSUCC on April 20, 2015 about the alleged rape, she was not directed to get a physical exam, medical treatment, an STD or pregnancy test and was not notified of her federal Title IX rights, according the Free Press.

Michigan State went 27-12 that season, finishing third in the Big Ten and reaching the Final Four as a 7-seed in the East Region before getting knocked out of the tournament by eventual-national champion Duke.