Hoopers get second shot at suit over assaults by coach’s husband

The 10th Circuit reversed summary judgment for Eastern New Mexico University, finding the school could have prevented sexual assaults by the husband of its women's basketball coach, who allegedly assaulted multiple freshman players during mandatory 'treatment' sessions between January and October 2022. The panel held the university and its athletic director could be liable for deliberate indifference even though the husband, Glen de los Reyes, was never formally an employee.

Court documents describe players forced into private sessions with de los Reyes before mandatory team dinners at his home, with one plaintiff alleging the coach withheld her car keys until she agreed to 'treatment.' An athletic trainer reported an assault to athletic director Paul Weir in spring 2022, but the opinion says he took no action; when players reported assaults that October, Weir met with de los Reyes and reportedly accepted his explanation before offering to make him an official volunteer.

De los Reyes told Weir he had recorded video of the sessions without the athletes' consent to guard against misconduct claims; it remains unclear whether anyone at the university reviewed that footage. He was not banned from campus until February 2023.

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