Logan, Utah – Utah State University (USU) has settled with a former member of its football team who allegedly experienced retaliation by his teammates and coaches for sending recordings of the campus police chief and a local city police chief making comments that indicated they were biased against rape victims.
The former player, Patrick Maddox, will be paid $150,000. The settlement was reached on July 12, reports ABC4.
Back in 2021, Maddox sent video recordings to the media of former USU Police Chief Earl Morris implying to USU football players that women who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are inclined to feel regret about premarital sex due to their religious beliefs, compelling them to tell religious leaders that any sexual contact was non-consensual.
“… they may have sex with you, but then they’re going to go talk to their minister, their bishop, priest, whatever you want to call it,” Morris said in the recording.
Morris later resigned over the recordings.
In that same meeting, Logan Police Chief Gary Jensen asked the team to “Help us help you,” urging players to work with his officers. Jenson said if they got in trouble, they could text him “asking for a friend.”
The comments were made in response to the 2019 rape by a USU football player of Maddox’s friend, Kaytri Flint. The attacker was allowed to remain on the football team despite the charges. Flint sued USU for mishandling her case and settled with the university last year for $500,000.
According to Maddox’s lawsuit, he sued USU after his coaches and teammates retaliated against him for speaking out, forcing him to leave the team. The lawsuit alleges that after he sent the videos to support Flint, the coaches encouraged a dangerous environment. Additionally, one coach allegedly told Maddox he wouldn’t be getting any more football scholarships and that the hostile environment would continue so that Maddox would be forced to leave the team.
Although USU settled the case, it disputes Maddox’s allegations, saying the school prohibits retaliation against those who report sexual misconduct.
