From the campus publication "Fountain Hopper"
https://mailchi.mp/fountainhopper/f...rner-lawyer-in-2015-legal-action?e=4275ca0b47
STANFORD FOOTBALL PLAYER ACCUSED OF RAPE IN 2016 NYT PIECE IDENTIFIED AS FOOTBALL CAPTAIN, FUTURE COLTS/NFL PLAYER
In a widely shared story published in December 2016, the New York Times reported a Stanford football player had been found guilty of sexual assault by a majority of Title IX panelists, but he had been exonerated because Stanford “had set an uncommonly high bar” to hold the accused responsible.
The New York Times did not name the football player accused of rape. However, documents obtained by The Fountain Hopper showthe player was Bobby Okereke, a star linebacker and football team captain who was drafted to the Indianapolis Colts in April this year.
New information obtained by FoHo sheds light on how Okereke was allowed to remain on campus and to continue playing on the football team throughout the Title IX case, facing few consequences on his rise to football superstardom; meanwhile, the woman who brought the case against him was left to deal with the aftermath alone.
Okereke did not respond to multiple requests for comment (though he did open them).
The Colts confirmed that they were aware of the Title IX case against Okereke as detailed in the NYT story. In a statement to FoHo, Steve Campbell, Colts head of communications, wrote that "Considering our extensive due diligence, we felt comfortable selecting him.”
The University could not confirm that Okereke was the subject of the NYT piece.
The NFL did not return multiple requests for comment (though they did open our email upwards of 50 times).
"MARRED BY PROCEDURAL ERRORS"
In February 2015, after a sophomore named Anna* met Okereke, then a freshman, at a fraternity party, the two returned to Anna’s dorm for an encounter that was initially consensual. (*Anna is a pseudonym.) However, Anna said, after she became uncomfortable and withdrew consent, Okereke raped her. Okereke did not return FoHo’s request for comment, but in 2015 he told Title IX panelists they had consensual sex, according to documents reviewed by FoHo. Soon after, Anna reported the incident, triggering a 9-month bureaucratic process that the NYT described as “marred by procedural errors.”
Facebook messages obtained by FoHo show that after the Title IX complaint was filed, Okereke tried to get one of Anna’s friends to say Anna had been blackout drunk on the night in question, in what Anna believes was an attempt to discredit her story. Anna said she was not blackout drunk, and her friend told Title IX that the conversation Okereke referred to never happened, and believed it to be an attempt "to put words in his mouth," according to documents from the case.
During the investigation, Stanford’s Title IX office issued a temporary no-contact order requiring Okereke to stay away from Anna while the case was ongoing. Anna told FoHo that Okereke repeatedly violated the order by refusing to leave parties she was attending. She tried to obtain a legal restraining order, but was unsuccessful. Lawyer Michael Armstrong represented Okereke in this case. (Armstrong came under fire in another rape case for invasive questions; the survivor blamed Armstrong for trying "to paint a picture of me, the face of girls gone wild, as if somehow that would make it so that I had this coming for me." Armstrong's client? Brock Turner.)
Okereke remained on the football team throughout the Title IX process, which spanned multiple academic years. In late 2016, the New York Times began investigating, and wrapped up its story immediately prior to the 2016 Sun Bowl. Before the story was published, head football coach David Shaw allegedly called the whole team to a mandatory meeting and told players not to comment on the Times article implicating their teammate, according to one football player who attended the meeting. The player told FoHo that most teammates in Okereke’s year knew the linebacker wasimplicated in a Title IX investigation, and he suspected after the meeting that the article was describing the same incident. (Shaw did not return a request for comment, but the University confirmed that the meeting occurred.)
Tipsters report that Stanford aggressively tried to kill the story; when that failed, the university lashed out at the New York Timesafter publication, claiming the article—which kept both accuser and accused anonymous—contained “many inaccuracies.” “Stanford cares deeply about ensuring that our students are treated fairly and equitably on our campus and throughout our process for dealing with sexual assault,” the University said in a statement; “Unfortunately, the New York Times story does not recognize this.”
The day after the story was published, Okereke played a crucial role in the 2016 Sun Bowl, executing “a huge quarterback sack.” In the following years, Okereke’s star continued to rise both on and off the field. By the 2018 season, his last season playing for Stanford, Okereke’s list of athletic accolades included 240 tackles, two all-Pac 12 honorable mentions, and team captain. Matt Doyle, Stanford’s Director of Football Operations, helped Okereke land a prestigious internship with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, he said in an interview. In August 2018, Okereke was namedquarterfinalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, a prestigious award presented to college football defensive players who most exemplify Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity. And in April 2019, Okereke’s career on the Stanford football team launched him into the NFL: the Indianapolis Colts selected him as the #89 pick in the 2019 draft.
Meanwhile, Anna oscillated in and out of school, taking multiple quarters off to cope with her PTSD. When on campus, Anna said that she “did my best to avoid him,” but was deeply distressed by the times she ran into Okereke. In the years following the rape, she said, the “only way I knew how to deal was to just turn it off,” and only began the process of PTSD treatment this past January, almost four years after she reported to Title IX.
Anna said the “trauma of having been raped and the trauma of having been let down by Stanford… [were] probably equally painful.” She believed that she “could have recovered from the rape and not had to live with PTSD for 4 years...had [Stanford] not exacerbated the trauma.” Through her experience with Okereke and Title IX, she lost trust in how Stanford handles “issues of justice on campus to favor money and reputation and athletics.”
“It’s one thing to get raped,” she told FoHo. “It’s another to have an entire university essentially say that what happened was okay.”
One of her biggest fears as she pursued her case against Okereke, she said, was “thinking he’d do this to another woman on campus.”
OUR TAKE
This is the story of how a broken 2015 process resulted in four years of trauma for the woman who reported Okereke to Title IX while Okereke moved on to enter the National Football League, helped at every turn by Stanford. Okereke was aided by a culture of silence, a culture of complicity, Brock Turner’s lawyer, the NFL, and Stanford itself.
A CALL FOR TIPS
This story is big and messy, and it's far from over. Heard something about Okereke? Heard something about Stanford Football? Heard something about Title IX? Drop us a note.
We aren't done here, and neither are you. (Yes, you.) $tanford protect$, and silence protects. Help us break that silence.
tips@fountainhopper.com // (775) 538-6477
https://mailchi.mp/fountainhopper/f...rner-lawyer-in-2015-legal-action?e=4275ca0b47
STANFORD FOOTBALL PLAYER ACCUSED OF RAPE IN 2016 NYT PIECE IDENTIFIED AS FOOTBALL CAPTAIN, FUTURE COLTS/NFL PLAYER
In a widely shared story published in December 2016, the New York Times reported a Stanford football player had been found guilty of sexual assault by a majority of Title IX panelists, but he had been exonerated because Stanford “had set an uncommonly high bar” to hold the accused responsible.
The New York Times did not name the football player accused of rape. However, documents obtained by The Fountain Hopper showthe player was Bobby Okereke, a star linebacker and football team captain who was drafted to the Indianapolis Colts in April this year.
New information obtained by FoHo sheds light on how Okereke was allowed to remain on campus and to continue playing on the football team throughout the Title IX case, facing few consequences on his rise to football superstardom; meanwhile, the woman who brought the case against him was left to deal with the aftermath alone.
Okereke did not respond to multiple requests for comment (though he did open them).
The Colts confirmed that they were aware of the Title IX case against Okereke as detailed in the NYT story. In a statement to FoHo, Steve Campbell, Colts head of communications, wrote that "Considering our extensive due diligence, we felt comfortable selecting him.”
The University could not confirm that Okereke was the subject of the NYT piece.
The NFL did not return multiple requests for comment (though they did open our email upwards of 50 times).
"MARRED BY PROCEDURAL ERRORS"
In February 2015, after a sophomore named Anna* met Okereke, then a freshman, at a fraternity party, the two returned to Anna’s dorm for an encounter that was initially consensual. (*Anna is a pseudonym.) However, Anna said, after she became uncomfortable and withdrew consent, Okereke raped her. Okereke did not return FoHo’s request for comment, but in 2015 he told Title IX panelists they had consensual sex, according to documents reviewed by FoHo. Soon after, Anna reported the incident, triggering a 9-month bureaucratic process that the NYT described as “marred by procedural errors.”
Facebook messages obtained by FoHo show that after the Title IX complaint was filed, Okereke tried to get one of Anna’s friends to say Anna had been blackout drunk on the night in question, in what Anna believes was an attempt to discredit her story. Anna said she was not blackout drunk, and her friend told Title IX that the conversation Okereke referred to never happened, and believed it to be an attempt "to put words in his mouth," according to documents from the case.
During the investigation, Stanford’s Title IX office issued a temporary no-contact order requiring Okereke to stay away from Anna while the case was ongoing. Anna told FoHo that Okereke repeatedly violated the order by refusing to leave parties she was attending. She tried to obtain a legal restraining order, but was unsuccessful. Lawyer Michael Armstrong represented Okereke in this case. (Armstrong came under fire in another rape case for invasive questions; the survivor blamed Armstrong for trying "to paint a picture of me, the face of girls gone wild, as if somehow that would make it so that I had this coming for me." Armstrong's client? Brock Turner.)
Okereke remained on the football team throughout the Title IX process, which spanned multiple academic years. In late 2016, the New York Times began investigating, and wrapped up its story immediately prior to the 2016 Sun Bowl. Before the story was published, head football coach David Shaw allegedly called the whole team to a mandatory meeting and told players not to comment on the Times article implicating their teammate, according to one football player who attended the meeting. The player told FoHo that most teammates in Okereke’s year knew the linebacker wasimplicated in a Title IX investigation, and he suspected after the meeting that the article was describing the same incident. (Shaw did not return a request for comment, but the University confirmed that the meeting occurred.)
Tipsters report that Stanford aggressively tried to kill the story; when that failed, the university lashed out at the New York Timesafter publication, claiming the article—which kept both accuser and accused anonymous—contained “many inaccuracies.” “Stanford cares deeply about ensuring that our students are treated fairly and equitably on our campus and throughout our process for dealing with sexual assault,” the University said in a statement; “Unfortunately, the New York Times story does not recognize this.”
The day after the story was published, Okereke played a crucial role in the 2016 Sun Bowl, executing “a huge quarterback sack.” In the following years, Okereke’s star continued to rise both on and off the field. By the 2018 season, his last season playing for Stanford, Okereke’s list of athletic accolades included 240 tackles, two all-Pac 12 honorable mentions, and team captain. Matt Doyle, Stanford’s Director of Football Operations, helped Okereke land a prestigious internship with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, he said in an interview. In August 2018, Okereke was namedquarterfinalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, a prestigious award presented to college football defensive players who most exemplify Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity. And in April 2019, Okereke’s career on the Stanford football team launched him into the NFL: the Indianapolis Colts selected him as the #89 pick in the 2019 draft.
Meanwhile, Anna oscillated in and out of school, taking multiple quarters off to cope with her PTSD. When on campus, Anna said that she “did my best to avoid him,” but was deeply distressed by the times she ran into Okereke. In the years following the rape, she said, the “only way I knew how to deal was to just turn it off,” and only began the process of PTSD treatment this past January, almost four years after she reported to Title IX.
Anna said the “trauma of having been raped and the trauma of having been let down by Stanford… [were] probably equally painful.” She believed that she “could have recovered from the rape and not had to live with PTSD for 4 years...had [Stanford] not exacerbated the trauma.” Through her experience with Okereke and Title IX, she lost trust in how Stanford handles “issues of justice on campus to favor money and reputation and athletics.”
“It’s one thing to get raped,” she told FoHo. “It’s another to have an entire university essentially say that what happened was okay.”
One of her biggest fears as she pursued her case against Okereke, she said, was “thinking he’d do this to another woman on campus.”
OUR TAKE
This is the story of how a broken 2015 process resulted in four years of trauma for the woman who reported Okereke to Title IX while Okereke moved on to enter the National Football League, helped at every turn by Stanford. Okereke was aided by a culture of silence, a culture of complicity, Brock Turner’s lawyer, the NFL, and Stanford itself.
A CALL FOR TIPS
This story is big and messy, and it's far from over. Heard something about Okereke? Heard something about Stanford Football? Heard something about Title IX? Drop us a note.
We aren't done here, and neither are you. (Yes, you.) $tanford protect$, and silence protects. Help us break that silence.
tips@fountainhopper.com // (775) 538-6477
