A former women’s basketball player at the University of Nebraska is suing the program for not stepping in and taking appropriate action when her relationship with an assistant coach became public.
Ashley Scoggin filed a civil lawsuit sharing how her relationship with then-associate head coach Chuck Love turned sexual and how she feared retaliation if she refused to participate.
She is suing current head coach Amy Williams and athletic director Trev Alberts, and has named Love and the university’s board of regents as defendants. Williams and Alberts are accused of not providing training or policies that prohibit staff members from having a sexual relationship with athletes.
In 2021, Scoggin had an internship with the athletic department at Nebraska after sharing that she would like to coach in the future, according to the suit. Love invited her to work at a table in his office, and she accepted, the suit says. It goes on to allege that Love asked Scoggin personal questions, and invited her to go out for drinks. After declining multiple times, she accepted an invitation, the lawsuit states. Love kissed Scoggins and asked, “Have you ever done anything with a coach before?” according to the suit.
Also from the suit: Before a game against Penn State in February of 2022, team members and staff devised a plan to record Scoggin in Love’s hotel room. Two members confronted Scoggin, and brought the video they took to Williams, which painted Scoggin as the person who initiated the relationship. Once they went back to Nebraska, Williams removed her from the team.
“Williams cast Ashley in the role of a seducer and a liar,” the lawsuit said. “She allowed the players to berate and accuse Ashley for hours. She did not redirect or counsel the players that what they had seen may be the result of an abuse of power by her associate head coach.”
Scoggin played two seasons for the Cornhuskers from 2020-22. She was dismissed from the team the same day Love was suspended. Scoggin transferred to UNLV, where she currently plays.
“It’s a very troubling and serious subject of predatory coaches that pursue sexual relationships with student-athletes,” Scoggin’s attorney Maren Chaloupka said to ESPN. “There’s an enormous imbalance of power between the professional coach and student-athletes. This is something that was well-known in 2022. Certainly, Division I universities that operate at the top level are well aware of the harm that comes from this kind of a predatory situation, and there’s a strong onus on the university and on the coaches to prevent this from happening and, heaven forbid it does happen, to address it correctly.”
University spokesperson Melissa Lee issued a statement noting that the school was made aware of the lawsuit.
As of this writing, Williams and Love have not commented on the suit.
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