Gopher hoops player Lynch suspended over sex misconduct
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Updated 2 p.m. | Posted 9:46 a.m.
University of Minnesota basketball player Reggie Lynch has been suspended from athletic competition by the school following a sexual misconduct investigation.
An initial report on the investigation by the University of Minnesota says a woman reported an alleged sexual assault by a student in a dorm on April 28, 2016. The accuser identified that student as Lynch.
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The report, obtained by MPR News, found that Lynch violated the school's sexual misconduct policy and university rules. It concludes that Lynch should be suspended until August 2020.
Lynch is immediately suspended from athletic competition and will not play in Saturday's game against Indiana University, but he remains a member of the basketball team and can participate in practices, university athletics director Mark Coyle told reporters Friday morning.
Coyle declined to give any other details on Lynch's status but urged the public to "trust the procedures that we have in place" in dealing with issues involving student athletes and said it was "important we provide due process."
Lynch's suspension as a student is expected to take effect on Tuesday. The Star Tribune, though, reports that Lynch plans to appeal the decision, which would bring the issue before a panel at the university.
Lynch was arrested on suspicion of "criminal sexual conduct" in 2016 but ultimately not charged by the Hennepin County Attorney's office and was cleared by a school investigation, which said they had insufficient evidence for a case.
That incident was separate from the one being investigated by the university.
While Coyle told reporters that the university "appropriately and swiftly" handles any allegations involving students, critics on Friday blasted the university for not doing enough to respond to the allegations against Lynch.
Critics included Abby Honold, a Minnesota woman who was raped by a fellow University of Minnesota student in 2014 and has championed legislation that would establish federal grants for trauma-informed training for law enforcement and help guide how investigators and first responders interview victims.
"Gopher athletics knew about Reggie Lynch & his behavior from the beginning. I literally sat them down last year & brought it to their attention even further," Honold wrote on Twitter. "They know there are multiple victims. They knew about this active report. They still did nothing."