Editor’s note: The report includes graphic details regarding the incident. Former Oregon basketball players Damyean Dotson, Dominic Artis and Brandon Austin were suspended from team activities following the release of a Eugene Police Department report detailing an alleged rape that involved the three men. For the full story, check out our topics page.
Update: A previous version of this story suggested that the University of Oregon was investigating the sexual assault allegations. The university has not announced an official investigation.
The Lane County District Attorney has dropped an investigation alleging Oregon basketball junior guard Damyean Dotson’s involvement in a rape case, released Monday afternoon in a report by the Eugene Police Department. Dominic Artis and Brandon Austin were also named in the report.
The investigation was dropped because of “insufficient evidence to prove charge(s) beyond a reasonable doubt,” according to the district attorney’s office report.
Dotson was the only named suspect in the 24-page report.
In the report, the alleged incident occurred on the morning of March 9 between 12-2 a.m. after Oregon beat Arizona 64-57 prior to the start of the Pac-12 tournament. The first incident occurred at former Oregon basketball player Johnathan Loyd’s house. After, the three players and the victim headed out of the house to wait for a taxi.
The victim tried to get away, but the victim said, “Brandon (Austin) was holding my arm.” An Oregon taxi arrived and proceeded to take them to an apartment where Dotson and Artis lived, where the second incident allegedly occurred.
University of Oregon President Michael Gottfredson released a statement on the allegations via spokeswoman Julie Brown on Monday evening.
“We are deeply concerned about information contained in the police report recently released by the Eugene Police Department. Federal laws that protect the privacy of all students preclude the university from commenting about students,” the statement said. “However, the university takes allegations of misconduct very seriously. In addition, a full range of services and support are offered to students, including those required by Title IX and others beyond the requirements of Title IX. The university has established internal conduct processes for handling misconduct allegations. At this point, we ask that you please respect these processes and student privacy.”
ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz released this statement regarding the alleged incident:
“As ASUO President, I believe it’s essential that the student body focuses on standing on the side of the survivor and all survivors of sexual violence, not on how this affects our team’s competitiveness next year. These deeply disturbing allegations undermine the hard work and emphasis that our community has made on sexual assault prevention.”
Earlier today the Oregon Athletic Department released a statement regarding the status of all three players.
“Dominic Artis, Brandon Austin and Damyean Dotson are not currently participating in any team activities,” the Oregon Athletic Department said.
The Emerald contacted the Athletic Department Monday night, but they had no further comment.
The announcements on the status of the players with the Oregon basketball team came within hours of each other early Monday morning.
Austin transferred to Oregon from Providence midway through the 2013-14 season after he was suspended due to a violation of the school’s Code of Conduct. It was then reported as the NCAA Tournament began that Austin was one of two basketball players from Providence being investigated for an alleged sexual assault.
In a University of Oregon statement that announced Austin joined the team in January, Altman said he had consulted with Providence coaches. He said character is “always something that we consider very strongly. But in talking with their coaching staff, we felt like this was something that was not of a serious nature and we’d be able to move on from there.”
According to Matt Prehm of 247sports, all three players have been kicked out of the Oregon basketball program.
Per a source Dominic Artis, Damyean Dotson,and Brandon Austin have been booted from the basketball program.
— Matt Prehm (@Prehmmr247) May 6, 2014
Jeff Goodman of ESPN reported initially that Artis was leaving the University of Oregon.
More college hoops news coming out of the state of Oregon. Ducks point guard Dominic Artis is leaving, sources told ESPN. Story coming.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) May 5, 2014
Artis played in 25 games for the Ducks last season and averaged 16.9 minutes per game. He averaged 4.1 points per game and 2.2 assists per game.
Artis, along with Ben Carter, who transferred to University of Nevada, Las Vegas after this past season, was suspended nine games last year due to an internal investigation by the university that discovered they sold team gear.
Dotson, a sophomore small forward for the Ducks last season, averaged 9.4 points per game. Earlier this year, Dotson was cited in February by the Eugene Police Department after using false identification in an attempt to get into Taylor’s Bar & Grill.
Austin never played a game for Oregon after transferring from Providence.
Ian Campbell, Victor Flores and Jonathan Hawthorne contributed reporting.
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