The University of Oklahoma and football coach Lincoln Riley have both responded to social media posts from a woman who said she was abused by running back Kennedy Brooks.
In tweets posted Friday from an account that has since been turned private, Mallory Jech said she dated Brooks from June 2018 to March 2019, during which she was "used, cheated on, manipulated and abused both mentally AND physically."
Jech said she contacted the school's Title IX office during the course of the relationship, but decided not to cooperate. In May 2019, she said she again reached out to Title IX and this time described the abuse she suffered, but viewed the endeavor as fruitless.
"Title IX does nothing for the victim," Jech tweeted. "They make you believe they are doing their best to help you-their 'best' is changing his Fall schedule so I don't have to sit in 3 classes with the person who has permanently affected the way I continue to live my life."
Brooks was cleared by a Title IX probe in July. It is not known if that investigation is the same one Jech described in her tweets.
The university said in a statement Saturday that it "has been made aware of social media posts in reference to a recent Title IX investigation. Title IX reports and investigations are confidential in order to protect the privacy of both the individual reporter and the respondent involved in the investigation."
"All individuals who file a Title IX complaint are provided counseling with confidential advocates, accommodations that include academic scheduling, and referrals to other agencies for additional recourse including, but not limited to, local police departments," the university said.
Riley, entering his third season as the Sooners head coach, leaned on the school statement, but said, "(Abuse) is a topic we're extremely sensitive to. We have around the year education with our guys on that. It's something that we take extremely serious. So serious in fact that when there is an inquiry or process ongoing, we're proactive enough to remove our guys from the team before decisions have even been made. We take it as serious as we possibly can, and we let the people whose job that is do their job."
Brooks, who led Oklahoma in rushing last season, had been held out of all team activities this summer until the investigation ended in early July.