The University of Minnesota has reached a $500,000 settlement with a woman who said she was gang raped by several Gophers football players in September 2016, according to documents obtained by the St. Paul Pioneer Press through an open records request.
Minnesota officials redacted the woman's name in the settlement documents, according to the Pioneer Press. A source confirmed to ESPN that it is the former student who reported the gang rape.
The agreement was signed in March, according to the report, and the unidentified former student "believes that the University's Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action office, the Office for Community Standards, and the Student Sexual Misconduct Subcommittee appropriately conducted the disciplinary process following her report of sexual misconduct, but she believes and has claimed that the University violated her rights relating to events occurring prior to Fall 2016 and as a result, has suffered physical injuries."
In the agreement, according to the Pioneer Press, the university "denies that the events prior to Fall 2016 give rise to any legal responsibilities of the University to Claimant for the Incident."
The Hennepin County attorney's office ruled in October 2016 that it wouldn't pursue criminal charges against the players because of lack of physical evidence.
In December 2016, the university indefinitely suspended 10 members of the football team for their alleged roles in the reported gang rape. At the time, then-Minnesota president Eric Kaler said the punishment was based on the university's "values," even though the players were never criminally charged.
After the discipline was announced, the Gophers threatened to boycott the upcoming Holiday Bowl before then deciding to play. Head coach Tracy Claeys, who supported the players' boycott, was fired a week after the game.
Four students were eventually expelled, while one was cleared through appeals.
In June 2018, nine former Minnesota football players sued the university for gender and racial discrimination, accusing the school of using them as "scapegoats" during the gang rape investigation. The lawsuit sought monetary damages and the restoration of the players' school records.
A U.S. District Court judge dismissed the players' lawsuit in June 2019, ruling they offered no evidence showing their rights were violated because of pressure to discipline sexual offenders on campus.