Coach K doesn’t kick players off his team lightly. Nor does he do it swiftly, it seems.
The Duke Chronicle reported junior guard Rasheed Sulaimon, who became Mike Krzyzewski’s first dismissal in 35 years as coach when Sulaimon was booted from the Blue Devils in late January, twice has been accused of sexual assault — and the basketball program’s honchos knew about it since March 2014.
The report says two female students separately alleged — in front of groups of other students at campus retreats — that they were sexually assaulted by Sulaimon, a 20-year-old Houston native. Neither woman pursued a complaint with the Office of Student Conduct, according to the student newspaper. Because of confidentiality rules, it is unknown whether the university initiated its own probe if administrators became aware of an alleged sexual assault, as legally obligated by Title IX.
Krzyzewski refused to comment on the report on Monday.
The report cites sources close to the women saying they were fearful of backlash from the Duke fan base if they pursued the allegations. Another source, who is described an an “affiliate” of the basketball program, invoked the hush-hushed Jameis Winston rape investigation and year-later scandal around the Florida State football program as potentially having the same scope.
“[It] would be the same from a fan base as large and as passionate as Duke’s,” the affiliate said.
When Sulaimon was dismissed from the team Jan. 29, Krzyzewski’s statement vaguely said: “Rasheed has been unable to consistently live up to the standards required to be a member of our program. It is a privilege to represent Duke University and with that privilege comes the responsibility to conduct oneself in a certain manner. After Rasheed repeatedly struggled to meet the necessary obligations, it became apparent that it was time to dismiss him from the program.”