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Jack Montague during a game against Duke in November 2015. (Grant Halverson/Getty)
The senior captain of Yale’s men’s basketball team was expelled from the university after a fellow student accused him of sexually assaulting her, his attorney says.
Jack Montague, 22, was expelled February 10 after a panel found him culpable of the student’s allegations, the New Haven Register reports.
The Bulldogs won the Ivy League championship this season and upset Baylor Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Victim Claimed She Was Sexually Assaulted in 2014
The circumstances surrounding Jack Montague’s dismissal from Yale University remained unclear for several weeks. The university would not release details, saying it does not comment on specific disciplinary cases. Rumors began to spread on campus that Montague had been accused of rape, according to the New Haven Register and the Yale Daily News.
“We have strict orders from our lawyers,” Jim Montague, Jack’s father, told the Register. “Soon enough, I’d love to tell the other side of the story. It’s ridiculous, why he’s expelled. It’s probably going to set some sort of precedent. We’re trying to do things the gentleman’s way, so we’re keeping things close-knit. But you guys will get a story.”
On March 14, a day after the Bulldogs found out they will be playing Baylor in the NCAA Tournament, Montague’s attorney, Max Stern, issued a statement shedding some light on the case.
Stern says the victim claimed she and Montague slept together in Montague’s room on four occasions in the Fall of 2014:
– On the first occasion, the woman joined Jack in bed and stayed the night.
– On the second occasion, she entered his bed voluntarily, removed all of her clothes and, during the night, woke him to perform oral sex.
– On the third occasion, she joined him in bed, voluntarily took off all her clothing, and they had sexual intercourse by consent.
– On the fourth occasion, she joined him in bed, voluntarily removed all of her clothes, and they had sexual intercourse. Then they got up, left the room and went separate ways. Later that same night, she reached out to him to meet up, then returned to his room voluntarily, and spent the rest of the night in his bed with him.
Stern said the fourth incident led to the sexual assault complaint, which was filed by a Title IX coordinator a year after the incident after the woman reported it to the coordinator.
A University-Wide Committee decided to believe the woman by a “preponderance of the evidence,” Stern said.
“We believe that it defies logic and common sense that a woman would seek to re-connect and get back into bed with a man who she says forced her to have unwanted sex just hours earlier. And yet the Dean accepted this conclusion and ordered Jack to be expelled. His decision was then upheld by the Provost,” Stern said in the statement.
A New Haven Police spokesman has said there is no criminal investigation into the allegations.
The victim has not commented.
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2. Montague Plans to Sue Yale Over His Expulsion & His Lawyer Says He Is a ‘Whipping Boy’ for the School’s Sex Assault Issues
Montague plans to sue Yale University over his expulsion, his attorney said in a statement.
“We strongly believe that the decision to expel Jack Montague was wrong, unfairly determined, arbitrary, and excessive by any rational measure. Yale has been oblivious to the catastrophic and irreparable damage resulting from these allegations and determinations,” attorney Max Stern said. “The expulsion not only deprives Jack of the degree which he was only three months short of earning, but has simultaneously destroyed both his educational and basketball careers.”
Stern added that “we cannot help but think it not coincidental that the decision by Yale officials to seek expulsion of the captain of its basketball team followed by little more than a month the report of the Association of American Universities (AAU) which was highly critical of the incidence of sexual assault on the Yale campus, and the Yale President’s promise, in response, to ‘redouble our efforts.’ From what appears, Jack has been pilloried as a ‘whipping boy’ for a campus problem that has galvanized national attention.”
The university said in a statement to Jezebel:
Yale’s procedures for addressing allegations of sexual misconduct are thorough and fair: The allegations are investigated by an impartial fact finder, heard by five trained members of the Yale community, and decided by the accused student’s dean. Throughout the process, all parties have advisors, which can be legal counsel, and they can appeal a decision.
Where cases involve judgments about the witnesses’ credibility, all of the available corroborating or contradictory information is carefully weighed to determine who is telling the truth.
One out of five formal sexual misconduct hearings ends without a finding against the accused, and, in two out of five cases, the accused student receives a reprimand or probation. Only about one out of 10 cases ends in expulsion, and the decision to expel a student is made only after the most careful consideration, based on the facts and, when appropriate, disciplinary history.
The university also reiterated its statement that it does not comment on specific cases of student discipline.
3. His Teammates Wore T-Shirts & Wristbands to Support Him After He Was Kicked Out
Montague’s former teammates stoked the controversy over his expulsion after wearing warm-up T-shirts and wrist bands to support him before a game. The shirts had Yale spelled backwards on the front and Montague’s nickname, “Gucci,” on the back.
The shirts were worn before Yale’s victory over Harvard in a nationally televised game, according to the Yale Daily News.
“‘Yale’ spelled backwards wasn’t to make a statement. It’s just because Yale is a brand and there was a copyright,” senior forward Justin Sears told the newspaper. “It was just convenient, at the last minute. Everyone on the team supported it and wanted to show our support for Jack.”
Sears told the YDN, “We just wanted to make it as clear as possible that Jack is one of our brothers. He’s family to us and we miss him.”
4. The University Apologized After Posters Appeared on Campus Accusing the Team of ‘Supporting a Rapist’
After the teammates showed support for Montague, posters began to appear on campus accusing the team of “supporting a rapist.”
According to Jezebel, other posters said, “This poster will probably be torn down by the men’s basketball team. Stop silencing women.” Another poster said, “‘Teammate’ ‘Family’ ‘Brother’ ‘Rapist.'”
The university later apologized.
“Yale Men’s Basketball fully supports a healthy, safe and respectful campus climate where all students can flourish,” Yale said in a statement.
The team also issued a statement, saying, “”Our recent actions to show our support for one of our former teammates were not intended to suggest otherwise, but we understand that to many students they did. As student representatives of Yale we hope to use our positions on and off the court in a way that can make everyone proud.”
On March 14, Max Stern, Montague’s attorney, said his client was never accused of rape.
“Last week, the media widely reported on statements made by Yale students and posters put up on campus which condemned Jack Montague directly as the named culprit and as a rapist, thus slandering him with this accusation,” Stern said. “He was never accused of rape and Yale took no steps to correct these actions. As a result, Mr. Montague has no choice but to correct the record.”
5. Montague Is a Tennessee Native & Was a Key Player for the Bulldogs Ivy League-Championship Winning Team
Montague is originally from Brentwood, Tennessee. He was a starter for two seasons and was the team’s fourth-leading scorer this year before he was dismissed from the team.
According to his profile on Yale’s website, he starred at Brentwood High School and was “involved in highschool Younglife, a fellowship that bring youth closer to Jesus helping them grow in their faith, and was a camp leader.”
He gained national attention last season when he made a game-winning 3-pointer against UConn.
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