Another Colorado Football Team Rape Claim Surfaces

ASSOCIATED PRESS (http://www.ap.org/)

Friday February 20, 2004

Police said Thursday they are investigating whether a woman was raped by a University of Colorado football player after leaving a bar in 2002 -- the seventh allegation of its kind to surface since 1997.

"This was a particularly brutal case," Boulder, Colo., Police Chief Mark Beckner said. The alleged victim said she was sodomized.

The university football program is at the center of a scandal concerning accusations that recruits were lured to Boulder with sex and alcohol, and which may end up costing coach Gary Barnett his job.

Barnett was put on paid leave late Wednesday for criticizing the ability of former placekicker Katie Hnida after she said she had been raped by a teammate in 2000. He called her an "awful" and "terrible" player.

Appearing on CNN's "Larry King Live" Thursday night, Barnett conceded he probably shouldn't have answered a reporter's question about Hnida's ability as a player.

"I understand how it looked. I took a question maybe I shouldn't have taken," Barnett said. "I was trying to communicate that we cared about Katie, that we were going to any extent we could to help her achieve her dream of being a college football kicker."

Barnett will remain on leave while a special committee investigates the Hnida case and lawsuits by three women who say they were assaulted by players and high school recruits during or after an off-campus party in 2001. The committee's first meeting will be March 2.

In the latest case, the woman told police she met two men at a bar the night of Aug. 23, 2002, but had trouble remembering what happened after leaving for her apartment. She told police "she may have been drugged." The woman reported a bump on her forehead and bleeding from what she told police was a sexual assault.

Beckner said the alleged victim had difficulty identifying a suspect, but authorities eventually focused on two football players. DNA tests ruled out one as a suspect, while tests on the second player's sample haven't been completed, he said.

The case has not yet been presented to the district attorney's office for review.

In the latest case, the woman told police she met two men at a bar the night of Aug. 23, 2002, but had trouble remembering what happened after leaving for her apartment. She told police "she may have been drugged." The woman reported a bump on her forehead and bleeding from what she told police was a sexual assault.


Hmm, I suppose no one told that woman the alcohol in the liquor she was drinking is a drug.

So she walks out of the bar drunk. Falls down, and bumbs her head. Just an alternative hypothesis since she can't remember anything.

Originally posted by I am Him
Hmm, I suppose no one told that woman the alcohol in the liquor she was drinking is a drug.

So she walks out of the bar drunk. Falls down, and bumbs her head. Just an alternative hypothesis since she can't remember anything.

It could've been a date rape drug as well. Someone tryed to put a powdery substance in my friend's drink last year. Luckily for her, she witnessed it, and the guy was charged.

Wonder why they are coming forward now when they should had come forward a second the rape and sexual abuse occured!! Were they afraid that it might tarnished the players' reputations and/or the whole entire school!!

Originally posted by I am Him
Hmm, I suppose no one told that woman the alcohol in the liquor she was drinking is a drug.

So she walks out of the bar drunk. Falls down, and bumbs her head. Just an alternative hypothesis since she can't remember anything. That is a ridiculous thing to say. The article doesn't give the details but I think it is highly unlikely that the police would be taking this seriously if the only evidence was a bump on the head. In fact, they have stated they have DNA evidence. Obviously there was other evidence that gave this woman reason to think she had been raped/sodomized or the subject would have not come up. Just because she can't remember, doesn't mean she wasn't raped!

That's why date rape drugs are so dangerous. Not only do they make women defenseless against rape but then the woman can't remember anything so the guy gets away with it. That's terrible!

Originally posted by EricIdlefan
Wonder why they are coming forward now when they should had come forward a second the rape and sexual abuse occured!! Were they afraid that it might tarnished the players' reputations and/or the whole entire school!! Actually, they are not just coming forward now. This particular woman went to the police when the rape occurred. In almost all the cases (except the female kicker/teammember) the women did come forward initially. It only seems like they are just coming forward now because it is just now getting out to the media.

I think the women had bigger things to be worried about than tarnishing the players' reputations but certainly the school and football program would be worried about that and would not want that info to be public knowledge.