Hunter
05/28/21
The federal lawsuit filed by a group of former University of Iowa football players accusing members of the Athletic Department staff of racial discrimination and harassment has a trial date.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that US District Judge Stephanie Rose set trial for May 6th through the 18th, 2023. Court documents say that a court-sponsored settlement conference is not necessary at this time, but the two sides could reach a settlement before trial.
Earlier this month, Judge Rose dropped Athletic Director Gary Barta and interim strength and conditioning coach Raimond Braithwaite as defendants entirely, and dropped Head Coach Kirk Ferentz from one of two counts. The remaining other defendants are Brian Ferentz, former conditioning coach Chris Doyle, the University of Iowa, and the State Board of Regents.
The original group of 13 plaintiffs is down to 7. They include Akrum Wadley, Jonathan Parker, Marcel Joly, Aaron Mends, Darian Cooper, Brandon Simon, and Javon Foy.
The two counts moving forward are the one accusing the Hawkeye football program of creating a racially hostile environment, and the other claiming Brian Ferentz and Chris Doyle regularly used verbal abuse and intentionally discriminated against the players. Last year, the UI placed Doyle on leave before eventually making a $1.1 million separation agreement with him.