Haverford College Student Sues School for False Rape Rumor Circulation

January 27, 2023

PHILADELPHIA, PA - A senior at Haverford College is suing the school for what he claims was a false rape rumor that circulated on campus. According to the lawsuit, which was filed in Philadelphia's federal court under the pseudonym John Doe, the student's problems began in February 2022 when a rumor started to spread that he had raped a female student. Doe claims that he never had any physical contact with the student in question.

The rumor spread quickly on social media among students and in the tight-knit group of players on one of Haverford College's varsity sports teams, where Doe was a co-captain. He alleges that other players on the team, including another co-captain, took the rumor to the coach in an effort to get him kicked off of the team. The other captains of the team soon confronted Doe directly with the accusation, but, says the suit, “They provided no specificity whatsoever with regard to the identity of the purported victim, the date, the timeframe, the place, the context, or any other detail” about the alleged assault, which he denied to them. The players later told him in writing that they didn’t want him on the team.

Title IX Investigation

Doe went to the coach, who explained that he was a mandatory Title IX reporter and that he had to step away from the team until the college completed a Title IX investigation. A couple of weeks went by, and Doe heard nothing, so he reached out to Haverford College's Title IX coordinator. According to the suit, the Title IX coordinator told him that the coach had reported the allegation but that the office had no actual complaint against him – no victim or witness claiming he did what the rumor said he did. The suit alleges that the Title IX coordinator “explicitly advised” Doe that she hadn’t seen anything that would warrant a formal investigation and that the college “had no basis to impose any sanctions” against him, that he was, in the words of the suit, “a student in good standing.”

Despite this, Doe claims the coach and the co-captains wouldn't let him back on the team. He argues that the decision to keep him off of the team essentially amounted to a substantiation of the rumor, because students viewed it as a punishment for something he did wrong. Doe continues to insist that he has done nothing wrong and that the school administration has done nothing to help him.

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Doe is suing the school for failure to follow Title IX protocols, defamation, and the intentional infliction of emotional distress. The suit seeks unspecified damages. A spokesperson for Haverford College said that the school does not comment on pending litigation. This case highlights the importance of proper Title IX protocols and the potential harm that can come from the spread of false rumors. It is important for schools to take all allegations seriously, but also to ensure that due process is followed and that the rights of all parties involved are protected.