YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio university on Friday appealed a judge’s decision that would allow a man convicted of rape as a teen in a highly publicized case to be temporarily reinstated on the university football team.
Ma’lik Richmond sued Youngstown State University earlier this week after the school allowed him to join the football team as a walk-on and then told him he couldn’t play this season. He’s seeking reinstatement to the team’s active roster along with attorney fees and an unspecified amount of damages.
Late Thursday, federal Judge Benita Pearson issued a temporary order against, allowing him to play football again for the next 14 days, including a game on Saturday. She scheduled a preliminary hearing for Sept. 28.
One of Richmond’s attorneys, Susan Stone, said Thursday they are pleased with the decision.
“Ma’lik has been working very, very hard, practicing every day, and he’s excited about Saturday’s game,” she said.
The university appealed Pearson’s order Friday morning.
During Thursday’s hearing, Stone argued the university was contractually obliged to allow Richmond to play so long as he followed university rules. She said the university hurt Richmond’s football career prospects by curtailing his exposure to professional scouts at the peak of his abilities, and that the order was necessary to prevent Richmond from losing any more playing time.
An attorney representing the university, Christina Corl, countered that the university didn’t violate any contractual obligations to Richmond because he didn’t take advantage of a school grievance procedure before filing his lawsuit.
Richmond, 21, served about 10 months in a juvenile prison after he and a Steubenville High School teammate were convicted in 2013 of raping a 16-year-old girl during an alcohol-fueled party. The case brought international attention and led to allegations of a cover-up to protect Steubenville’s storied football team.
He was released in January 2014. He attended colleges in West Virginia and Pennsylvania before transferring to Youngstown State in the fall of 2016 as a sophomore.
Richmond and his legal guardians spoke with Youngstown State President Jim Tressel and football coach Bo Pelini about him joining the team, and both were supportive, the lawsuit says. Richmond made the team as walk-on defensive end in January.
After Pelini made his decision public, a female student at Youngstown State began circulating a petition calling for the school to not allow Richmond to play football.
Youngstown State subsequently issued a statement in a universitywide email saying the school takes sexual assault very seriously, and that Richmond would be allowed to continue practicing with the team but would lose a year of eligibility.
Richmond quit the team after learning of the email.
Richmond’s father, 51-year-old Nathaniel Richmond, was shot and killed Aug. 21 in Steubenville by a probation officer. Authorities said Richmond shot at a judge who returned fire before the probation officer killed Richmond.
