Rasheed Sulaimon was terminated as a member of the Duke Blue Devils storied men's basketball program on Jan. 29, 2015 - a truly eye-opening fact considering Sulaimon is the first player dismissed by Mike Krzyzewski in his 35 seasons as head coach of the Blue Devils.
At the time of his release from the team, Krzyzewski said in a statement released by the university that the reason for Sulaimon's dismissal was the fact that he "repeatedly struggled to meet the necessary obligations."
No further explanation was offered.
Now, we may have a clearer reason why Sulaimon was dismissed.
A recent report from The Duke Chronicle, Duke University's student newspaper, alleges that the dismissal in fact stems from sexual assault allegations from two female Duke students against Sulaimon, which the athletic program had been aware of for nearly an entire year prior to his actual removal from the team.
"Multiple sources close to the situation have confirmed that members of the athletic department were made aware of the allegations as early as March 2014," writes Emma Baccellieri and Nick Martin of The Chronicle.
Matt Plizga, Duke Men's basketball sports information director, told The Chronicle at the time of Sulaimon's dismissal that it stemmed from a number of incidents deemed to be "detrimental to the program."
If The Chronicle's report is accurate, Sulaimon's dismissal was based on two separate incidents involving Sulaimon and female Duke students.
"Separate allegations of sexual assault by Sulaimon came from two female students in the 2013-14 academic year. Both students voiced allegations publicly, but neither filed a complaint through the Office of Student Conduct or took legal action through the Durham Police Department. The students declined to discuss their allegations with The Chronicle."
The students, during separate Common Ground events at the university - Common Ground is a "four-day retreat in which students discuss identity-including issues involving race, socioeconomic status, gender and sexuality-through interaction with other participants, discussion groups and personal narratives," held once a semester and involving 56 students selected from a student applicant pool, per The Chronicle - told fellow members of the retreat that Sulaimon had sexually assaulted them.
An "anonymous affiliate" of the Duke program heard of the allegations and began speaking to both girls, eventually bringing the case to the attention of a team psychologist in March 2014.
The allegations were then brought to Krzyzewski and Duke assistant coaches Jon Scheyer and Nate James, as well as associate head coach Jeff Capel.
Athletic administrators were then told - Mike Cragg, Duke's deputy director of athletics and operations; Director of Basketball Operations David Bradley; Kevin White, vice president and director of athletics and Sue Wasiolek, assistant vice president of student affairs and dean of students.
"Nothing happened after months and months of talking about [the sexual assault allegations]," the anonymous affiliate said, per The Chronicle. "The University administration knew. Kevin White knew, Mike Cragg knew."
The two young women reportedly feared a backlash from the Duke community if they stepped forward with the allegations, according to The Chronicle's report.
