Former Nebraska women’s basketball player sues school and staff after a coach-initiated inappropriate relationship

The GIST: News broke Monday that former Nebraska women’s basketball player and current UNLV guard Ashley Scoggin is suing Nebraska’s board of regents as well as current and former athletic department staff for inappropriate actions taken after ex-assistant coach Chuck Love allegedly groomed and sexually abused her from 2021 to 2022. Horrifying.

• Along with Love, current Nebraska HC Amy Williams and athletic director Trev Alberts are also named in the suit, which claims that the athletic department (AD) even neglected to order an investigation into the incident.

The details: According to the complaint, Love initiated a close personal, and later sexual, relationship with Scoggin when she was a summer AD intern in 2021 — a relationship Scoggin felt pressured to agree to out of fear of retaliation. Other team members, suspicious of the relationship, captured hidden camera video of Scoggin in Love’s hotel room at an away game in February 2022.

• They confronted Scoggin and showed HC Williams the video. Williams was allegedly unconcerned with the possibility of predatory abuse or coercion, instead choosing to address the issue in a full-team meeting — with both Scoggin and Love present — the following day.

• Williams encouraged the team to air their feelings, which Scoggin claims turned into hours of berating accusations. The next day, Williams removed Scoggin from the team, while Love received a suspension with pay for the rest of the season. He resigned in May 2022.

Zooming out: It appears that Nebraska failed to protect Scoggin at every turn, adding her story to the disturbing pattern of female athlete abuse by their school’s athletic staff.

• Want to support organizations working to protect players? Spread the word about the Courage First Athlete Helpline and/or support the Women’s Sports Foundation, which provides a guide for protecting athletes from such abuses of power.