Lawyer: Iowa should have acted sooner on Coker
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
IOWA CITY, Iowa — A lawyer long familiar with the University of Iowa’s handling of sexual assault allegations against athletes says the school should have acted sooner after learning running back Marcus Coker was under investigation.
Attorney Roxanne Conlin said Thursday the school had an obligation to take swift action after learning a woman claimed Coker had assaulted her on Oct. 28. Prosecutors later declined to bring charges at the victim’s request.
Coker played the final five games of the regular season before being suspended Dec. 20 before the Insight Bowl. He left the program Tuesday.
Conlin says university officials have to explain their response publicly given a history of missteps in such cases. She’s represented women who claimed they were raped by athletes, and mediated a settlement involving former basketball player Pierre Pierce.
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes Football
Just going to rile up the unwashed masses.
If you ignore a problem long, it goes away. Therefore, what problem.
Worked before. Will it work again?
Report this comment
So they should have suspended him right away without knowing all the facts or any charges being filed? It’s bad enough he was suspended for the bowl game then left the team because of it when no charges were even filed. Sounds to me that everyone messed up on this one, Coker, the victim, ICPD, U of I etc…. Lots of explaining from everyone. What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty?
Report this comment
Yes they should have suspended him right away. He should have remained on suspension until the facts were evident that he was innocent or guilty. Why? Because doing anything less casts a dishonorable light on the program. Do you want to be Tom Osborne’s Nebraska? Jim Tressel’s Ohio State? Joe Paterno’s Penn State? Coker had the choice on a couple of things that would have made this go away quickly. He could man up and let the facts be known day one. Take the heat, better yet control his urges and avoided the problem all together. But, once the other party declined to prosecute, the let him back on the team with full reinstatement. You have to remember that a football team or any other selsct group is subject to different rules than the rest of us are. There are specified team rules. There are sanctions and consequences for such actions. Doesn’t matter if the guy riding the back of the garbage truck felt up a coed the night before, he won’t likely face sanctions on the job. But someone carrying the banner for the Universit Of Iowa might ought to feel a little heat if she objects.
Report this comment
a dishonorable light on the program…. like SEVEN AND FIVE SEASONS DON’T????
i have already said why you can’t pull someone right away. we are ‘innocent until proven guilty’. enough said. go down this road and you will be having accusers come out of the woodwork (perhaps plants by an opposing team) to take out key people before a game. can’t tell me that wouldn’t happen…
no. get the facts first. you wouldn’t want to be ‘fired’ from your job before all the facts were known. he is afforded the same opportunity as the victim. i would go so far as to prohibit the names from alleged attackers being published until they are proven guilty
Report this comment
University student code doesn’t state anything about “innocent until proven guilty”. They didn’t have to wait but chose to instead.
Report this comment
I read an online article from one of the DM tv stations. The article is still online. A ISU player was charged with first degree armed robbery right before the OSU game and yet he was allowed to play. Why should someone who is actually charged with a felony be allowed to play and a player who was being investigated but not charged not be able to play?
Report this comment
You are going to have to explain to me what the reasoning is that several players at ISU who were actually charged with some pretty serious violations were allowed to play and then Coker who was being investigated but never charged should not be allowed to play. This doesn’t make sense. Whatever happened to the ISU players. You can see all of them if you do a search for the arrests. It was a bad year for ISU but Iowa gets all of the attention with just an investigation. Why is this? Don’t you think ISU should get their share of press time.
Report this comment
This seems to be because of what happened in years past. After 2008 there were some major changes made in the rules. Since then the violations have really dropped. I think in the past 2 years there have been only 3 citations, 2 this year. There is no news in that area so now any suspension or investigation gets front page headlines for lack on any real charges being filed. Pierre Pierce was kicked off the team in 2004 and today Marcus Coker’s name has been in the papers for days insinuating that he is nothing short of a rapist, a person of low character. The outrage seems to be that he should have been charged. COKER IS GUILTY because of what Pierre Pierce did in 2002-2004. Sounds fair right? Today Marcus Coker is continually referred to as a rapist because of these stories. I am sure you will see this brought up time and time again in these posts. PIERRE PIERCE, RAPIST….MARCUS COKER, RAPIST. Just because he was investigated and a student at the University of Iowa. There has been no story about the changes at Iowa or the drop in citations and criminal charges. Only a continual chain of stories day after day about a kid who was almost charged with an assault. Pretty good journalism, if you are a Cyclone fan.
Report this comment
Why did it take a year for this story to come out?
ISU Football Player Charged in Assault – from DM Register, 4:57 PM, Jan. 9, 2012
An Iowa State football player has been charged with assault causing serious injury as a result of a January 2011 incident, court records show.
E— B—-, 23, is listed as a redshirt senior safety from Deerfield Beach, Fla. B—– played in every Cyclone game in 2010, but sat out the 2011 season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in training camp. – This story was just a small article on the sports page and disappeared very quickly. Why is the stories about the Hawkeyes headline news and run one story after another for days while ISU stories are mentioned and then dropped?
Report this comment
This is Brook’s second citation in 6 months but that’s OK, it has nothing to do with Pierre Pierce and the U of I so he should be allowed to play. The Register briefly mentioned that story too in July 2011.
Report this comment
From the date of the incident report to the date of suspension, he played ten weeks. I’d say if the school would have suspended him when they should have the team wouldn’t have been in the bowl game to begin with and this whole issue wouldn’t even be a matter of discussion.
Tell me again how Coker was badly used?
Report this comment
Sure, Marcus Coker was being INVESTIGATED for an assault at the U of I. ISU’s Albert Gary was CHARGED for first degree armed robbery November 15, days before the ISU signature win over OSU but he was allowed to play that game and for the rest of the season.
http://www.whotv.com/news/who-story-isu-albert-gary-robbery-111411,0,2029505.story
Report this comment
JIMBO, I didn’t catch that right away. You are saying that Coker shouldn’t have been allowed to play and that Iowa wouldn’t have made a bowl game without him! A little jeaolousy here maybe? What about Albert Gary who was actually charged with first degree armed robbery days before the OSU game and was allowed to play in that SIGNATURE WIN? Maybe he had a part of ISU winning and then ISU would not have been in their bowl game?
Report this comment
Here is a link to the Incident report by the Iowa City Police. It is pretty blank with very little information other than an address:
http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/77847435
Report this comment
The journalists in Iowa needs to get ALL of their information before putting out 10 articles all about the same thing. It’s like they all go out and interview one person, and write an article about it.
Then they go interview someone else, and write an article about it.
And after that, they go and interview someone else, and write an article about it.
And after that, they go and interview someone else, and write an article about it.
What next? Yep you guessed it, they go and interview someone else, and write an article about it.
Sounds like it must be pretty easy to get a job working in journalism in the state of Iowa if you only need to interview one person for each article.
Hawkcentral is turning more into a blog instead of a collection of articles that are published in the paper.
It’s quite sad as I used to read real articles on Hawkcentral when I attended the University of Iowa. Now it’s just a bunch of clowns writing random articles that get the fans all up in fists, which then makes us all argue against one another in the crappy comments section that sometimes requires days to have the post moderated.
Long story short, I think it’s time to get a subscription to hawkeyereport to get some decent analysis of Iowa Football.
Report this comment
Guilty until proven innocent. The new American way. Henry Hyde: “the Constitution is just not relevant anymore.”
Report this comment
Citing anything Henry Hyde, he of the “youthful indiscretion” at AGE 42, completely invalidates any point you’re trying to make.
Report this comment
Why does anyone give credence to Roxanne Conlin’s opinion? Her thoughtss don’t count for anything. She’s just a has been politican who tries to practice law. Shame on the media for even acknowleding her mindless ramblings. If that’s the case, then let me also respond: I’m a life long educator who also has worked in the court system. I know as much about the law as Roxie does,I think that Mr. Coker’s alleged incident would not warrant any response from the coaches. He was never charged with anything. As a previous writer said: He was “guilty until proven innocent” by people like Roxanne Conlon. This is a non issue, and it should be treated that way by the media. Shame on you for putting it on the web!
Report this comment
Pierre Pierce convicted of rape, 2004, Marcus Coker investigated of assult but no charges filed, 2011. Can’t you see how alike these stories are? They were both U of I students!
I wonder how Roxanne Conlin would defend Marcus Coker on this if she was his lawyer?
Report this comment
He was allowed to play while the U of I conducted its own investigation. On Dec 20th the U of I likely determined that its student athlete code of conduct had been violated and suspended him. Keep in mind the UI’s policy on sexual harassment goes so far as to prohibit “ogling.” It is certainly possible that a “conviction” in the UI student athlete criminal justice system was reached without continued victim involvent.
We’ll never know what truly happened because the criminal investigation is likely finished. A girl ended up at UIHC after an alleged assault at Coker’s residence. Allow me to speculate; Danza Slap, Donkey Punch, or Dirty Sanchez. We’ll likely never know the truth.
Report this comment
Seems like they took a long time to figure that out.
Report this comment
Sounds like they knew it all along, but he was likely suspended for helping someone cheat on their final.
Report this comment
You don’t know (nobody does) when the investigation ended, so it’s erroneous to conclude “He was allowed to play” while it was being conducted. Exactly When did the investigation end is unknown, but it’s quite logical to believe it was close to the time when ALLEGED victim decided not to pursue charges.
The UI investigation most Certainly ended before Chuck Green of the UI Police stated they were not investigating Coker as reported by HAWKCENTRAL on 12/21/2011. In that article the Iowa City Police department was not even mentioned.
Report this comment
So the suspension was a result of this sexual assault and not the rumored test scandal? Are you sure it was because of the investigation or are you just planting the idea?
Report this comment
Hey Roxanne – typical liberal feminist mentality… you are a lawyer (supposedly). you know a basic fundamental of our law is the presumption of innocence until PROVEN guilty by a jury of our peers beyond a reasonable doubt.
this is NOT to discredit the alleged victim. but the alleged perpetrator must be afforded the same protections under law. If Mr Coker was taken off immediately, you’d be hearing all kinds of allegation before each football game across the country aimed at taking the ‘stars’ out of the game and enhance the chances of winning by the other team.
now i will admit this may be a good strategy if say Iowa wants to ever beat Ohio State, Minnesota, or any team ranked in the top ten or plays west of the missouri river…. (sarcasm here folks)
i guess Roxanne my turning point in this is the following statement “Prosecutors later declined to bring charges at the victim’s request.”
enough said. not enough to go to trial with. seems like the University failed HIM
Report this comment
And when he is found to be innocent, which it seems he might be, then what are they all going to say about ruining his life and Iowa losing a young man who seems to be a quality person. Good luck, Marcus, and thanks for the memories the great effort.
Report this comment
Here we go again. More press for a guy who was never charged with anything. Lets rake the kid over the coals some more. I sure hope no one at any of the other universities gets suspended or investigated for anything. I have never seen a suspension at any university if the country get as much press as Coker’s suspension and investigation into possible assault. Was anyone suspended, investigated or arrested at ISU this past year? Why doesn’t ISU get equal press time?
Report this comment
Swift action on only a claim? Sorry, but that could have ended up worse for the university in the long run. Coker was entitled to due process. If they took a wrongful action on a false claim it could have ended up very badly for the UofI. These things should always be met with caution until the information is analyzed and that is what the U of I did. What’s wrong with that?
I don’t care if he played football, played in the band or was a top notch physics student, he had a right to continue to do what he at the University for until said time came where they had the facts to say otherwise.
Report this comment
Oh what short memories fans have. Everson and Satterfield were suspended from games LONG before they were charged. They were not charged until the spring, after they were long gone from UI.
Report this comment
Here is a story published in The Gazette in July 2010 outlining the problems they have faced at the U of I and what they are trying to do to stop the problems and help the kids involved:
http://thegazette.com/2010/07/09/recent-arrests-aside-life-skills-coach-seems-to-work-for-iowa-football/
After reading this I came to the realization that Iowa can try anything they want, but it always comes back to what Pierre Pierce did in 2004.
Report this comment
Hunh,
I talked to my dog yesterday and he didn’t think Iowa should have acted sooner. He has the exact same connection with the University that Roxanne has, i.e. none. The thing is, my dog was smarter, because he realized that the suspension might not have anything to do with an investigation that happened several months ago. Maybe he should run for office too. Maybe there should be an article about that??
Report this comment
God, what a mess! This is going to look REAL good when the other Big Ten coaches get wind of it and use it in their sales pitches to athletes who might otherwise want to come to Iowa.
“Son, you have a real good chance there of being a starter as a redshirt freshman, then in your sophomore year get pilloried on an unproven charge, suspended indefinitely wothout being allowed to tell your side of it,dissected like a frog in the blogosphere and run out of town on a virtual rail. Wouldn’t you like to come to (Michigan-Northwestern-Nebraska-Purdue-etc) instead?”
Jeez!
Report this comment
Hawks R O C K
Report this comment
This is very disappointing. Both from a football perspective, but, more importantly, from a legal and University perspective. This reflects poorly on the school and I sincerely hope that the proper authorities take corrective action that has some meaning and that changes how these things are handled.
Yes, innocent until proven guilty and yes, the victim chose to not press charges, but…..
Report this comment
One word……..”slander”
Report this comment