One of the people at the center of University of New Mexico football coach Bob Davie’s suspension last year has filed a federal lawsuit against the university claiming it didn’t properly handle the investigation into her rape allegedly at the hands of a Lobo football player in 2016.
Teriana Bagley filed the lawsuit in federal court in Albuquerque on Wednesday. The Journal’s policy is not to identify the victim of an alleged rape unless a lawsuit is filed.
Bagley, who has since moved out of state, alleges that the university violated its own Title IX policies and that she was retaliated against and ended up leaving school and losing her scholarship.
She also contends that the university protected Nias Martin, the player who she says raped her, allowing him to finish his season with the team and to graduate.
Many of the allegations contained in the lawsuit reiterate claims that have already been publicized, including that Davie called a team meeting to tell players “they needed to protect” Martin and to “get some dirt on this whore” and to report back to him rather than to school officials or police. The suit states that the retaliation began when Davie got involved.
UNM spokeswoman Cinnamon Blair said late Wednesday that the university had not been served yet and she could not comment on pending litigation. The Journal was unable to reach Davie for comment.
According to police reports, Bagley was 19 when she told the UNM police department that Martin, then 21, invited her to his Lobo Village apartment and that he raped her in the early morning hours of Feb. 19, 2016. She underwent a sexual assault exam that same day and reported the incident to UNM police the following day.
Police say Martin admitted to raping Bagley but he was not arrested at the time, and he has never been charged in the case.
The lawsuit states that coach Davie, Martin and other players sought to cover up the allegations, discredit Bagley and retaliated against her, leading her to make a claim with the University’s Office of Equal Opportunity the next month.
She alleged that players began telling people she was “crazy,” that she lied about the rape and they “repeatedly harassed, intimidated and retaliated against” her as she moved around campus.
Shortly after Bagley filed her complaint with OEO, at least four UNM football players showed up at an off campus gathering that Bagley was attending and began banging on the door, “insulting and threatening” Bagley and demanding Bagley’s friends send her outside, according to the lawsuit.
The suit also contends that UNM’s OEO —which was already being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice at the time for its handling of a similar case in 2015 — dragged its feet through the investigation and created a hostile educational environment for Bagley.
Bagley is seeking unspecified damages, including reimbursement and prepayment for all of her tuition and related expenses, compensation for the loss of her UNM scholarship and for expenses she incurred as a result of the sexual assault and harassment, such as therapy, medications and any related psychological or medical issues. She is also seeking damages for past, present and future emotional pain and suffering, among other things.
She is being represented by Brad D. Hall, Levi A. Monagle and Lisa P. Ford.
Allegations in the lawsuit are among those that led to Davie’s 30-day suspension without pay in February, 2018. The suspension stemmed from three separate investigations into the coach’s conduct.
In August of 2017, UNM contracted a retired federal judge to investigate concerns involving the football program. UNM then hired a Chicago law firm to investigate whether coaches interfered with investigations involving football players, including sexual misconduct cases.
The firm’s report said it could not conclude that the football staff obstructed or interfered with investigations “based on its evaluation of three cases and interviews with willing parties.” But the firm recommended action to ensure that UNM won’t “tolerate sexual harassment, sexual assault, physical abuse or other prohibited misconduct against its students.”
Meanwhile, the university’s Office of Equal Opportunity investigated possible racial discrimination by Davie, but ultimately determined his race-related comments did not rise to the level of a policy violation. It did note “environment concerns and failure to follow civil rights reporting protocol and policy.”
