Former Lobo Tru Washington says he was assaulted by relative of ex-teammate suing him

Tru Washington and Shane Douma-Sanchez have both moved on from the UNM Lobo basketball team.

But the drama between the two remains, even beyond the still pending civil lawsuit Douma-Sanchez, a former walk-on for the Lobos, has filed stemming from an allegation that Washington, a starter this past season for UNM, punched him in November and the UNM coaching staff didn’t do enough to either prevent the incident or punish Washington after the incident.

According to a report filed with UNM Police by Washington, he was assaulted — punched and tackled to the ground — near Johnson Gym on the UNM campus on April 26 by a man he believes to be Douma-Sanchez’s uncle, all while Douma-Sanchez and other members Washington says he recognized as Douma-Sanchez’s family were also present.

An officer says a review of closed circuit security video corroborated Washington’s claim that he was assaulted by a man with other people in the area . The officer also noted when the report was filed that Washington did have a visible scratch on his chin, and that Washington had no desire for medical assistance.

The Journal reached out to attorneys representing both Washington and Douma-Sanchez in that still-pending civil lawsuit. Douma-Sanchez’s representation has not responded to the Journal while Washington’s attorney declined comment, but did acknowledge being aware of the recent assault report .

Washington told police that after seeing Douma-Sanchez in Johnson Gym, he left — dribbling a basketball with some young teenage kids around him in the Cornell parking garage adjacent to Johnson Center. That was when a man Washington says he recognized as Douma-Sanchez’s father approached him, took the basketball and walked away.

Citing “there was some prior history,” Washington told the officer he didn’t confront the man, but that wasn’t the end of the interaction.

“(Washington) said Shane along with his family were in the structure, pointing him out saying that (Washington) stole a basketball and hit Shane,” the police report states. “(Washington) said that is when another unknown male subject said, ‘Oh, you hit my nephew?’”

That man, who Washington made clear was not Douma-Sanchez’s father and was a man he didn’t know, then “punched (Washington) in the face, on his left cheek” and then “took (Washington) down to the ground.”

The report states both Washington and the man left in different directions after getting to their feet.

No charges have been filed, though Washington made clear to police he would like to press charges. UNM has declined comment, citing the matter being an ongoing investigation.

The police report does not name a suspect and investigators to date have not made any public comment about the results of a May 9 Crime Stoppers media campaign that showed a picture of a man seen in the security video of the incident who police asked the public to identify.

“The person shown in this photograph has not been identified as the attacker and is wanted for questioning,” the campaign bulletin states.

Washington and Douma-Sanchez joined the Lobo basketball team prior to the 2023-24 season.

Douma-Sanchez, the former Del Norte High standout, was a walk-on who did not play in the 2023-24 season and was to miss the 2024-25 season due to a shoulder injury, but then left the team in November after he claimed he was punched by Washington.

After the season, he entered the NCAA transfer portal and it is unclear if he has committed to play with another college .

Washington, who is from Arizona, also entered the transfer portal after the season and has since signed to play for the Miami Hurricanes.

Both were enrolled as UNM students through the end of the spring semester.

Douma-Sanchez filed a suit against UNM, former Lobo coach Richard Pitino and Washington (Washington was not named as a party in the case initially, but was added later).

Washington has never been charged with a crime related to the incident Douma-Sanchez says is the origin of the civil suit.

In July, the civil suit goes to court where attorneys and a judge will address a number of motions, including attorneys representing UNM and Pitino seeking to have the matter dismissed.