EXPERIENCE

A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled unanimously in favor of Lewis Rice's client, Saint Louis University, in an action involving Title IX and several other Missouri common law tort and statutory claims. Lewis Rice attorneys Neal F. Perryman and Sarah E. Mullen successfully represented the University, both in the trial court and on appeal. Neal argued the matter before the U.S. Court of Appeals.

The plaintiff sued the University, attempting to hold it responsible for damages resulting from an alleged off-campus sexual assault and an alleged back injury that the plaintiff claimed she suffered as a result of her participation in intercollegiate athletics. After lengthy trial court litigation, District Judge Henry E. Autrey granted summary judgment to the University on all claims, holding, among other things, that the University's conduct toward the plaintiff was not "clearly unreasonable" as a matter of law, and that the plaintiff's other statutory and other common law claims failed.

On appeal, the judgment was affirmed in all respects, holding that the University's conduct was not shown "to exhibit deliberate indifference" and that the University could not be held liable under Title IX or any other attempted tort or statutory theory.

The NCAA engaged Lewis Rice to assess its progress in implementing the recommendations set out in Section 6.1 and 6.2 of Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP’s (“Kaplan”) Phase I External Gender Equity Review (“EGER”) and Phase II EGER, which were released in 2021. Lewis Rice was retained to assess – externally and independently – the NCAA’s progress in implementing Kaplan’s recommendations regarding 88 of the 90 championships it operates. The only championships excluded from the assessment were Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball. 

Lewis Rice’s assessment not only tracks the NCAA’s progress on implementation of the recommendations, but also helps communicate the NCAA’s blueprint to effect change and to sustain gender equity at its championships. In circumstances where the NCAA has not yet implemented Kaplan’s recommendations, Lewis Rice’s assessment outlines the NCAA’s rationale as to why not.

To carry out this important work, Lewis Rice assembled a team of attorneys who are also former college athletes and athletic department administrators. Their lived experiences and practical understanding of college sports gave them a significant head start in conducting the assessment. They also brought to bear a breadth of experience in Title IX compliance and litigation, higher education, external investigations and sports law. 

From March 21 until July 31, 2023, the Lewis Rice team gathered and reviewed thousands of documents and interviewed 41 NCAA staff members (including members of the Senior Management Team and President Charlie Baker) and 29 NCAA committee members. They also met in person with the Division I, II and III National Student-Athlete Advisory Committees, reviewed the results of student-athlete surveys and conducted site visits to 16 NCAA championships.

“Throughout our engagement, we were steadfastly dedicated to ensuring the integrity and independence of our assessment,” said Sarah Mullen, lead attorney on the Lewis Rice assessment team. “Collaboration, feedback and input from stakeholders, specifically from NCAA leadership, staff, committee members and student-athletes, were necessary to the integrity of our final work product, not an undue influence that jeopardized its independence.”

You can read the progress report here.