LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KTSM) – One week after two former New Mexico State University basketball players filed a lawsuit making sexual assault allegations against three of their former teammates, the university responded to the lawsuit on Wednesday.
Former NMSU player Deuce Benjamin, his father William Benjamin Sr. and former NMSU player Shakiru Odunewu filed a lawsuit against the NMSU Board of Regents; former head coach Greg Heiar and former associate head coach Dominique Taylor; and former NMSU players Kim Aiken Jr., Doctor Bradley and Deshawndre Washington on April 19.
The lawsuit makes multiple allegations of sexual assault, harassment and hazing against the three players that occurred from July of 2022 until February of 2023. It also alleges that Heiar and Taylor were made aware of the allegations as early as Nov. 12, 2022, and did nothing to stop them from taking place and did not report them to the proper authorities.
On Wednesday, NMSU responded to the lawsuit. The university’s response came one week after the lawsuit was filed and one day after a closed-door Board of Regents meeting was held to discuss the case.
“New Mexico State University has reviewed the recent lawsuit filed by Deuce and William Benjamin and Shakiru Odunewu concerning the Men’s Basketball Program, and it continues to regard this matter as extremely important,” the statement reads. “NMSU has taken extensive measures, including, without limitation: recalling the entire basketball team from their road trip out of state, placing the entire coaching staff on administrative leave, launching an investigation, making mental health counseling available, canceling the remainder of the season, and firing the head coach. The kind of behavior described in those allegations has no place on our campus, and the university will soon launch a task force to facilitate implementation of preventive measures whose purpose is to identify and extinguish any opportunity for this to occur in the future.”
No criminal charges have been filed in the case at this time, but on April 13 it was referred to the New Mexico Attorney General by the Dona Ana County District Attorney’s office for possible criminal charges.
