A former Rice University football player has been awarded more than $1.3 million by a jury, which found the prestigious private university in Houston discriminated against him after another student accused him of purposely spreading a sexually transmitted disease.
Earlier this month, the jury awarded the former student and quarterback for the Owls football team, referred to only as John Doe in court documents, a sum of $1,324,447.
The jury also found the university had violated Title IX, a federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination, by "reaching an erroneous outcome in Plaintiff's disciplinary proceeding," "selectively enforcing its policies and procedures in its handling of the allegations against plaintiff;" and "making archaic assumptions about the roles of men and women in its handling of Jane Roe's allegations against plaintiff."
In a statement toHouston Public Mediaon Tuesday, one of the plaintiff's attorneys, Susan Hutchison, said the ruling was a victory for her client.
"Justice was a long time coming, but we are happy that a jury recognized the discrimination by Rice University," Hutchison said.
Rice University could appeal the jury's verdict. A spokesperson for the university declined to comment.
The lawsuit was originally filed in the Eastern District Court of Texas in September 2019, but was later moved to the Southern District Court of Texas in Houston. The lawsuit accused the school of failing to properly conduct a Title IX investigation after a female student — referred to only as Jane Roe — accused the football player of knowingly giving her herpes in 2017.
The crux of the plaintiff's argument was that the university had discriminated against the male student by assuming his guilt based on his gender.
"Rice University treated John Doe in a manner inconsistent with Rice University's own policies and procedures, stripping John Doe of his rights to a fair and just investigation and adjudication process and assuming nefarious intentions and negative behavior on the part of John Doe based upon his gender," the lawsuit claimed.
Following the university's investigation, the football player was suspended from the university. The lawsuit claimed there was evidence the female student had contracted herpes before beginning a sexual relationship with the male student.
He also allegedly told the female student that he had an STD before they began their relationship, according to the lawsuit, which claimed she later admitted to lying to the university when reporting that the football player had maliciously given her herpes.
As a result of his suspension, the male student was prohibited from attending classes or participating in football and was prohibited from entering any Rice University property. In June 2018, he was "forced to leave the university" and was removed from the school's football team, according to the lawsuit.
Copyright 2026 Houston Public Media News 88.7