AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin and KVUE's media partners at the Austin-American Statesman will head to the Texas Supreme Court this fall with a case involving student sexual assault and violence records.
Back in 2019, the Statesman sued the university after it failed to share such records after a larger investigation conducted by USA Today. The national news publication asked for the records as part of its investigation into the NCAA's alleged lack of response into sexual violence instances among collegiate athletes, according to a story originally published in the Statesman.
That USA Today piece, titled "Predator Pipeline," revealed approximately 33 U.S. athletes accused of sexual harassment, violence or assault were able to continue playing sports by simply changing schools.
Amid this investigation, USA Today reached out to UT Austin and the University of Texas-El Paso to learn the name, specific violation and punishment for any students responsible for violating harassment rules.
While UT-El Paso provided the information, UT Austin did not, the Statesman reports.
The same year, the Statesman and mass media company Gatehouse sued UT to obtain these records. In 2020, UT Austin was ordered by a lower court to share the information, which happened again in 2022 after the university appealed the ruling the first time around.
Now, five years after the initial dispute, the Statesman and UT Austin are set to appear in court on Oct. 1.
The Statesman believes sexual harassment records should be shared with the public and that UT is required to provide these documents. Meanwhile, UT Austin believes it should be permitted to protect student privacy and keep the information confidential.
To learn more, read the Statesman's latest report.
