Three Oregon Ducks men's basketball players have been banned as students for at least four years and maximum of 10 years following forcible rape allegations.
Last month, Damyean Dotson, Dominic Artis and Brandon Austin were removed from the team after a student complained to police alleging that she was sexually assaulted by the players.
John Clune, the attorney for the alleged victim, said the lengthy suspensions were awarded to the players keeping in mind the woman's academic tenure at the school. The woman will find it difficult to continue at the school if the players returned to campus, Miami Herald reports.
Prosecutors said that players are not facing any criminal charges as there is no sufficient evidence. The players have repeatedly denied of any sexual misconduct. They said that sexual contact was consensual.
A lawyer representing the players predicted the outcome of the investigation despite a "wealth of evidence" supporting the consensual sex claim, the Chronicle of Higher Education reports.
The University came under fire for allowing players to participate in the NCAA basketball tournament in March amid pending investigation by the Eugene police. Defending their actions, University officials said that they had asked police not to take any action that would alert the players of the investigation.
Carol Stabile, director of the university's Center for the Study of Women in Society, said that the school has taken the right decision by suspending the players to enhance campus safety, especially women.
Despite their actions, certain questions continue to remain unanswered. Why the university hired one of the players while he was under suspension from Providence College, in Rhode Island for a sexual assault claim.
