Speaking publicly for the first time since a Chronicle article reported that two female students had accused him of sexual assault, former Duke basketball player Rasheed Sulaimon denied that the allegations were true in a interview with ESPN Wednesday.
Sulaimon told ESPN's Jeff Goodman that he was only aware of one University investigation into an allegation of sexual assault.
"I have never sexually assaulted, not only anyone on the Duke campus, but anyone period." Sulaimon said in the ESPN article. "No, I've never done anything like this in my life."
On March 2, The Chronicle published an article reporting that two female students had accused Sulaimon of sexually assaulting them. The allegations were initially publicly voiced during separate sessions of Common Ground, a student retreat aimed at discussing issues of diversity and relationships.
Neither student filed a formal complaint with the University's Office of Student Conduct. The Durham Police Department confirmed Thursday that it has no record of charges filed against Sulaimon.
"The university investigated the sexual assault allegation, and they knew it was unsubstantiated so Coach K knew that, too, because I told him," Sulaimon told Goodman.
Sulaimon did not return requests for comment before the March 2 article was published and did not respond to a phone call seeking comment Thursday.
Duke sports information director Matt Plizga said Thursday that the program would not have further comment on Sulaimon.
The junior was dismissed from the Blue Devil program Jan. 29, a day after Duke lost on the road at Notre Dame. In a press release announcing the dismissal, head coach Mike Krzyzewski said that Sulaimon had been "unable to consistently live up to the standards required to be a member of our program."
In his interview with ESPN, Sulaimon said the allegations of sexual assault did not play a role in his dismissal. Sulaimon did not discuss specifics surrounding his removal from the team.
Bob Ekstrand, a Durham lawyer acting as Sulaimon's representative, told The Chronicle in the March 2 story that he believed the allegations to be false. Later that week, Ekstrand gave statements to local and national media saying that Sulaimon had been investigated by the University for sexual assault last year, but that the investigation closed due to a lack of evidence.
In accordance with federal privacy law, university officials—including Krzyzewski and vice president and director of athletics Kevin White—are prohibited from discussing a student's disciplinary history.
Even without an official complaint, the University is legally obligated by Title IX to investigate any information they receive about a possible campus sexual assault.
Investigating a possible assault involves contacting the alleged victim and alleged perpetrator, if their names are known. Much of how the investigation proceeds is contingent on the students' willingness to participate and the information they provide to Student Conduct.
It has not been made public whether or not the two female students participated in Student Conduct's investigation.
Sulaimon told ESPN that he met twice with a representative from the Office of Student Conduct regarding one sexual assault allegation, with the second meeting taking place in September 2014. He said he has not heard from Student Conduct about a second allegation and called it "purely fiction."
ESPN reported Wednesday that Sulaimon intends to graduate from Duke this summer and is being pursued by several schools as a potential transfer, making him eligible to play immediately. The list of schools reportedly interested in the Houston native includes Arizona State—now coached by former Blue Devil Bobby Hurley—Maryland, Baylor, Memphis and Texas A&M.
Emma Baccellieri and Nick Martin contributed reporting.
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