Did Oregon wait to dismiss its accused players to protect its APR score?
Allowing two players accused of rape to participate in the NCAA tournament last March was a self-serving decision that Oregon deserves criticism for making.
Whether the latest accusations levied against the school have any validity, however, isn't nearly as clear cut.
An investigative report from Portland-based TV station KATU alleged that Oregon waited until June to dismiss Dominic Artis, Damyean Dotson and Brandon Austin from school to avoid potential Academic Progress Rate penalties that could have led to a loss of scholarships and a postseason ban.
The woman who accused Artis, Dotson and Austin of rape filed a police report March 13 yet the school only barred the three players from team activities after the NCAA tournament and did not dismiss them until June 23. Since the players were not kicked out of school until the end of spring quarter and managed to remain in good academic standing during that time, Oregon was able to avoid a crippling APR hit.
To assess the validity of the TV station's allegations, it's first important to recall what the APR is. It basically is a measuring stick used by the NCAA to give schools incentive to make sure that their student-athletes are making progress toward a degree. The minimum APR score needed to avoid penalties was once a four-year average of 900 but that rose to 930 beginning with the 2012-13 school year.
While KATU is correct in noting that Oregon had a four-year average of 918 at the time the rape accusations surfaced and was one more poor score away from facing sanctions, the TV station's report was misleading in some ways too.
First of all, APR scores are based on data from the previous year, so the score that determined Oregon's fate was from the 2012-13 school year. Oregon learned in May it received a 974 for the 2012-13 school year. The timing of the dismissals only impact the 2013-14 score, which will be released next year.
Secondly, if Oregon's potential APR issues influenced the timing of its expulsions, the Ducks may have been better off jettisoning Dotson, Artis and Austin after winter quarter in late March. School officials knew Dotson, Artis and Austin were in good standing then and could be dismissed with no penalty. They had no way of knowing whether all three would maintain that good standing for one final quarter, especially with such severe accusations hanging over their heads.
Lastly, while dismissing the three players in the middle of the spring semester might have hurt Oregon's APR score for the 2013-14 year, the Ducks have gradually improved their four-year average to the point that they can absorb a poor score next May without facing sanctions.
Much of Oregon's problems stemmed from the back-to-back abysmal scores the Ducks posted when numerous players defected during the transition between Ernie Kent and Dana Altman. Since then, Oregon's scores have risen from 950 in 2010-11, to 952 in 2011-12, to the all-important 974 in 2012-13. As a result, the Ducks would have to score an 840 for the 2013-14 season to be at risk for penalties after their next score.
When reached for comment regarding the KATU report, an Oregon spokesman said Wednesday that the school would soon be releasing a statement addressing the accusations. The Oregonian obtained an email Oregon officials sent to alumni in which the school denied the allegations levied by KATU and accused the TV station of making "multiple errors" in its reporting.
"The story hypothesizes that the university's actions were driven by the NCAA-required Academic Progress Rate, or APR," the email states. "This is inaccurate and that fact was conveyed to KATU. APR is calculated on a rolling four-year average with the latest data from a previous year, which makes transfers or scholarship non-renewals have significantly less impact than characterized by the story."
Dotson, Artis and Austin were accused of sexually assaulting the alleged victim twice in a bathroom at a March 9 party and again at the apartment belonging to Dotson and Artis later that night. After the players acknowledged to police that the encounters took place but insisted they were consensual, the Lane County District Attorney's office declined to prosecute, citing insufficient evidence.
In a statement to the Oregonian, the district attorney explained there was no evidence the alleged victim was too intoxicated to consent, she had opportunities to ask for help after the first and second alleged attacks and she was able to get the players to stop three times during the alleged assaults. Also noted in the statement was the fact the alleged victim had consensual sex with Artis the morning after the alleged assaults and had sex with one of his teammates that same day.
In their handling of this scandal, Oregon officials certainly have made a number of controversial decisions.
They certainly should have been more vigilant looking into Austin's background given that he had been accused of sexual assault while at Providence. And they probably should have been adamant to the Eugene Police Department about the need to keep Artis and Dotson from playing in the postseason even while the investigation was ongoing.
But while any criticism Oregon receives for that is more than fair, this latest firestorm may not be warranted. At the very least, it's far too murky for anyone to rush to judgment.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
