Lawsuit involving New Mexico State basketball alleging assault settled, per attorneys
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — A lawsuit alleging negligence, loss of consortium — or familial relation impacts — sexual assault, battery and false imprisonment filed by former New Mexico State men's basketball players Deuce Benjamin, his father William Benjamin, and former player Shakiru Odunewu against the university, coaches and former teammates has been settled.
Terms of the settlement were not immediately made public, but according to court records, claims against former head coach Greg Heiar, NMSU Board of Regents, former assistant coach Dominique Taylor and former players DeShawndre Washington, Doctor Bradley and Kim Aiken Jr., were dismissed with prejudice.
According to a release from Raul Carrillo, the attorney representing Heiar, “The allegations against Coach Heiar were voluntarily dismissed before any discovery in the lawsuit took place.
“Coach Heiar’s version of events was never publically discussed because he was never interviewed by his former employer, NMSU, or by the attorneys for the Plaintiffs. There was no investigation by any agency or group which provided Coach Heiar with the ability to respond to any allegations — all of which he denies," the release continues.
“Coach Heiar is pleased to have this chapter behind him and looks forward to returning to coaching."
Heiar was fired in February of his first season following a New Mexico State University Police report filed by Deuce Benjamin on Feb. 10 alleging multiple incidents that were described as hazing at the time.
Attorney Joleen Youngers, who represented Deuce and William Benjamin, told the Sun-News Tuesday that the entire case has been settled.
The lawsuit, filed on April 19 in Third Judicial District Court, also named the NMSU Board of Regents, former assistant coach Dominique Taylor and former players DeShawndre Washington, Doctor Bradley and Kim Aiken Jr., as defendants.
“Either New Mexico State University or Risk Management for the state of New Mexico will be disclosing the terms of the settlement,” Youngers said. “The reason (Heiar) was never interviewed is because the case was settled and the reason there was no discovery is because the case was settled.”
A spokesman for New Mexico State University confirmed the settlement on Tuesday afternoon and stated the terms of the settlement would be released by the state's Risk Management Division.
Youngers said it's unlikely that the terms of the settlement will include which parties paid or how much each party settled for.
“We are pleased the New Mexico State took the case seriously and resolved it without putting Deuce, Shaq and William through months or years of litigation,” Youngers said. “In that sense, NMSU did the right thing and they stepped up to resolve this case and by resolving it, hopefully members of the public and community will respect them and allow them to put this behind them.”
While the lawsuit has been settled, the New Mexico Attorney General's office is still investigating sexual assault allegations against three former New Mexico State University basketball players and the university's response to the alleged assaults
Jason Groves can be reached at jgroves@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on Twitter @jpgroves.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Former basketball players settle lawsuit involving New Mexico State
