{"id":24074,"date":"2025-11-19T03:28:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T11:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/?p=24074"},"modified":"2025-12-02T15:40:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T23:40:11","slug":"westerns-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/westerns-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"Western\u2019s lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A black-and-white photo of the 2023-2024 women\u2019s basketball team playing a match at Western, posted Dec. 4, 2023. | Photo from @wou_wolves and @wouwbb on Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nov. 19 2025 | <\/span>Hannah Field | Editor-in-Chief<\/span><\/p>\n

In January of 2025, nine former basketball players from the women\u2019s team at Western filed a $28.2 million lawsuit against the college, coaches Jessica Peatross and Demetrius \u201cDJ\u201d Marlow, athletic director Randi Lydum, Dean of Students Malissa Larson and President Jesse Peters, alleging abuse from coaches Peatross and Marlow that, once reported, led to retaliation via rescinded scholarships.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2023-24 women\u2019s basketball season was cut short with six games left without detailed explanation from the university following a practice Feb. 12, 2024. Western conducted an internal investigation while Peatross and Marlow were put on paid administrative leave Feb. 19 until being reinstated two months later after no conduct violations were found.<\/span><\/p>\n

Recent investigations from the Statesman Journal reported the internal investigation, handled by law firm Littler Mendelson P.C., had \u201cmisquoted players, misconstrued situations and misstated what happened during a contentious practice on Feb. 12, 2024, and in the days after it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The alleged event included one player, Hanne Hopkins, who bumped into Head Coach Peatross during a drill, which turned into Peatross accusing Hopkins of running into her intentionally and telling her to leave practice, and was captured on video saying \u201cI\u2019m your coach. Get out. Get out. Y\u2019all don\u2019t get a choice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The day after, Peatross called the Monmouth Police Department and said she was intentionally elbowed in the chest at the practice and she had left practice to go to the hospital, where she experienced pain on a scale of 1-10 at a 10, and that it felt even worse the next day.<\/span><\/p>\n

The video taken on a team member\u2019s phone shows Peatross \u201ctalking calmly\u201d after the alleged incident, said the Statesman Journal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two days after that, Peatross filed a report with Campus Public Safety and said she was experiencing chest and head pain, shortness of breath and nausea. The police officer whom Peatross spoke to earlier tried to contact Peatross for a month following the incident, but heard nothing back, and was denied access to the video by the university according to the Statesman Journal. From there, the investigation was requested to be closed due to \u201clack of cooperation,\u201d per the police officer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Monmouth police officers were eventually able to review the video and saw no indication of forceful or intentional contact from the player to Peatross. Police also did not see evidence to support Peatross being injured or in pain.<\/span><\/p>\n

The team soon met in a small conference room where, when asked, 10 players voted to not play the six games remaining in their season. According to the Statesman Journal, some of the players expressed feeling pressured by the coaches to leave the team, with Peatross allegedly giving an ultimatum to player Ana McClave: \u201cYou either quit or you come and you kiss my ass.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Both coaches were placed on paid administrative leave Feb. 19, 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

Players also alleged intense physical activity during practices, noting physical illness, dehydration and vomiting. The lawsuit states that if they did not complete the exercises, the punishment was more laps, with McClave stating, \u201cThe running we had to do, it wasn\u2019t for speed, quickness or strength, it was for harm and to see how they could break us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One player, Kailiana Ramos, reported losing 20 pounds, and McClave was forced to engage in practices without being cleared by a doctor after knee surgery. Player Jodi Noyes said that Peatross and Marlow claimed \u201cnobody\u2019s welcome back\u201d on the team after they learned of private discussions about the coaches.<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, the lawsuit alleges NCAA rule violations, such as forcing players to miss their classes, pray before games and sign sheets that indicate they \u201cweren\u2019t practicing too much,\u201d with team bonding events on the calendar actually being excessive physical exercise practices.<\/span><\/p>\n

Peatross allegedly suggested that Noyes quit taking her antidepressant medication in November of 2023. Noyes obliged, but told university staff, who said it would be reported to athletic director Randi Lydum. No changes followed, and it\u2019s unclear if Lydum did or did not receive the information. Lydum and Dean of Students Malissa Larson met with four players individually and \u201cpromised immediate changes that never happened,\u201d wrote the Statesman Journal.<\/span><\/p>\n

The lawsuit states that Lydum told a player, \u201cThese coaches deceived us, and this is not what we wanted for the school.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The coaches were reinstated in April of 2024. A small group of players met with WOU Board of Trustees Chair Betty Komp to explain the situation, but no action took place. Letters came in April 23 to players still eligible to play that said their scholarships were terminated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Littler Mendelson, which is based in the U.S. and is the world\u2019s largest firm specializing in labor and employment law, was paid $33,696 to conduct the investigation by Western. The firm claimed that Feb. 12, during the practice where Peatross alleged she was elbowed intentionally, that Hopkins, the player who made contact with Peatross, was warned to not perform the action by McClave. The investigation also claimed that the lawsuit inaccurately reported Hopkins\u2019 response to Peatross following the event, which was captured on camera, despite citing the video filmed by a player. It also allegedly wrongfully stated which players were told to leave and who was allowed to stay at practice, and contained conflicting information regarding who remained.<\/span><\/p>\n

The investigation implied that the three students \u2014\u00a0 Hopkins, McClave and Ramos \u2014 involved in the conflict failed to follow university conduct when they did not immediately oblige Peatross\u2019 demand for them to leave. The report also did not clarify the intention in the contact between Peatross and the student.<\/span><\/p>\n

In another incident, McClave claimed that Assistant Coach Marlow collided with her Jan. 4, 2024, reinjuring her left knee post-surgery. The Littler Mendelson report \u201ccasts doubt if McClave was injured in that collision,\u201d according to the Statesman Journal. However, McClave documented being in pain and sought help from athletic trainer Sara Gordon.<\/span><\/p>\n

The report itself implicated team members Ana McClave and sister Cali McClave of having a negative influence over the culture of the team and implied criticism of team members for addressing concerns with Lydum over Peatross and Marlow. The players were addressed as \u201cproblematic\u201d in the investigation and it also stated that Lydum appeared to understand that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Western denied the request to share the report with the Statesman Journal. Following an appeal that handed the report to the Statesman Journal, Western filed a lawsuit against journalist Bill Poehler, who was providing coverage on the ongoing lawsuit, requesting a court order to clarify what information the university is required to submit. Ultimately, Western was ordered to provide the documentation by a district attorney.<\/span><\/p>\n

Western is seeking to dismiss the lawsuit from the nine basketball players. The lawsuit was moved to federal court in February of 2025; the Statesman Journal reported, \u201cThe sides are in a lengthy discovery process that has a deadline of June 5, 2026.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information, \u201cThe Western Howl\u201d has discussed the allegations in more detail in previous articles titled \u201c<\/span>From court to court<\/span><\/a>,\u201d \u201c<\/span>Western women\u2019s basketball update<\/span><\/a>\u201d and, before the lawsuit when the Howl reported on a tip, \u201c<\/span>Women\u2019s basketball faces turmoil<\/span><\/a>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The articles are available on the Howl\u2019s website and by online search.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Contact the author at <\/span>howleditorinchief@mail.wou.edu<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1645,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Western\u2019s lawsuit","_seopress_titles_desc":"Law firm\u2019s internal investigation into abuse allegations from women\u2019s basketball team reportedly features inaccuracies","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1676,1925,3463,6047,3315,2313,7594,7592,6192,7596,7584,6721,3634,245,2373,1512,7625,7589,3474,3565,7605,1178,2071,7628,2077,6190,41,7612,7611,7613,7630,1213,7583,7633,7078,7598,5142,5110,7581,7619,111,2149,7616,3932,454,6306,7597,2314,3638,7600,5803,3340,7620,7622,6031,6040,7609,7610,7579,7603,7582,5089,7604,5286,3612,3641,7626,7607,7577,3110,2380,7618,7632,7602,7586,7608,4299,7615,4651,651,143,7629,507,6744,7580,7606,3750,3967,7590,1241,7617,623,4157,7601,7593,7585,7631,7621,7623,7624,7588,6188,3897,5073,7587,6715,683,982,7578,6313,7595,7599,3446,4831,7614,7627,1254,224,7591,684,3747,6003,39],"class_list":["post-24074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-1676","tag-1925","tag-3463","tag-6047","tag-3315","tag-abuse","tag-abused","tag-abusing","tag-allegations","tag-allege","tag-allegedly","tag-article","tag-athletic","tag-athletics","tag-attorney","tag-basketball","tag-betty","tag-bill","tag-board","tag-bonding","tag-brakke","tag-campus","tag-changes","tag-clarify","tag-coach","tag-coaches","tag-college","tag-collide","tag-collision","tag-collisions","tag-conduct","tag-court","tag-d-j","tag-da","tag-damage","tag-damaged","tag-department","tag-district","tag-dj","tag-documented","tag-exercise","tag-february","tag-firm","tag-game","tag-games","tag-girl","tag-harm","tag-help","tag-hurt","tag-hurted","tag-illegal","tag-important","tag-inaccurate","tag-inaccurately","tag-info","tag-information","tag-injure","tag-injured","tag-internal","tag-investigate","tag-investigation","tag-january","tag-jesse","tag-jessica","tag-journal","tag-knee","tag-kompf","tag-larson","tag-law","tag-lawsuit","tag-legal","tag-littler","tag-lydum","tag-malissa","tag-marlow","tag-maureen","tag-meeting","tag-mendelson","tag-million","tag-new","tag-news","tag-order","tag-oregon","tag-pain","tag-peatross","tag-peters","tag-player","tag-players","tag-poehler","tag-practice","tag-practiced","tag-president","tag-pressure","tag-pressured","tag-punish","tag-punishment","tag-randi","tag-report","tag-reported","tag-reporting","tag-rescinded","tag-retaliation","tag-safety","tag-schedule","tag-statesman","tag-story","tag-student","tag-students","tag-suit","tag-surgery","tag-sustain","tag-sustained","tag-team","tag-train","tag-trainer","tag-trustees","tag-university","tag-update","tag-violation","tag-western","tag-women","tag-womens","tag-wou"],"modified_by":"saragerrick","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1645"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24074"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24087,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24074\/revisions\/24087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}