One of the most high-profile campus rape accusations in recent years has come to a close.
Jordan Johnson, the former starting quarterback for the University of Montana, has reached a settlement with the University of Montana for $245,000 to drop his claims against the university. Johnson had threatened to sue the school following what he called an “unfair and biased” investigation by the school.
Johnson had been a star quarterback for the university. Handsome and well-spoken, he seemed to have the world on his plate. He hoped to join the NFL. But just as his star was rising, he was accused of rape during a time when the nation — and especially the University of Montana — were under heavy scrutiny for allegedly mishandling accusations of campus sexual assault and rape.
This led to Johnson being investigated by the school and recommended for expulsion. He was also charged with rape in criminal court, but a jury acquitted him.
Johnson’s attorneys were prepared to file a lawsuit against the university, but Johnson, like many students accused of sexual assault, just wanted to settle and put the matter behind them.
“Any student accused of wrongdoing deserves a fair and impartial hearing of the facts of his or her case,” Johnson said in a statement provided through his attorney to the Associated Press. “Officials at the University of Montana — people who were in positions of great power — were unfair and biased. Their misconduct made my family and me suffer unnecessarily, both emotionally and financially.”
University administrators also wanted to settle, though an attorney for the state believed they would have prevailed.
Johnson also said through his attorney that “I will be graduating from the University of Montana with good memories because of them.”
Students who have sued — or threatened to sue — their universities for unfairly branding them as rapists rarely disclose the details of the settlements. Often, the students just want to be allowed to graduate and move on with their lives and avoid the added cost of a trial.
Schools often settle to avoid the cost of the trial as well, as was the case with Florida State University, which settled with an accusing student in yet another high-profile case.
The accusation at Montana was the subject of a book by Jon Krakauer, which is often cited by activists and legislatures trying to make it easier to brand accused students as rapists without evidence. One can only hope that settlements like these make schools pause before punishing students based solely on an accusation.
Ashe Schow is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
