It appears as though Ayden Hector's football career at Stanford is over before it started.

At least two media outlets published - then deleted - stories this week claiming Hector’s family was trying to suppress information about an alleged sexual assault on April 18, 2018. Hector was identified as a witness in the case, and no charges were filed.

When The Bootleg made an inquiry about the media reports to the Stanford athletic department, it received the following statement from the university's admissions department:

“Under university policy, Stanford may rescind the admission of an applicant based upon a review of additional information. The university has taken that step with regard to an incoming undergraduate for fall 2020 who was scheduled to be a football student-athlete.”

Though Hector wasn't named in the university release, the class of 2020 signee from Sammamish (Wash.) Eastside Catholic High School responded with a statement via Twitter on Wednesday night. The statement reads as follows:

“Two years ago, I was one of several witnesses who cooperated with the authorities in an 8-month long investigation which resulted in no charges being filed. It is unfortunate that complete strangers, including media outlets, have passed off false speculations, hearsay, and rumors about me related to this investigation. I can also confirm that Stanford’s decision regarding my admission was not in any way based on me being considered accused or a suspect of sexual misconduct, which I never was.”

The Bootleg received a letter dated February 18, 2020 written by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office confirming that Hector was a witness in “a sexual assault investigation in 2018. Ayden Hector communicated with our office during the investigation and ultimately no charges were filed.” Philip Sanchez, the Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in the Special Assault Unit in the King’s County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, is the signatory on the letter.

Hector was a four-star recruit from Eastside Catholic in Sammamish, Wash., according to the247Sports Composite. He was the No. 192 overall player in the country and the No. 14 cornerback according to the Composite. Hector chose Stanford over offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, USC and others. He announced his commitment to the Cardinal on October 7, 2019, and submitted a National Letter of Intent to play for Stanford on December 18, 2019.

As of 6:46 p.m. Eastern on April 11, Hector’s was the only page of the 26 signees in the class of 2020 that was not accessible on Stanford’s official athletics web site.

Hector's older brother is currently an undergrad student at Stanford, and his father Zuri played football at USC. His uncle Byron Hector played at Cal and his grandfather Willie Hector played in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams.

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R.J. Abeytia has been contributing to The Bootleg since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Abeytia and follow The Bootleg @TheBootleg for up to the moment Cardinal news and analysis. Also, you can follow The Bootleg on our Facebook page. Drop by and give us a like!!

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