Former Louisville football player Kemari Averett said he was instructed by athletic department staff to respond to a rape allegation days before he played in a football game against Boston College.

That statement was part of his appeal of a two-year ban from school after a university student conduct investigation concluded he raped a woman at his apartment on Aug. 14.

"On or about October 10 or 11, the athletic staff instructed me to report to the Dean's office to respond to the accusation without giving me any guidance and direction or rights that I had," Averett said in the Dec. 5 appeal, obtained Thursday by the Courier Journal.

Related:Kemari Averett, banned from campus, no longer with Louisville football

Reached for comment Thursday, athletics spokesman Kenny Klein said: "To our knowledge, he would have been told to report to the university but we would not have known the subject matter."

Averett played in the game against Boston College on Oct. 13.

Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra and football coach Bobby Petrino, who has since been fired, both said they did not learn about the rape allegation against Averett until a Courier Journal report on Oct. 24.

The Courier Journal reported that a 20-year-old female student filed a complaint with campus police against Averett on Oct. 9, alleging he raped her in August. The university's dean of students office was simultaneously investigating the allegations. The police investigation is ongoing. Averett has not been charged, as of Thursday. A no-contact order was issued to Averett and the woman on Oct. 8.

Also:Kemari Averett kicked out of apartment and barred from U of L campus

The university held a conduct hearing for Averett on Nov. 12. The hearing panel determined Averett violated the student code of conduct by causing physical harm to a person; disrupting university-sponsored activities; violating government laws or ordinances; and engaging in nonconsensual intercourse, according to a Nov. 21 letter.

Averett is eligible to return to school after June 1, 2021, with some restrictions, but is permanently banned from campus housing.

Averett appealed the punishment Wednesday, one day before the deadline. He argued that the sex was consensual, the process was not fully explained, and that the panel was biased.

Specifically, he said the student conduct officer overseeing the hearing excluded certain evidence from social media that "would clearly support my defense that our sexual encounter was consensual.

"Its exclusion constituted a denial of process," Averett said.

Background:Law let U of L keep Petrino in the dark about Averett rape accusation

In the appeal, Averett asserted he did not know he could potentially face criminal charges of first-degree rape and first-degree sex abuse.

"Neither (the student conduct officer) nor the athletic department impressed upon me the seriousness of what I was facing," he said.

His lawyer, Aubrey Williams, told the Courier Journal Thursday he doesn't think the appeal is going to be successful based on his account of the hearing.

"It's garbage. It borders on criminal," he said. "It's repugnant, it's inexcusable."

University spokesman John Karman declined comment, citing student privacy laws.

Averett was suspended from the team indefinitely on Oct. 16, after he was arrested following a separate, gun-related incident. He was later kicked out of his apartment and deemed "persona non grata," barring him from the campus. He is no longer part of the team.

Averett faces criminal charges in the gun incident. On Oct. 15 he was arrested outside his apartment after campus police said he held a gun to a different woman’s head and threatened to kill her.

Read this:Kemari Averett's redemption story unfinished after a shocking arrest

Averett was charged with second-degree wanton endangerment, which is a misdemeanor, and fourth-degree assault after police determined the weapon was a BB gun, according to Williams. If convicted, Averett could face up to a year in jail and a $500 fine.

Averett pleaded not guilty. A jury trial is scheduled for Feb. 27, 2019.

Justin Sayers: 502-582-4252; jsayers@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @_JustinSayers. Jake Lourim: 502-582-4168; jlourim@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @jakelourim. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/justins.