Ex-Spartan Keith Mumphery sues Michigan State over sex assault expulsion

Former Michigan State football player Keith Mumphery has been effectively blackballed from the NFL since the Detroit Free Press published an article exposing his dismissal from MSU because of an alleged sexual assault, a new federal lawsuit filed against MSU claims.

"Despite a previously unblemished disciplinary record and Michigan State’s initial finding of 'no responsibility,' Plaintiff now finds himself permanently dismissed from Michigan State based on false allegations of sexual misconduct and sexual exploitation by a female Michigan State student," the lawsuit says. "Michigan State’s findings were not based on any concrete evidence.

"The disciplinary process and ultimate finding were motivated by an anti-male and anti-athlete discriminatory bias against" Mumphery, who played for Michigan State from 2010-14.

Attempts to contact Michigan State for comment were not immediately successful.

The lawsuit claims Mumphery's expulsion has left him unable to complete his graduate degree in communications, costing him a job in the non-NFL world.

At issue is an encounter between Mumphery and a female MSU student in March 2015, as Mumphery, who had completed his MSU playing career, was on campus to workout for NFL scouts at the school’s annual pro day.

The female student in the case, who is not named in the suit, has also sued MSU in federal court, alleging the school helped Mumphery come back to campus after it had banned him.

Both lawsuits, and police reports reviewed by the Free Press, paint a picture of the incident that differs greatly, depending on who is doing the telling.

The female student reported to MSU Police on March 17, 2015, she had been sexually assaulted in her dorm room. According to the campus police report, the two met a few months before the incident on an online dating site, agreeing to meet at her dorm room weeks later. The police report details conflicting accounts of who was the aggressor and whether elements of their sexual behavior were consensual.

The female’s lawsuit says the university only took proper action after the federal Office of Civil Rights forced them to reevaluate cases and after the player — Mumphery — had expired his playing eligibility at the school.

According to the lawsuit, on Jan. 22, 2016, a review panel convened and determined the Michigan State investigative office made both procedural error and arbitrary and capricious findings when investigating the sexual assault complaint.

The investigative office was directed to reopen the investigation to clarify its findings and to remedy the procedural errors.

On March 21, 2016, a full year after the assault was reported, investigators found that the victim had not given “consent” as defined in MSU’s Policy on Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct and that Mumphery violated the policy by sexually assaulting the plaintiff.

Mumphery’s new lawsuit paints a different picture of what happened and what MSU did.

He claims, in graphic language, that the woman was the aggressor and he stopped sex with her when she got upset when he wanted to put a condom on.

“He would later tell the OIE investigators that he did not communicate with" the accuser "after that point,” the lawsuit said. “He also told the OIE investigators that ‘When you’re a star athlete, chicks come for you from all directions. My sister got a baby and I don’t have sex without a condom.’ "

Mumphery’s lawsuit claims he completely cooperated with police, while the woman did not. It also claims that the MSU investigator looking into the case cleared Mumphery, but the university had a predetermined outcome it wanted.

“The Defendants believed that the easiest way to accomplish this was to ignore the due process rights of Plaintiff (who had graduated from Michigan State and was training in Florida) by repeatedly and systematically failing to give him notice of the appeal and subsequent renewed investigation,” Mumphery’s lawsuit said.

MSU then kicked Mumphery off campus and barred him from coming back until 2019. The lawsuit noted the Detroit Free Press wrote an article on May 31, 2017, revealing the expulsion, and that led to Mumphery being cut from the Houston Texans football team.

“As a result of these due process violations, Plaintiff continues to suffer ongoing harm, including damages to his reputation, permanent loss of employment opportunities, and other economic and non-economic damages,” the 55-page lawsuit says. “In particular, the discipline imposed by Michigan State has permanently damaged his career prospects in his chosen profession, denied him the benefits of education at his chosen school after his career as a professional athlete is completed thereby damaging the post-athletic career he intended to pursue after his professional football career, and damaged Plaintiff’s academic and professional reputation.”

Contact David Jesse at 313-222-8851 or djesse@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @reporterdavidj