Oregon men’s basketball head coach Dana Altman spoke to the media Friday afternoon about the sexual assault allegations against basketball players Damyean Dotson, Brandon Austin and Dominic Artis. It was Altman’s first appearance since the allegations came to light on May 5.
“I am very disappointed in the three young men,” Altman said.
Altman said he first knew about the investigation on March 17, the day before Oregon’s first game of the NCAA tournament. However, he did not know that it was a rape investigation and did not know the severity of the allegations.
The athletic department announced that it had suspended Austin, Artis and Dotson from the team on May 5.
Altman said that the decision to remove the players from the team was impacted by the pressure that the UO would put on the athletic department to do so.
“I think there would be a lot of pressure here at Oregon if they return and try to play basketball,” Altman said.
Altman said he spoke to the players following their suspensions.
“They were disappointed,” Altman said. “DA and Dot loved the university and loved their time here.”
When asked what he would have done differently, Altman said, “It’s hard to deal in what ifs, especially in a situation like this.”
Altman vouched for Austin’s character when Austin transferred from Providence College in Rhode Island after being suspended from the basketball team for an undisclosed violation of student conduct code. Altman said he discussed the violations with the Providence coaches and that Oregon “felt this was not something of a serious nature.” The Wall Street Journal reported on March 18 that Austin was suspended from Providence due to sexual assault allegations. Altman said he did not know anything about the allegations before the Wall Street Journal’s report.
“(Providence head coach) Ed Cooley said that it was not a legal matter, it was a university matter,” Altman said. “The fact that Providence tried to keep him gave us confidence that it wasn’t a serious matter.”
Altman said he did not know about Austin’s allegations of sexual assault at Providence College until March. When Austin transferred to the University of Oregon, Altman said the Providence coaches were still trying to keep Austin, which made Altman believe the allegations were not serious.
Altman said he spoke to Austin’s family about the suspension when Austin transferred to Oregon in January.
“I had every confidence after speaking with his family and checking his high school background that there was nothing to prevent him from joining our team,” Altman said. “He did not give specifics, so my line of questioning probably didn’t go deep enough there in retrospect.”
The Eugene Police Department released a report on Monday detailing the allegations of sexual assault allegedly committed by the players. The alleged assault occurred on March 9, hours after the Ducks ended their regular season with a 64-57 win against Arizona. According to the report, Dotson, Austin and Artis allegedly raped a woman twice in the bathroom of star point guard Johnathan Loyd’s house and again at an apartment leased to Artis and Dotson.
“There are four people whose lives have been greatly altered here,” Altman said. “I feel very bad for the victim and her family. Moving forward, it’s a tough situation.”
Artis and Dotson competed in both the Pac-12 and NCAA tournaments while the investigation was happening in March. Austin isn’t eligible to play until this December because of his transfer status.
The Oregonian reported on Thursday that Altman knew his players were under investigation before he let them participate in the NCAA Tournament. University officials approved the players’ participation.
Altman began his coaching career at Oregon in 2010 after 16 years as the head coach at Creighton. His collegiate coaching career has spanned 24 years and he currently holds a record of 501-288 (.635).
In November, Altman agreed to a three-year extension that kept him in Eugene through the 2019-2020 season. In his initial signing with Oregon, Altman signed a seven-year contract.
Athletic Director Rob Mullens confirmed on Friday morning that Altman will be head coach for the 2014-2015 season.
The players are no longer on campus and are back with their families, Altman said.
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