A former University of Nebraska basketball player filed suit against the school, saying athletic department officials should have done more to protect her from being groomed by an assistant coach.
Ashley Scoggin named the school’s board of regents, coach Amy Williams, athletic director Trev Alberts and former assistant coach Chuck Love Jr. as defendants in her federal lawsuit.
“The University was made aware of the lawsuit Monday morning,” University of Nebraska spokesperson Melissa Lee said in a statement to NBC News on Tuesday. Lee said the statement was on behalf of the school, Williams and Albert.
“While the University does not comment on the specifics of pending litigation, it does not agree with the allegations contained in the complaint and intends to vigorously defend this matter.”
Love did not immediately return messages left at multiple, publicly listed phone numbers for him on Tuesday.
According to the lawsuit, Love began pursuing Scoggin in the summer of 2021 before they shared a kiss in a Costco parking lot, with the married defendant allegedly asking her, “Have you ever done anything with a coach before?”
“The relationship turned sexual,” the complaint said. “When Love wanted to have sex, he expected Ashley to be available and willing. Because Love was married and Ashley did not live alone, this involved sexual relations in different locations in University of Nebraska Department of Athletics facilities. It also included summoning Ashley to his hotel room when the team traveled to road games.”
The player said she feared going to Williams because the head coach would “lose her temper unpredictably, to insert herself arbitrarily into seemingly minor personality conflicts amongst team members, and to otherwise demonstrate loose boundaries,” the lawsuit claimed.
“Ashley was a keeper of this secret, making excuses when she would have to leave a room or a gathering because Love had summoned her to meet him for sex,” according to the lawsuit. “Love expected her to become available whenever he texted or messaged her.”
Scoggin’s teammates had long suspected the pair were in an improper relationship, according to the lawsuit, which was allegedly exposed during a February 2022 trip to Penn State.
Top women’s programs often retain “practice players,” male students who once played organized basketball, to scrimmage against the scholarship females.
A Nebraska practice player tricked hotel staff into giving him a key to the assistant coach’s room, leading to “two team members confronting Ashley in Love’s room” before they “reported their findings and showed their video recording to Williams,” the lawsuit said. The lawsuit does not specify what was on the video or if Love was in it.
Love instructed Scoggin to deny any allegations of an improper relationship, which she did at a team meeting the next day with Love sitting next to her, according to the suit. But the head coach and players allegedly accused her of lying, the suit said.
“Williams cast Ashley in the role of a seducer and a liar. She allowed the players to berate and accuse Ashley for hours,” the lawsuit said. “She did not redirect or counsel the players that what they had seen may be the result of an abuse of power by her Associate Head Coach.”
Both Love and Scoggin, who was one of the team’s best 3-point shooters, connecting on 55 of 131 long-range attempts (42%) that season for the Huskers, were suspended from the team.
Love resigned from the University of Nebraska in May 2022, announcing at the time, “I have come to the decision to move on and be with family and explore other opportunities.” Scoggin transferred to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she’s playing for the 22-2 Lady Rebels.
