A former Utah State football player whose leaked recordings shined a light on the school’s handling of sexual assault and misconduct allegations has filed a lawsuit against both the school and current head coach Blake Anderson.
The former player, Patrick Maddox, has alleged that his recordings – the video was stripped from the files but the audio proved damning enough to prompt apologies from both Anderson and the former Utah State University Police Chief Earl Morris, who later resigned – resulted in Maddox being harassed, having his locker broken into and ultimately his decision to leave the program last spring out of what Maddox said was fear for his safety.
A Portland, Oregon, native who earned 2020 Academic All-Mountain West Conference honors and who played the first six games of the Anderson era at Utah State a year ago before injury ended his season, Maddux emerged at the center of the school’s handling of sexual assault allegations brought against a former player by Kaytriauna Flint, a friend of Maddux who three years ago alleged that she was raped by an Aggies player and who ultimately reached a half-million-dollar settlement with USU after Flint agreed to drop her allegations that the school had mishandled her rape report.
The Salt Lake Tribune has reported extensively on the matter and was first to report on Maddox’s suit filed Thursday in United States District Court.
While indicating that USU, which previously was rebuked for its handling of Title IX matters, is limited in what it can say due to the ongoing nature of Maddox’s suit, a school spokesperson provided the following statement:
“To be clear, USU does not tolerate sexual misconduct or retaliation for reporting it. We encourage any student who has experienced or has knowledge of either to report it to the Office of Equity so the behavior can be addressed appropriately, and the reporting party can receive supportive measures.”
Second-year Aggies coach Anderson also issued a statement, which read, in part, the following:
“(Thursday) afternoon I learned that a lawsuit had been filed against me and the University,” Anderson posted in a statement to his verified Twitter account, @CHbanderson. “While I cannot comment on the specific allegations, I will vigorously defend myself and our university against false statements.
“I look forward to providing facts, context and clarification of the allegations against myself and the University.”
— Blake Anderson (@CHbanderson) October 29, 2022
As a result of Maddox’s recordings, Anderson – hired by USU prior to the 2021 season away from Arkansas State and who generated an 11-win season in his first year atop the program in Logan, Utah – apologized after Maddox’s audio revealed that Anderson had told his players “It has never been more glamorized to be a victim” of sexual assault.
Per Maddox, Anderson also told the former player that Maddox’s decision to leak the recordings had damaged Anderson’s standing in the Christian church.
The Aggies do not have a game this weekend but return to the field Nov. 5 at home against Mountain West Conference foe New Mexico.