Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Oregon Basketball Players Accused of Rape

The players had argued they were discriminated against when they were kicked out of school over rape allegations.

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SEATTLE — A U.S. appeals court has rejected an appeal brought by three University of Oregon basketball players who said they were discriminated against when they were kicked out of school over rape allegations.

A female student accused Dominic Artis, Damyean Dotson and Brandon Austin of raping her at a party in 2014, allegations that prompted protests on campus. No criminal charges were filed and the three maintained the sexual contact was consensual, but the school dismissed them over code-of-conduct violations.

The players sued in 2015, saying they suffered gender discrimination, among other claims. A federal judge threw out their lawsuit. On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld that decision.

The panel said the three failed to make a plausible claim of discrimination.