On Friday, Florida receiver Antonio Callaway will face a Title IX hearing over a sexual assault accusation, but the woman filing the complaint will boycott the hearing, according to a report by ESPN.
In a letter obtained by ESPN, the woman’s attorney, John Clune, wrote that the woman will not attend the hearing scheduled for Friday due to a possible conflict of interest, ESPN reported. Clune, the woman’s parents and five witnesses will also boycott the hearing, according to the letter, which was sent to UF deputy general counsel Amy Hass.
According to the ESPN report released on Friday, Florida appointed Jake Schickel — a former Florida track and field athlete and a current UF football athletics booster — as the hearing officer in Callaway’s case.
According to the report, the woman told Florida’s student conduct and conflict resolution office that she had been sexually assaulted by both Callaway and former UF quarterback Treon Harris in December, but she did not report anything to the police.
Both Callaway and Harris were suspended from the Florida football team before the start of Spring practice, but the reason for their suspensions was not released. On June 7, UF announced that Callaway was cleared to attend classes and use UF’s athletics facilities.
On Wednesday, Florida coach Jim McElwain announced that Callaway was cleared to practice with the team. The sophomore participated in the first day of practice on Thursday.
UF's athletic department confirmed on July 25 that Harris transferred from the school, but it is still unclear where he is transferring.
UPDATE: University of Florida spokesperson Janine Sikes released a statement Friday afternoon. It emphasizes that a hearing officer's objectivity isn't automatically compromised because he or she is in some way affiliated with UF's athletics program, though it doesn't mention Jake Schickel by name. The full statement can be found below.
“The University of Florida is prohibited to comment on the existence or substance of student disciplinary matters under state and federal law.
However, I can tell you that our student conduct process may be handled by a hearing officer, who could be a university employee or an outside professional, or by a committee of faculty and students.
Any hearing officer and all committee members are trained and vetted for their impartiality. A hearing officer or committee member would not be disqualified or lack objectivity simply because he or she had been a student athlete decades earlier or purchases athletic tickets as more than 90,000 people do each year.”
Contact Ian Cohen at icohen@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @icohenb.
UF wide receiver Antonio Callaway is tackled by FAU punter Dalton Schomp during a punt return in Florida's 20-14 overtime win against Florida Atlantic on Nov. 21, 2015, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
