A former Nebraska women’s basketball player is suing the university, accusing coach Amy Williams and athletic director Trev Alberts of failing to take action when her sexual relationship with an assistant coach became known.
Ashley Scoggin filed a civil lawsuit on Sunday in U.S. District Court. In it, the lawsuit alleges that former associate head coach Chuck Love initiated a sexual relationship with Scoggin, and that the university’s response confirmed the relationship.
Scoggin said that she feared retaliation if she did not engage. Love resigned from his position in May 2022, three months after being suspended. Scoggin was removed from the team’s roster at that time.
“Although Love was married, Love pursued sexual relationships with students,” the lawsuit read. “Before August 2021, Williams knew or should have known of Love’s pursuit of sexual relationships with students. The community of their coaching staff was tightknit, as was the community of coaching staff and student-athletes.”
Scoggin, who cited an interest in becoming a coach after playing, said she worked with Love one-on-one during an internship. It was then that she says she was “groomed” into a “secret sexual relationship.”
“The relationship turned sexual,” the lawsuit read. “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 lawsuit also alleges that Williams, the current coach at Nebraska, did not do anything to help Scoggins despite being made aware of the possibility of an improper relationship. Instead, it alleges that Williams turned on Scoggin and made her to be “a seducer and a liar.”
“She allowed the players to berate and accuse Ashley for hours. 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,” the lawsuit read. Following that moment, Williams suspended Scoggins from the team without informing her of her rights under Title IX, according to the complaint.
The university’s board of regents and Love are also named as defendants. Scoggin is looking for a jury trial in Lincoln, as well as unspecified damages for the alleged violation of her civil rights.
“It’s a very troubling and serious subject of predatory coaches that pursue sexual relationships with student-athletes,” Scoggin attorney Maren Chaloupka said. “There’s an enormous imbalance of power between the professional coach and student-athletes. This is something that was well known in 2022.
“Certainly Division I universities that operate at the top level are well aware of the harm that comes from this kind of a predatory situation, and there’s a strong onus on the university and on the coaches to prevent this from happening and, heaven forbid it does happen, to address is correctly.”
