LINCOLN, Nebraska – A former University of Nebraska women’s basketball player filed a civil lawsuit on Sunday, accusing a former associate head coach of using his position to initiate a sexual relationship with her. According to the lawsuit, Ashley Scoggin alleges that Chuck Love, the former assistant coach, used his influence to groom her into a sexual relationship while she was a student-athlete at Nebraska from 2020 to 2022.
The lawsuit names Love, head coach Amy Williams, athletic director Trev Alberts, and the Nebraska school of regents as defendants. Scoggin is seeking unspecified damages for the alleged violation of her civil rights. In a statement, the University of Nebraska expressed disagreement with the allegations contained in the complaint and noted its intention to vigorously defend the matter.
Scoggin, who now plays at UNLV, also accuses Williams and Alberts of failing to maintain appropriate boundaries between players and the coaching staff. The lawsuit describes how Love, who had mentored Scoggin and had regular individual practice sessions with her, began inviting her out for drinks and messaging her late at night while she was working an academic internship within the athletic department. The lawsuit states that Love used his position to imply promises of support in her career and created a perception that he could ‘make her or break her’ in terms of her place on the team and her future.
Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges that after declining to participate in a group sex session with Love and another man, Scoggin felt she was given less playing time during games. In a particularly troubling incident, team members caught and videotaped Scoggin in Love’s hotel room after a practice player tricked a hotel desk clerk into giving him Love’s room key. Upon reporting the incident to Williams, the lawsuit claims that the coach took no measures to protect Scoggin’s confidentiality and took no meaningful steps to explore whether an abuse of power had occurred.
Scoggin’s attorney, Maren Lynn Chaloupka, has emphasized the importance of maintaining appropriate boundaries between coaches and student-athletes, stating that student-athletes should feel protected, not punished, when faced with such situations. The lawsuit also alleges that Williams failed to take the necessary steps to address the situation, instead inviting team members to interrogate Scoggin and Love in a confrontational manner.
The lawsuit further claims that Scoggin was suspended from the team and subsequently removed, while Love was put on paid suspension until he resigned in May 2022. The lawsuit alleges that the university and its athletic director did not initiate an investigation into the situation, and Scoggin was not informed of her rights under Title IX during her meeting with the athletic department.
The allegations presented in the lawsuit shed light on the importance of maintaining professionalism and appropriate boundaries within the coach-student relationship. The case has raised questions about the university’s handling of the situation and the measures taken to ensure the wellbeing and rights of student-athletes.