LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech basketball player Pop Isaacs “remains in good standing” after a report of a civil lawsuit accusing the team's leading scorer of sexual assault of a minor, the school said in a statement Friday night.
The lawsuit accuses Isaacs of assaulting a 17-year-old girl when the Red Raiders were playing in a tournament in the Bahamas in November, ESPN reported.
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According to the lawsuit, Red Raiders coach Grant McCasland was contacted by the plaintiffs Dec. 14 and reported the incident to athletic director Kirby Hocutt and other university officials. Isaacs has played in four games since then.
The school said in its statement the accusation was “immediately and properly” reported to its Title IX office, and that an investigation began promptly.
The athletic department “reached out to the Title IX office on two occasions and was informed both times that based upon the information, Pop Isaacs remains in good standing, and there is no reason to withhold him from university activities, including basketball competition,” the statement said.
The school said its Title IX investigation will continue until it is completed, “regardless of the civil lawsuit.”
The lawsuit was filed in Lubbock County, where the Texas Tech campus is, by the parents of the girl who says she was assaulted. ESPN obtained a copy of the lawsuit, which was not available online.
The age of consent in the Bahamas is 16, but the lawsuit says the girl was intoxicated and could not give consent.
The lawsuit alleges a Texas Tech booster bought alcoholic drinks for Isaacs and a teammate. They were in a room with two girls, ages 17 and 16. The lawsuit says Isaacs and the 17-year-old went to another room, where she was sexually assaulted after she “attempted to fight him off,” according to the ESPN report.
The Red Raiders (11-2) played three games in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, losing to Villanova before beating Northern Iowa and Michigan.
Texas Tech opens Big 12 play at Texas on Saturday.
Isaacs, a 20-year-old sophomore from Las Vegas, is averaging 15.8 points and 3.4 assists per game. He is 10th in the Big 12 in scoring and shared conference player of the week honors this week with West Virginia's RaeQuan Battle.
Isaacs was third among Big 12 freshmen in scoring last season, when he averaged 11.5 points per game.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball