Rice Simply Convicts Male Students Based on Claims of Female -- Pays Over $1 Million for Approach

 

In April 2026, a federal jury ordered Rice University to pay $1.3 million in damages to a former male student and football quarterback after finding that the school had discriminated against him based on his gender during a Title IX disciplinary proceeding. [1, 2]

The details of what happened include:

The Accusation: The male freshman (referred to in court documents as John Doe) had a brief consensual relationship with a female junior in 2017. After it ended, the female student filed a Title IX complaint accusing him of failing to disclose his herpes diagnosis before they had sex. [1, 2, 3]
The University's Actions: Rice University investigated the claim and suspended the male student. He was kicked off the football team, stripped of his full-ride scholarship, and banned from stepping foot on campus, which ultimately forced him to withdraw from the university. [1, 2, 3, 4]
The Lawsuit & Verdict: The student sued Rice University in 2019. His legal team argued—and a jury later agreed—that the university provided no due process. Rice investigators reportedly refused to interview key witnesses, barred his lawyer from participating, and actively ignored evidence. This included an admission from the female student that he had told her about the STD, as well as testimony from another student indicating she may have contracted it in a prior relationship. [1, 2, 3]

The jury concluded that Rice University violated Title IX guidelines by relying on sex-based stereotypes and archaic assumptions about men and women to run a "rigged" investigation that assumed the male student's guilt.  

The Backstory

The case stemmed from a 2017 relationship between the 18-year-old freshman football player and a 21-year-old female student. Following their breakup, the female student filed a complaint accusing the male student of failing to disclose that he had herpes before they engaged in consensual sex. [1, 2, 3]

What Rice University Did to the Student

Based on the female student's complaint, Rice University’s Student Judicial Programs (SJP) investigated and penalized the male student by: [1]

• Suspending him from the university.
• Banning him from entering any university campus property.
• Releasing him from the football program and stripping him of his full-ride scholarship.
• Forcing his withdrawal from the school due to the sudden loss of financial assistance. [1, 2]

The Lawsuit and Verdict

The male student filed a Title IX lawsuit in 2019, arguing that the university "railroaded" him and ran a rigged, broken system. His defense team presented evidence showing that: [1, 2, 3]

• Due process was denied: The school did not hold a formal hearing, refused to interview his witnesses, took no testimony, and would not allow him to communicate through a lawyer. [1]
• Exculpatory evidence was ignored: Rice investigators refused to interview another male student who was willing to testify that he had contracted herpes from the female student prior to her relationship with the football player. [1]
• Bias was present: The university assumed the male student's guilt based on sex-based stereotypes and archaic assumptions.
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Ultimately, the jury agreed that Rice selectively enforced its Code of Student Conduct with anti-male bias and awarded the former student $1.32 million in damages for lost and potential future earnings.