USU football player released recordings of football coach and police chief talking sexual assault. Now he’s receiving retaliation, he says
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Nov. 3 at 5:15pm to include additional comments made from Blake Anderson.
*Audio clip is the voice of former USU football player Patrick Maddox.
On Oct. 27, a former Utah State University Football player filed a lawsuit claiming damages against USU after he said head coach Blake Anderson and the team threatened him to the point where he felt forced to leave the team out of fear for his safety, according to the suit.
Patrick Maddox released recordings from a team meeting in August 2021 that he said revealed remarks against sexual assault victims made by Anderson and the USU police chief at the time, Earl Morris.
During that team meeting in August 2021, Morris met with the team to discuss sexual assault. Morris warned the team about having sex with Latter-day Saint women because they may tell their bishops it was non-consensual, according to the recording.
Maddox recorded the comments, including the team laughing in the background.
The team held a separate meeting the next day, with both Anderson and a representative from the Sexual Assault and Anti-Violence Information Office present.
During the meeting, Anderson said that it “has never been more glamorized to be a victim” and that the team was “a target to some,” according to the suit.
In an effort to hold Anderson and the team accountable, Maddox distributed the recordings to the Salt Lake Tribune, the suit said. Since then, the media has publicized the controversial comments.
“I felt like, being in those meetings, they were perpetuating notions of sexual assault and rape, and essentially just making it a joke,” Maddox said. “It needed to be exposed for what it was, because the administrators at the school — they’re going to continue to sweep it under the rug.”
Maddox said he was a friend of Kaytriauna Flint, who said she had been raped in November 2019 by a USU Football player.
Flint recently received $500,000 in a lawsuit against the university for the “huge lack of urgency and structure and accountability when I was going through my process with Utah State,” she said.
In January 2017, the United States Department of Justice opened an investigation into USU’s responses to sexual harassment and assault.
USU often closed incident files involving athletes after only “minimal investigation,” according to the DOJ investigation.
USU said the comments made in the recordings were not in line with their Title IX trainings.
“Over the last four years, USU has taken significant actions to improve its prevention of and response to sexual misconduct. This work has been complicated by changing regulations and legal expectations,” the university said in an email to the Statesman.
Maddox said he saw players on the team group chat saying they wanted to “beat up” the person who recorded the meetings.
“Some teammates had figured it out that it was me; I don’t know the exact specifics, I just know that there were teammates that told (Anderson) that it was me,” Maddox said.
Teammates threatened to come to Maddox’s house and assault him if he didn’t apologize to Anderson, the suit said.
Anderson told Maddox he had told other players to “handle (Maddox) however (they) saw fit,” implicitly sanctioning violence against him, according to the suit.
The suit said Anderson later told Maddox, “You do realize that (releasing the videos) severely harmed my reputation as a Christian, right?”
According to the suit, Maddox’s position coach later told him that they would have given him a football scholarship, but after he’d released the recordings, the coach felt differently.
Following his meeting with the position coach, Maddox said he went to his locker to gather his belongings. Maddox said he found his cleats stolen and his belongings doused in protein shakes.
Mike Young and Lauren Hunt, Flint’s lawyers, worked with Maddox to file the complaint.
“USU football administration, including coach Anderson, made clear to Patrick that the unusually hostile environment on the team would continue indefinitely and that such environment was fostered by the coaching staff in an effort to force Patrick to quit the team,” the suit said.
On Oct. 28, Anderson released a statement on Twitter regarding the case.
— Blake Anderson (@CHbanderson) October 29, 2022
“While I cannot comment on specific allegations, I will vigorously defend myself and our university against false statements,” Anderson said.
He also said that as a coach, he cares about all his players.
“We strive to build a culture our fans, community and university can be proud of and that respects all people. Misconduct and violence will never be acceptable in our program,” Anderson said in the tweet.
On Nov. 2, Anderson commented further while speaking on the Aggie’s Coach’s Show.
“The frustration for me is that for almost a year now I’ve been quoted out of context, things have been said that I just didn’t say,” Anderson said.
Anderson admitted that while he said his comments offended some people, it was taken out of context.
“I made a statement in front of my guys in response to a question about false reporting and false accusations. And I apologize for the terminology I use because I think it offended some people, but it was taken out of context. I never would say—and I never will say—that it is glamorized to be a sexual assault victim,” Anderson said.
Anderson also expressed a hope that “good people, really talented people” would bring his quotes back into the context of which he said them.
“I hope if nothing else, that those comments are able to be put in the proper context and the intent—and what we’re trying to teach and do here on a daily basis, you know, is shown in a way that people can truly see who we are, who I am, and what I believe in,” Anderson said.
USU Football’s media relations did not respond to the Statesman by the time of the publication.
USU Police Chief Blair Barfuss said students have an important and vital role in helping to prevent sexual assault.
“What it comes down to is active bystandership trainings, teachings, and courageous action. Students that are aware and attentive can help someone in need escape a dangerous situation or stop others from engaging in dangerous practices through active bystandership,” Barfuss said.
The university said USU is working to improve.
“Most recently, USU officials have increased staffing in the Office of Equity and simplified university procedures. Utah State is committed to supporting survivors and reducing barriers to reporting to ensure individuals can continue working and learning at USU,” the univeristy said in their email to the Statesman.
Maddox also said how important it was to hold others accountable.
“I would love to see the culture change. We can be better to hold each other accountable. But if people don’t hold each other accountable in order to protect each other, that’s just wrong,” Maddox said.
$500,000 for Flint’s settlement is pennies to the University; they paid Anderson over $1 million in his first year alone.
Likewise, USU will settle with Maddox and try to sweep everything under the rug. If the University is really “committed to supporting survivors,” they need to stop applying band-aids to bullet holes.
Hartwell resigned, now let’s see Anderson fired. Anything less shows the University cares more about athletics revenue than student safety (unfortunately, I’d hardly be surprised).