On Friday, ESPN released a bombshell report regarding former Florida quarterback Treon Harris and current wide receiver Antonio Callaway. According to ESPN reporters Mark Schlabach and Paula Lavigne, Harris and Callaway were accused in December of sexual assault by a female University of Florida student. The accuser has chosen to boycott the school's Title IX hearing due to the university appointing a Florida football booster to adjudicate the case.
The accuser's attorney, John Clune, who deals with Title IX cases across the country, provided the letter he wrote to the University of Florida regarding his client's decision to boycott the hearing. Callaway's attorney responded to Clune reaching out to the press with the following statement, obtained by OnlyGators.com.
"We have read what the complainant's attorney has released to the press. We consider his actions inappropriate and an attempt at intimidation," Johnson wrote.
"Since the complainant's attorney has chosen to go to the press in this matter, we assume that he will be releasing the hundreds of pages that made up the University of Florida's investigation. We assume that he will be releasing the sworn affidavits in this case. We assume that he will be releasing the complainant's text messages in the investigation. We assume that he will be releasing the complainant's multitude of varying and conflicting stories.
"We are not going to besmirch his client in the press. The totality of the investigation which is over one-thousand (1,000 pages) will do that for us. Our client has asked us not to release anything at this point. Because of the conduct of the complainant's attorney, that may change in the future."
Florida suspended both Callaway and Harris in January for violating the school's code of conduct policy. They were barred from campus and took online courses during the suspension. Harris announced that he would be transferring from Florida in July, and Callaway still remains suspended but is actively practicing with the team, and was fully participating in the team's first day of camp on Thursday.
According to sources, the woman reported to Florida's student conduct and conflict resolution office that Callaway and Harris sexually assaulted her in early December. She didn't report the incident to police.
We will continue to update this story as it develops.
