A former volleyball player has filed a federal lawsuit indicating that she was removed from the team and had her scholarship revoked after reporting to the school that her ex-boyfriend, a Temple football player, assaulted her, according to court records.
Emily Frazer and Andrew Cerett, a former punter on the football team, dated on and off from August 2010 to January 2011, according to court records.
The two broke up due to Cerett’s obsessive, controlling and disturbing behavior, the lawsuit said.
At approximately 10 p.m. on Jan. 21, 2011, Frazer, a sophomore at the time, was in a friend’s room when Cerett came into the dorm to speak with her. The lawsuit states Cerett forced himself into the room. Frazer and her friends fled to another room, where Cerett forced his way into the room again and beginning yelling at her, according to court records.
Frazer ran into her room and, as she tried to shut the door behind her, he kicked it open and screamed at her, threatening to kill her, court records state. Friends apparently restrained him and forced him to leave, before calling Temple Police. The lawsuit also states that as he was leaving, the man punched through a window in the hallway and spread his blood along the hall.
Frazer spent the night at her roommate’s home in New Hope, Pa., because she was terrified, according to the lawsuit. On March 18, 2011, a decision was issued from the university discipline board which suspended him until Aug. 29, 2011.
Court records state that Cerett would continually follow Frazer to and from class and would regularly sit outside her dorm building. Frazer apparently told the university of his actions, but no action was taken, according to the lawsuit.
After the incident, Frazer’s grades dropped as she suffered emotional trauma and required her mother to stay in her dorm with her at night for months after the incident, according to court records.
In May 2012, Frazer was removed from the volleyball team and had all of her scholarship revoked. The lawsuit states that this was done by the university in retaliation for insisting that Cerett be disciplined. After a grievance process, 50 percent of her scholarship was reinstated, but she was not allowed to return to the volleyball team, according to court records.
Cerett was not listed on the 2011 roster for the football team following his suspension and is not currently a Temple student.
The lawsuit names Temple, Allied Barton Security, Campus Safety Services and Cerett as defendants. Frazer states that her Fourth, Fifth, Ninth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated from the incident.
Assistant Vice President for University Communications Ray Betzner said the university has no comment on the pending litigation.
Sean Carlin can be reached at sean.carlin@temple.edu or on Twitter @SeanCarlin84.
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