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Ex-Player Sues UConn Over Scholarship

An ex-player sues UConn for stripping away her soccer scholarship, alleging that she was denied due process and treated unfairly by the school.

A former University of Connecticut women’s soccer team member filed a lawsuit in a federal district court on Monday against her former school, alleging that the university denied her rights and treated her unfairly.

Ex-Player Sues UConn Over Scholarship

Noriana Radwan, who has since transferred to Hofstra University and is now playing there, says that she had her Huskies scholarship revoked in 2014. She also alleges that the loss of her scholarship was a punitive measure by the school.

During the 2014 American Athletic Conference championship game against the University of South Florida, which was being broadcast by ESPNU, Radwan gave her middle finger to a television camera.

Radwan was originally suspended for the action. Radwan says that midway through the school year her scholarship was revoked due to “serious misconduct.”

Radwan’s lawsuit claims that the penalty for her action was excessive for the action, and not in keeping with other penalties that the university has handed out for other misconduct by other athletes. She also alleges that her right to due process was denied. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages.

If the suit is successful, it would challenge a long-standing legal precedent. In 1988, a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States effectively established that athletes at NCAA-member institutions have no due process rights in regards to penalties handed down by their schools or the NCAA. The court held that such entities were not acting as agents of the state, but rather administrating regulations agreed to and using powers granted them by the consensus of the member institutions.

There has been no comment yet from UConn, and a settlement outside of court remains an option. Should the suit actually go to trial, however, it has the potential to redefine the rights of athletes at NCAA-member institutions across the nation.

Photo credit: University of Connecticut Athletics

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