BYU Officials Comment On Jake Retzlaff Alleged Sexual Assault Lawsuit.
ORLANDO, Fla. – A civil lawsuit alleging sexual assault was filed against BYU football quarterback Jake Retzlaff on May 21.
The case remains a civil suit with the starting BYU signal-caller facing no criminal charges at this time.
On the day the civil lawsuit was filed by anonymous Jane Doe A.G., Brigham Young University issued a statement that said the following:
“BYU became aware today that a civil lawsuit involving Jake Retzlaff had been filed this morning. The university takes any allegation very seriously, following all processes and guidelines mandated by Title IX. Due to federal and university privacy laws and practices for students, the university will not be able to provide additional comment.”
Along with BYU’s statement, Jake Retzlaff’s attorney, Mark Baute, issued a written statement saying that Retzlaff is “factually innocent, and we look forward to proving that innocence.”
But since May 21, there has been silence on the matter. There has been no additional information from Retzlaff’s attorney, BYU, Jake Retzlaff himself, or the alleged victim’s representation.
Kalani Sitake, Brian Santiago comment on the situation
This week in Orlando, Florida, the Big 12 Conference met for its annual spring meetings.
KSL Sports was on location for the event and had a chance to ask Brigham Young University President C. Shane Reese, BYU Athletics Director Brian Santiago, and BYU football head coach Kalani Sitake about Retzlaff’s status with the university and the football team amidst the ongoing civil lawsuit.
In summary, all three pointed to BYU’s initial statement and had no additional comments.
“I don’t have much to say on that,” BYU President C. Shane Reese said to KSL Sports. “You could probably anticipate that, but I just don’t have much to say at this point.”
Newly hired BYU athletics director Brian Santiago, in a separate interview with KSL Sports, responded to KSL Sports’ question asking, ‘What’s the latest with Jake [Retzlaff] and his status with the school in regards to the civil lawsuit?’
Santiago’s response, “It’s a fair question. It’s a private matter. The University made a statement, and Jake and his attorney have both released statements.
“Our responsibility is to care for our student-athletes. Certainly, it’s a tough situation. It’d be ignorant not to say it’s a tough situation, but it’s a private matter that’s going to be handled privately.
“We just found out about it when others found out about it, and so we want to respect the privacy of Jake. We want to respect the privacy of the university. We want to respect the privacy of those involved as the matter gets worked out, and have full confidence that the right thing will happen moving forward.”
KSL Sports also asked BYU football head coach Kalani Sitake on Retzlaff’s current status with the team.
“Our university made a statement. At this point, I can’t add any additional comment to that, due to federal and privacy laws. So I’ll just leave it at that,” Sitake said to KSL Sports.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference.
