County Attorney statement on review of U of M football investigation

Friday,

Veteran prosecutors, victim witness advocates of the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and I today completed our review of the University of Minnesota’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action report on the actions of a number of Gopher football players.

That report shined a light on what can only be described as deplorable behavior. And while the university’s investigation included a handful of new interviews, the information elicited was not significantly different from the information presented to this office following a thorough investigation by the Minneapolis Police Department.

Reviewing the full report and comparing it to the criminal investigation file shows no new significant evidence that would enable prosecutors to bring charges against any individuals that could be sustained under our much higher standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. As a result, our decision not to bring charges remains unchanged.

Because the university’s process is continuing with appeals, we believe it would be inappropriate to comment further.

Mike Freeman
Hennepin County Attorney