Pinkel, Alden say protocol followed for Washington

COLUMBIA (AP) - Missouri football head coach Gary Pinkel and athletic director Mike Alden said they followed what they believed to be the school's protocol when former running back Derrick Washington was accused of rape in 2008.

Pinkel said Friday at a news conference he learned of the allegation in October 2008, but did not take action because no charges were filed.

"I can't go and call up the victim," Pinkel said. "I'm not able, legally, to do that. It's all about the information.

"If they decide they're not going to press charges, then I'm not going to remove a player from the team."

Alden said he was not aware then of reporting requirements for sexual violence to the Title IX coordinator. Legislation mandates schools to investigate instances of alleged sexual discrimination or violence once it has evidence of an incident.

"There's many of us that are much more aware of reporting requirements here on campus," Alden said. "But back in 2008, I was not aware of those types of procedures and how they took place on campus."

ESPN reported Thursday two former University of Missouri female students made assault allegations against Washington before two other cases for which he eventually served jail time.

University Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin, who took over in February, said Thursday the school "made mistakes in the past" by not investigating the alleged sex assault as required by the federal Title IX law.

Loftin said the claim against Blitz was found to be "unsubstantiated."

Washington, a former co-captain and starting running back, was suspended from team on Aug. 26, 2010. Later that month, he was charged with deviate sexual assault in connection with a June 2010, sexual assault of former athletic department tutor Teresa Brackel. In 2011, Washington was sentenced to five years in prison for the sexual assault.

He also pleaded guilty in February 2012 to third-degree domestic assault of an ex-girlfriend.

The report did not name either woman. Police reports and university documents connected to the two incidents also don't identify the complainants.

Missouri hired an outside law firm to review its policies after another ESPN investigation in January into the alleged off-campus rape of a former university swimmer by several football players in February 2010. Sasha Menu Courey later left school and committed suicide.

The outside review faulted the university's response and determined the school's Title IX coordinator and local police should have been alerted to Menu Courey's claims in November 2012, after a public records request by her parents produced documents alluded to a possible attack.

Missouri has since hired a full-time Title IX coordinator as well as a full-time sex assault investigator. Overseeing the school's compliance with the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education had previously been handled on a part-time basis by an administrator with other duties.