Witt Accused of Sexual Assault; Did Not Choose Game over Rhodes

By EMILY VILLANO

January 27, 2012

Yale quarterback Patrick Witt ’12 did not, in fact, choose to play the Harvard-Yale football game over the chance at a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, the New York Times reports Thursday. Rather, the Rhodes Trust suspended his candidacy when it learned, through unofficial channels, that an unnamed undergraduate woman had filed an informal complaint with Yale accusing Witt of sexual assault.

This new information comes as a shock to those who followed the media fanfare in November surrounding what Witt, at the time, termed the “biggest decision of his life.” Before the Rhodes Trust became aware of the allegations against him, Witt was a Rhodes finalist whose scheduled interview conflicted with the Game. In interviews and press releases, Witt reinforced his media depiction as sports hero and paragon student-athlete, claiming the decision would require “a lot of thought, and a lot of prayer.” Even after the Rhodes Trust formally suspended Witt’s candidacy, Witt provided an interview stating, “I just need to make a decision and live with it,” as though still laboring over a presumed choice. Following Witt’s announcement that he had withdrawn from the Rhodes, he allowed for the widespread assumption that he done so in order to play the Game.

In many ways, the event marks a crucial stride for Yale’s newly implemented structures addressing cases of sexual misconduct. The Times reports that Witt’s accuser first contacted Yale’s Sexual Harassment and Assault Resources & Education Center (SHARE) and filed her complaint with the University-Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct, established this past July. The fact that the complainant went to SHARE, that SHARE directed her to proper disciplinary measures, and—to the extent that, at least indirectly, it has had these repercussions—the Committee took her complaint seriously, speaks to the care Yale is taking with such cases in the wake of last spring’s Title IX complaint. The Title IX complainants criticized the University for failing to take make resources for victims of sexual misconduct widely accessible and failing to respond promptly and effectively to complaints, issues that appear to have been addressed in this case.

Nevertheless, questions arise as to Yale’s knowledge of the complaint at stages in the Rhodes application process. President Levin signed an endorsement of Witt, and Dean Mary Miller wrote a letter accompanying his application. Under Yale rules, Dean Miller is alerted when a complaint of this kind is made. With the chronology unclear, it remains unclear whether Yale acted irresponsibly in recommending Witt for the scholarship. At this time Yale has refused to comment on the complaint, citing its commitment to confidentiality.

Emily Villano is a junior in Yale College.  She is an associate editor for Broad Recognition.