Thursday, September 26, 1996
Correction: Because of a reporter's error, it was incorrectly reported Thursday that St. Louis Rams running back Lawrence Phillips had pleaded guilty to misdemeanor trespassing and assault. He pleaded no contest.
St. Louis Rams running back Lawrence Phillips has settled a lawsuit filed against him by a woman he allegedly battered and sexually assaulted last year while both attended the University of Nebraska.
The settlement came after a federal judge decided to make the lawsuit a public record. The judge also blasted Nebraska's handling of the episode and said the matter warranted a "substantial investigation."
Phillips' actions tarnished the university's image and once again raised questions about universities' treatment of top college athletes who have run-ins with the law.
Court records show that the plaintiff, Katherine Ann McEwen of Topeka, spoke for the first time about how the incidents with Phillips have affected her life.
McEwen, Phillips' former girlfriend at Nebraska, filed the suit last month in Jackson County Circuit Court. The suit was filed there because Phillips was served in Kansas City when the Rams traveled here to play the Chiefs in an Aug. 17 exhibition game.
McEwen sought unspecified damages because of repeated incidents in which Phillips allegedly threatened her, held her against her will, beat her and sexually assaulted her, the lawsuit said.
The petition claims Phillips beat her and kicked her on one occasion, then grabbed her hair "caveman style," dragged her down three flights of steps and slammed her head into a wall. Phillips allegedly threatened her and beat her on several other occasions in 1994 and 1995.
Last year, while still a member of the Nebraska football team, Phillips pleaded guilty to misdemeanor trespass and assault for an attack on McEwen. He was placed on probation, arousing the ire of women's groups nationwide.
The lawsuit included new allegations not previously made public, including the claim of sexual assault. On Sept. 3, the suit was unsealed briefly, and the petition was obtained by The Kansas City Star.
Phillips' lawyers removed the case to federal court on Sept. 13 and asked Chief U.S. District Judge D. Brook Bartlett to keep the case under seal.
Last week, Bartlett held three days of private hearings in his chambers. Bartlett also heard from McEwen, who said the University of Nebraska basketball office had received hate mail and phone calls related to her.
McEwen was a member of the Nebraska women's basketball team but is not playing this season.
Lawyers from both sides said that sealing the case would smooth the possibility of a settlement. Bartlett said if that were the case, why file a public lawsuit?
The lawyers said any discussion of the case renews the threats directed toward McEwen. Again, Bartlett asked, "If that's her intentions, why did she file this kind of a petition? I'm puzzled about that."
Bartlett said he wanted to listen to McEwen before making up his mind. She traveled to Kansas City from Lincoln to meet with Bartlett.
McEwen said any mention of the case in the media renews the threats directed against her. "My way of dealing with it in the past," McEwen, 22, told the judge, "has been to kind of hide out. I sleep a lot, stay in my room."
McEwen said she had not seen any of the threatening letters or received any of the calls personally. All were received by the university's basketball office. Her lawyers said the calls and letters were mainly of a sexual or racial nature.
Under questioning from her lawyer, McEwen noted that her basketball coach revoked her scholarship after last season, saying McEwen hadn't improved enough. After a public outcry, the scholarship was renewed, but McEwen elected not to play her senior year.
"I guess I was concerned that, basically, there was no way I could win," McEwen told Bartlett. "If I played and did good, there would be attention. ... If I played and did bad, that would cause attention. If I didn't play, that would cause attention."
Bartlett asked, "So you thought not playing would cause less attention than playing?"
"Yes," McEwen answered.
Bartlett held the private hearings on Sept. 17, 18 and 19, according to a transcript released Wednesday. While weighing whether to make the lawsuit public, Bartlett gave his thoughts on the university's handling of the matter.
"No human being should treat another one the way he (Phillips) allegedly treated her," Bartlett said, "and no respectable university should be condoning this kind of behavior. ... I mean, this matter should result in a substantial investigation into the University of Nebraska as to how they - what are they in the business of doing up there?
"And I mean, are they in the business of making money off the football team, or are they in the business of providing an atmosphere where students can get, on a fair and equitable basis, an education and are protected in their physical well-being from other students?
"And if outrageous behavior occurs, assuming, I'm not concluding it did, that the university has an obligation to the victim not to make it worse, not to make the victim suffer, but to make the wrongdoer suffer."
Nebraska representatives could not be reached for comment.
Bartlett called the issue of sealing the case "probably one of the most important things I've wrestled with in the last 10 years." Lawsuits in federal court are rarely sealed.
In the end, though Bartlett acknowledged McEwen's right to privacy and the right of both sides to settle the case, he said, "I'm not persuaded that that interest ... is a powerful enough interest to weigh substantially against the public's right to know what is going on in its judicial system."
The case was settled this week, only after Bartlett agreed to allow the lawyers to black out the more sensational aspects of the lawsuit. Neither side would disclose the terms of the settlement.
"It has been settled in a way that is acceptable to Kate," said her lawyer, Victor Bergman. "A lot of that depends on Lawrence Phillips getting his life under control and continuing on with his career." He said McEwen "wishes it never happened and doesn't want to have to deal with it again, in the courts or in public."
Robert T. Ebert Jr., one of Phillips' lawyers, said, "It was in Lawrence's best interests and Kate's best interests to reach a resolution." He declined to comment further.
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
Section: SPORTS
Page: D1
By TOM JACKMAN, Staff Writer
All content © 1996 THE KANSAS CITY STAR and may not be republished without permission.
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