While the college basketball offseason has had its fair share of dramatic twists and turns, it looks like one of the newest stories has taken an ugly turn.
Shane Douma-Sanchez, a walk-on for the University of New Mexico's basketball team, filed a suit in December alleging a teammate had punched him. While he originally kept names out of the lawsuit, it appears as though he has had a change of heart.
On December 30, when the suit was originally filed, Douma-Sanchez's attorney told the Albuquerque Journal that "the decision not to name the teammate who allegedly threw the punch and made other threats was intentional, adding the intent of the suit wasn’t to embarrass or hurt that player’s reputation, but to ensure UNM fixed the culture they claim put Douma-Sanchez in harm’s way."
However, a newly amended motion names New Mexico's starting shooting guard Tru Washington as the player who assaulted him. Washington's name will now be added to the lawsuit, which, according to the Journal, will hear pending motions in the case on July 1.
"Washington — who transferred out of UNM last month — has not been charged with a crime or publicly disciplined by UNM or the coaching staff," the Albuquerque Journal's Geoff Grammer said. "UNM conducted an investigation, though the findings have not been made public. Douma-Sanchez’s legal team has asked the court to compel the university to release the investigation findings to them."
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Washington has since transferred to Miami, where he is expected to make a large amount of money through NIL. Sportico's Daniel Libit reported that NIL is actually a core reason for Douma-Sanchez's lawsuit.
"Douma-Sanchez characterized the situation as a byproduct of the current NIL system in college athletics, saying it promotes a mercenary mentality, erodes accountability and creates an environment where misconduct by talented players goes unchecked," Libit said.
The altercation happened during a team flight to Palm Springs, California, for a two-game in-season tournament.
"Douma-Sanchez alleges he was 'repeatedly hazed and harassed' by Washington and his suit claims 'UNM turned a blind eye to this misconduct,'" Grammer reported. "The suit accuses Washington of 'punching Shane in the face and breaking his nose… (then) also struck Shane on his injured shoulder.' Washington is also accused of later going into the hotel room where Douma-Sanchez and another walk-on were staying and physically assaulting the other walk-on, who has not been named and who has not made any claims."
The injured shoulder, according to Douma-Sanchez's X account, actually ruled him out for the entire season in late October.
"No Lobo player other than Douma-Sanchez in a television interview with KOB-TV in November has spoken publicly about the lawsuit," Grammer said. "[Richard] Pitino, now the head coach at Xavier University, has not spoken publicly about it, either."
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