College Football Player Arrested For Assaulting Ex-Teammate Because He Thought He Was Gay
Jacksonville State footballer Jack Dawson was arrested on multiple counts of assault against a former teammate Troy Municipal Court Supervision Officer David Hennigan confirmed to the Montgomery Advertiser on Monday.
In a federal lawsuit which was obtained and publicised by Jacksonville’s CBS 42, ex-teammate John Haynes has alleged he was attacked because Dawson and fellow teammates thought he was gay. The assault ranged from verbal attacks to forced sodomy with a pool cue.
Dawson turned himself into authorities in Troy (Alabama), on Monday and was released on bond.
Criminal warrants for Dawson’s arrest were issued last October. The Jacksonville State punter faced three warrants for his arrest related to separate incidents that allegedly took place during 2020 when Dawson played at Troy, according to Hennigan.
Dawson’s charges of assault
The first assault charge alleges that Dawson “forcibly sodomised” Haynes with a pool cue, causing bleeding and bruising in October 2020.
The second warrant, from November 2020, alleges that Dawson picked Haynes up and dropped him onto the pool deck at an off-campus residence, which inflicted a large bruise on the player’s right side.
The third warrant references an off-campus fight in December 2020 in which Dawson allegedly broke his teammate’s nose by punching him in the face seven times.
Birmingham-based criminal defence attorney and former federal prosecutor Raymond Johnson Jr commented on the case, stating that he found it unusual for a warrant on charges like these had not been served “fairly quickly”. Until Dawson’s arrest this week, the warrants against Dawson had gone unserved for months.
“I don’t understand why it would take them so long to serve the warrant,” Johnson explained. “They know where he is. They know how to get him if they wish to do so. It’s just a matter of picking up the phone and asking someone to go out and make the arrest.”
Claim that coaches were aware of harassment
Among the alleged abuse claims, the federal lawsuit filed by Haynes also lists coaches Brian Blackmon, Jamaal Smith and Dayne Brown as defendants. Haynes claims that all three coaches had prior “actual knowledge” of the harassment where they “believed John was being sexually harassed because he was homosexual…and chose not to intervene on behalf of John because of [their] perception of John’s sexuality.”
Haynes’ lawsuit also claims that Coach Smith suggested him to resort to violence in response to the attacks, and blamed bullying on other teammates believing he was gay.
“John, you gotta stop doing all this gay shit, like getting into bed with other guys and being so nice,” the lawsuit quotes Coach Smith as saying. “Guys don’t like that gay shit. That’s why Jack and others are bullying you so you just gotta beat Jack’s ass.”
Troy University has denied all allegations outlined in the federal complaint and said it will “vigorously defend itself in court.”
The lawsuit alleges Title IX violations, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, sexual harassment and discrimination. Haynes is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. Dawson is scheduled to appear in court October 5.
