The white football coaches at the University of Iowa constantly berated my clients with racial slurs like “dumbass black player,” forced my clients to abandon natural and common African-American hairstyles, dress, and culture, to fit the “Iowa Way,” and inflicted unfair and retaliatory punishment for anyone speaking out against the discrimination they experienced and witnessed.
When this gross behavior was first exposed Iowa sanctioned and paid for an investigation conducted by the law firm Husch Blackwell, LLP (HB) which found “in sum, the [the Iowa football program’s] rules perpetuated racial and culture biases and diminished the value of cultural diversity . . . the program . . . maintained a culture that allows coaches to demean players.”
However, for over a year, Iowa had unlawfully refused to provide us copies of the documents, recordings, emails, and interviews the HB investigation generated and are denying the findings of the HB report itself.
In January of this year, we asked the Court to order Iowa to produce the hidden documents. Oral arguments were heard on March 11, 2022, and Magistrate Judge Helen C. Adams issued her rulings on June 24, 2022, granting Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel Production of Husch Blackwell documents.
Click below to download Judge Adams' Order.