The sexual assault lawsuit against The Real Housewives of Potomac star Juan Dixon and his former employer, Coppin State University, has been dismissed.
The lawsuit, filed by a former player, accused a former staffer of blackmail and sexual assault. Late last month, it was thrown out, The Baltimore Banner reports. Baltimore Circuit Judge Melissa K. Copeland ruled during a hearing on Monday, July 24, based on various legal grounds.
Judge Copeland left grounds for the complaint to be amended, noting, “We are very much at the very beginning of the case,” she said.
Ibn Williams, 23, filed the lawsuit in 2022, accusing the university of seemingly protecting a member of the coaching staff—Lucian Brownlee. He claimed Brownlee blackmailed and sexually assaulted him. The complaint alleged that Brownlee, a teammate of Williams who went on to serve as director of player development, was guilty of inappropriate behavior.
Dixon, the former head basketball coach at Coppin State, was accused of failing
to report Brownlee’s behavior to school officials. The lawsuit claimed Dixon informed Williams that Brownlee was “mentally ill or otherwise emotionally imbalanced.” It alleged the Director of Athletics Derek Carter and Coppin State knew about his history of instability. Carter was also named in the lawsuit.Brownlee remains a defendant, while Dixon and the school were cleared. Williams has since transferred to Morehouse College, a private, historically Black college in Atlanta.
All counts against Carter, the University System of Maryland, and the State of Maryland were also dismissed.
But lawyers for Williams don’t want the dismissals to sway the public into thinking the claims made in the lawsuit are false.
“None of these change the allegations that we’re making,” Daniel “Donny” Epstein, lead counsel for Williams said. “They just clarify and, perhaps, maybe would’ve avoided the motion.”
Dixon
served as the head men’s basketball coach of the Coppin State Eagles from 2017 until he was fired earlier this year amid the lawsuit. Between the lawsuit and revelations of his cheating scandal against his wife, Robyn Dixon, “RHOP” fans expect the drama to come forward in Season 8.RELATED CONTENT: Star Gizelle Bryant Subtly Hints At Not Believing Juan Dixon’s Claims In Cheating Scandal