The U.S. Department of Education is making its way to the University of Michigan to review the timeline from the investigation into the response to the Brendan Gibbons sexual misconduct incident. Gibbons was expelled in December although he was never charged by police because the alleged victim chose to seek punishment through the university’s administrative offices.
Michigan started using a new sexual misconduct policy in 2011 but it did not become the standard until last August. This is the likely explanation for why Gibbons, a kicker for the Wolverines, was allowed to remain on the football team and as a member of the university until last December, as the investigation had been going on for close to a year. According to a MLive.com report, the university made a request to Ann Arbor police for documents related to the Gibbons case in October. He was expelled from the university two months later. The DOE began to inquire about the handling of the case back in February, according to a previous report.
This is similar to the recent investigation news relating to Florida State’s handling of the Jameis Winston investigation. Last week it was reported the Department of Education was heading to Tallahassee to review all cases of sexual misconduct at the university, and not just the Winston case. It is believed the DOE will compare and contrast how Florida State responded to the Winston allegations with other incidents not linked to student-athletes.