Editors’ note: This story contains accounts of sexual assault. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or at https://www.rainn.org
According to a lawsuit filed by three women against the University of Vermont this week, Warriors forward Anthony Lamb sexually assaulted a fellow student when he attended the school.
The plaintiffs in the suit are accusing university leadership of “deliberate indifference to student-on-student harassment, sexual assault, and drugging created a discriminatory and sexually hostile environment in which female students faced a heightened risk of sexual assault and, once assaulted, lacked any meaningful avenue of redress.”
Lamb was not named a defendant in the lawsuit but is accused of sexually assaulting former Vermont swimmer Kendall Ware, one of the plaintiffs. Ware had previously spoken publicly about the alleged assault in 2020, but had not named Lamb as the player involved.
The lawsuit says Lamb “forcefully anally penetrated” Ware “as she repeatedly pleaded with him to stop” at an off-campus party hosted by members of the Vermont men’s basketball team in September 2019. Lamb, a junior at the time, told Ware to “just take it” and continued to rape her, according to the lawsuit.
Lamb denied that he had ever committed sexual assault.
“The allegations made against me in 2019 that have recently resurfaced are patently false,” he said in a statement, per The Athletic. “I have always been fully cooperative regarding the alleged incident, and have welcomed any investigation into the matter. Simply put, I have never committed sexual assault.”
The Warriors, who selected Lamb in the 2021 NBA draft, also addressed the allegation Thursday.
“Anthony is not a defendant in this recent lawsuit and, to our knowledge, he has never been charged with any wrongdoing in any legal case,” the team said in a statement, per SFGate. “Prior to signing Anthony in September, we did our due diligence with the NBA and his prior teams, as we do with all players. If any new information comes to light, we will certainly evaluate it and act accordingly.”
Ware says in the lawsuit that school officials mishandled her sexual assault report against Lamb and that athletic director Jeff Schulman and other employees “steered” her away from filing a formal complaint against Lamb as she was led to believe he would face consequences for the incident.
