(Reuters) - Six women have filed a federal lawsuit accusing the University of Tennessee of allowing gender discrimination that led to sexual assaults by athletes and, afterward, lenient treatment for the perpetrators.
Filed in Nashville federal court by former students, all listed as Jane Does, the lawsuit said the university knew about and condoned a long-standing hostile environment that led to sexual assaults by male football and basketball players.
The lawsuit comes as several incidents at U.S. colleges and universities, some involving athletes, have focused attention on the issue of sexual assault on campuses.
According to the complaint, three rapes were committed by football players, one by a basketball player and one by a male student at a party where football players provided alcohol to underage drinkers.