Juan Dixon may be off as Coppin State University men’s basketball coach, but the former player, who sued Dixon and the school for alleged sexual assault and extortion by an assistant coach, “is doing fine,” his attorney said.
After leaving Coppin, Ibn Williams transferred to Morehouse College in Atlanta, where the 5’7″ New Jersey native was a point guard for the Maroon Tigers.
Williams’ attorney had no news on the lawsuit, which was filed against Dixon and Coppin in Baltimore Circuit Court in November.
But he was willing to provide a progress report on his 22-year-old client, who was enrolled as a junior at the school this year.
“He’s doing very well. He just had a successful season at Morehouse,” said attorney Daniel “Donny” Epstein of the Epstein Ostrove law firm in New Jersey.
“He’s found a home there on a team with a coach who cares about him,” Epstein said in a phone interview with The Brew.
• The former player is suing Coppin State over alleged sexual assault and extortion by assistant coaches (11/7/22)
A photo from a thrilling game last month shows the crowd cheering Williams after he just launched a game-winning three-point shot from the corner.
That big bucket from Williams helped the Maroon Tigers become No. 1 in their division with the win and a 17-9 record for the season.
“We trusted our teammates to score,” senior guard Andrew Stewart told reporters afterwards.
“I think we had player of the year in Kerry Richardson and point guard of the year in Ibn Williams,” Stewart said. “We just played with them and they made our job easier.”
Change of leadership required
Coppin announced on March 15 that he was firing Dixon, a Baltimore native and former University of Maryland standout, after six seasons.
“Having fully evaluated the men’s basketball program and performance, we believe a leadership change is necessary to move forward,” athletic director Derek Carter said in a press release.
Hailed as a hometown hero in Baltimore and known to national audiences for his role on the reality show The Real Housewives of the Potomac, Dixon never caught fire as a coach and ended his tenure at the helm of the Eagles with an overall record of 51-131 .
Dixon has not commented on Williams’ lawsuit, and university officials have declined to discuss pending litigation.
According to the complaint, Williams was the victim of an elaborate catfishing and extortion scheme by a former teammate, who then served as assistant coach and director of player development.
Dixon and the school failed to protect Williams, the 15-page complaint.
Coppin’s alleged inaction
Williams says he was contacted on social media by someone posing as a young woman asking for images “of a sexual nature,” which he believed were “private and in the context of a developing romantic relationship.”
Then, according to the lawsuit, that person disclosed that the “woman” did not exist and made demands for photos and sexual encounters with the assistant coach, while threatening to publicly disclose the material.
Unable to tell anyone what happened, Williams contemplated suicide. Williams told his family that he was uncomfortable with rampant drug use in the team during away games.
That prompted his father to arrange a meeting with Coppin officials, the complaint says, during which Dixon “stated that he was helpless to address the drug problem in any meaningful way” and “firmly insisted that the plaintiff be part of the program.” should stay”.
When confronted with Williams, Dixon admitted that he was aware of the assistant coach’s past inappropriate behavior, but had “taken no action” to remedy the situation, according to the complaint.
