(As a policy, the Defender will not disclose the name of the complainant)
The college football season is a month away from kicking off, yet the direction of the Texas Southern athletic department is up in the air while athletic director Kevin Granger remains on administrative leave as he faces sexual assault charges and a $1 million lawsuit brought in the spring by a staffer.
Texas Southern officials have remained tight-lipped about the criminal and internal investigations that began in late spring. The school provided little information in terms of where it is in the investigation, when TSU first learned of the sexual assault claims and when a decision is expected on Granger’s job status.
The Tigers’ football season kicks off in less than a month when they take on rival Prairie View in the annual Labor Day Classic (Aug. 30). Both schools’ presidents and athletic directors are always involved in the buildup to the clash, but it seems unlikely that Granger will have a role unless the school and criminal investigation wraps up soon.
The Defender requested a meeting with TSU President J.W. Crawford III or anyone in a decision-making capacity, but after days of waiting for a response, the school sent an unsigned statement.
The pending legal matter involving a senior leader in Texas Southern University’s Division of Intercollegiate Athletics has understandably generated questions within our community. As the university allows the legal process to unfold in the manner our democracy requires with care and due process, we remain focused on our mission to uphold the high standards of character and professionalism that define Texas Southern University athletics.
The vital work of the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics continues without interruption. The mission we carry, to shape student-athletes into scholars, leaders, and community role models, remains unchanged. Until further notice, the Division reports to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer. Day-to-day operations are being executed under the direction of Assistant Athletic Director Kimberly Evans.
Otherwise, there has been silence from TSU and its officials since word first came out in May that a staffer had made claims alleging Granger made vulgar sexual advances toward her before groping her in private areas, before ultimately propositioning her in his office on April 29.
The Defender sent an initial Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to Texas Southern’s Office of General Counsel on May 30 and followed up with a second on June 6, requesting public records accounts of the assault against athletic director Kevin Granger. The request sought to know when human resources was informed of the incident, what HR was told by the accuser, Granger’s response to the allegation, whether other accusers have ever come forward against Granger and Granger’s official employment status with the university.
TSU didn’t respond to the Defender’s FOIA request until June 30, providing information as to why it could not comment on certain questions that came after the complainant made her official complaint to the courts on June 2. According to TSU, the FOIA requests from the Defender were made on June 4 and June 6, but documents that TSU sent show that the Defender’s initial FOIA request was made on May 30. Texas Southern says that because the request came in after the lawsuit was filed on June 2 and is currently pending, it does not have to make available the requested information.
TSU General Counsel Charlie Nhan, however, says that June 2 was the first time the university had any knowledge of a sexual assault claim against Granger. Court records show that the complainant filed a $1 million civil lawsuit against Granger on June 2. The criminal complaint came shortly thereafter.
“Once we get that, we initiate a Title IX investigation,” Nhan said to the Defender. “We also asked an outside law firm to conduct an HR investigation. And based on what we can tell so far, the investigation is still ongoing, based on what we can tell from the record that we have.”
But when asked about why the initial brief failed to answer when TSU first learned of the sexual assault claim against Granger, Nhan responded, “We don’t have to say that. We don’t have to say everything on here. We don’t have to tell everything in a legal brief.”
Nhan went on to say that neither party, the complainant nor Granger, filed complaints with the school about any of the alleged incidents. Nhan also said that, as far as he can tell, a complaint has never been filed against Granger.
The complainant also filed a criminal complaint against Granger around the time the lawsuit was filed. No criminal complaint was filed with the TSU Police Department.
Granger, a star player at TSU in the early 1990s and affiliated with the school as an assistant coach, administrator and athletic director since 2019, was given a five-year contract extension last summer, which Nhan says was recently approved by the TSU Board of Regents.
Attorney Tony Buzbee filed the lawsuit on behalf of the accuser and requests $1 million in damages from Granger. Texas Southern is not part of the lawsuit, but that could change.
The school is said to be bracing to be named as a co-defendant eventually.
“They may say, you didn’t train him right, maybe you have problems. I don’t know,” Nhan said. “But that’s what we are waiting to hear.”
