Retired NFL defensive lineman and ESPN host Marcellus Wiley is being sued for allegedly raping a student at Columbia University while he attended the Ivy League school in 1994.
Now an Ivy League professor and sociologist, the alleged victim is suing the 48-year-old Wiley in in New York Supreme Court, claiming that he forced himself on her in her freshman dormitory, according to a lawsuit obtained by the New York Post.
The plaintiff, who has not been identified by name, says she lost her virginity as a result of the alleged rape and later attempted suicide.
‘[Wiley’s] actions were intentionally designed to cause plaintiff severe emotional distress or were taken with reckless disregard of the significant and/or substantial probability of causing plaintiff severe emotional distress,’ the lawsuit states.
Wiley would go on to be a second-round pick by the Buffalo Bills in 1997, embarking on a decorated 10-year NFL career. Ultimately he would go on to become an ESPN and Fox Sports analyst before launching his own podcast.
Wiley is reportedly being accused of raping a student at Columbia University back in 1994
Wiley (left) at Columbia in the mid-1990s and (right) with the San Diego Charges in 2001
A request for comment was left with Wiley’s foundation, Project Transition, but the organization did not immediately respond.
Similarly, Columbia University spokespeople did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
The plaintiff claims that she and Wiley were friends prior to the fall of 1994, when he invited himself into her dorm room in upper Manhattan saying that he wanted to have dinner together and listen to music.
She says she made it clear to Wiley that she was uninterested in sex because she was a virgin.
Initially, she claims in the lawsuit, Wiley agreed.
“Ain’t nobody tryna have sex with no virgin!’ he allegedly said. ‘Don’t worry, I got you. Just coming to hang out while I eat. I don’t even have condoms on me.’
However, according to the filing obtained by the Post, Wiley began to rip her clothes off after entering the room and “forced her facedown onto the mattress’ before raping her multiple times.
The plaintiff claims she feared for her life and struggled to breathe during the attack.
Partial view of the Columbia University in New York, where Wiley attended from 1993 to 1997
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