SORDID PAST, BRIGHTER FUTURE
Terrible allegations sexual got Dotson assault of kicked out of Oregon. Now with the Knicks, he gets a ‘second chance to get a first chance right.’
THE ALLEGED details are heinous. The accusations are ugly. The sexual assault allegation that nearly ended Damyean Dotson’s basketball career forever will be a part of his story. It may or may not have changed him. Maybe he deserved the second chance he got. Perhaps he was fortunate another school viewed his talent worthy of the risk.
It did, however, without question, alter the course of his life, and set in motion a series of events that led to the sweet-shooting 6-foot-7 wing landing with the Knicks on a mostly guaranteed contract as a secondround pick.
Three years ago at this time, basketball wasn’t even on the table. Dotson had been kicked out of Oregon, along with then-teammates Brandon Austin and Dominic Artis, following a sexual assault investigation.
No charges were filed because of insufficient evidence, but the three were banned from Oregon’s campus for at least four years. Dotson spent the following year at Houston Community College. Instead of playing basketball, he took anger management classes at the John Lucas Center and Wellness Program.
“His story is that of a comeback,” said Lucas, the former NBA player who battled addiction and now runs a recovery program to help troubled athletes. “There are obviously people that got hurt. He has a second chance to get a first chance right.”
THESE days, life is very different for Dotson. The Houston native is just over a week away from his first NBA training camp. He recently inked a three-year contract with the Knicks that could pay him up to $4 million — with the first two years guaranteed — after impressing them at the NBA Summer League, averaging 12.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting 48 percent from 3-point range.
Those who know the 23-year-old Dotson insist the alleged sexual assault was atypical of the person they know, an anomaly that doesn’t reveal his true character.
University of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said Dotson was a model citizen in his two years there after transferring. Cougars teammate Rob Gray raved about his leadership qualities. High school coach Greg Wise didn’t recall Dotson ever getting into trouble, and described him as “one of the top five players I’ve ever had in terms of everything, being a person, a player.”
Two NBA teams The Post spoke with conducted thorough investigations into Dotson, and were comfortable enough to have him on their draft boards and might have selected him had the Knicks not picked him 44th overall.
“We found it was an isolated incident,” a scout from one team said.
“He got a raw deal,” said an Oregon teammate, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Unbelievable attitude and work ethic. He’s a really good guy.”
Oregon’s entire coaching staff declined interview requests, as did the accuser, through attorney, John C lune . Austin declined comment through his agent, and Artis didn’t respond to an interview request. The Knicks wouldn’t make Dotson available for this story, and he never has spoken specifically about the alleged sexual assault.
His agent, Chris Patrick, said Oregon coach Dana Altman told him Dotson was one of the “top 10 kids I’ve coached.” Altman wrote a letter on Dotson’s behalf when Houston was looking
into his situation.
“He’s genuinely a good person,” Patrick said of Dotson. “He’s got a charisma about him. He’s got a good group in his corner. Even on draft night, I got a call from him. He’s like, ‘Man, I’m not supposed to be here.’ Most kids aren’t like that.”
He is depicted differently in the disturbing police report, accused of raping an 18-year-old woman at a March 8, 2014, party along with Artis and Austin, and later at an apartment he was leasing. The players said the sex was consensual; the woman claimed otherwise. T HE VICTIM said in a statement she was “highly intoxicated.” It was alleged they began to “touch [her] all over in the bathroom,” with Dotson forcing her to give him oral sex as Austin penetrated her against her will. “I remember saying no the entire time,” she told police. The alleged assault was interrupted when someone walked into the bathroom. But shortly thereafter, Artis forced her i nto the bathroom again, where she gave them oral sex against her will, according to the police report. When that incident ended, she got outside and saw a friend, but Austin grabbed her arms and briefly put her in a “choke hold,” the police report stated. She wound up taking a taxi with the three players to an apartment leased by Artis and Dotson. There, all three had sex with her, the report said.
“I think I just gave up. I let them do whatever they wanted,” she told police. “I just wanted it to be over and go to sleep.”
It finally stopped when she began crying during intercourse, according to the report.
The report also included a phone conversation recorded a week after the incident. Dotson apologized to the victim and told her the incident was “very inappropriate,” he was “sorry,” and he wouldn’t want it to happen to his mother or sister. Though he told her, according to the report, “it was an experience nobody should have to [go through],” he didn’t believe she was taken advantage of.
Dotson also told the woman he never was involved in an incident like that before and wouldn’t be again. He described it as a “lesson learned.”
Citing lack of evidence and conflicting reports, no charges were filed by the Lane County District Attorney’s office. Nevertheless, then-district attorney Alex Gardner did write in an April 14 statement that “there is no doubt the incidents occurred.” “I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Dotson said on the evening of the draft. “I was just hop
ing for the best.” A MID a firestorm in which Artis and Dotson played in the Pac12 and NCAA Tour n a ments despite being investigated by police, Oregon booted t he t hree basketball players from the school, ruling they were found responsible for sexual misconduct as defined by the student conduct code. The accuser sued Oregon, claiming the school and Altman prioritized the basketball team’s performance over taking action on the alleged assault, and settled the suit for $800,000 and tuition fees. The players, meanwhile, are suing Oregon, though their suits have twice been dismissed and are in the appeals process. The players claim Oregon denied them due process and violated Title IX by discriminating against them because of their gender, and they were not given a chance to defend themselves. Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the process is confidential, according to the school.
“The University of Oregon trustee walks into a room, says we have found a breach [of the student conduct code] and you’re expelled. It was not what you think of as an actual hearing,” said Alex Spiro, Dotson and Artis’ attorney. “It was a sham.”
Rickie Winslow, the father of Heat guard Justise Winslow, asked Lucas to spend some time with Dotson, his son’s friend. Lucas had known Dotson for years. During their first meeting, he made it clear basketball wasn’t going to save him.
“Making more jump shots won’t get you where you’re trying to go,” Lucas said.
During his time with Lucas, Dotson did community service, took anger management classes, and worked with kids. He talked about domestic violence, and the regret he had. Lucas credited Dotson with how he handled everything. He listened to what needed to be done to prove he deserved another chance.
“He came willing,” Lucas said. “He was willing to get back up and go on with his life.” S AMPSON raved about the player — and person — he had in Dotson for two years. He was a unanimous captain as a senior. Twelve of the team’s 13 players voted for him. Dotson voted for someone else. Dotson came to Houston a weak rebounder, but as a senior he averaged 6.9 boards, because the team was light on size.
“Just having a chance to play again, it made me work even harder,” he said on draft night. “It made me more hungry.”
He was obsessed with winning. After losses, Dotson would text Sampson, and apologize, even if he had played well. He wanted to know what else he could do to ensure fewer losses. The Cougars went a combined 41-21 in his two seasons, reaching the NIT both years.
“Dot always took losses as hard as coaches did,” Sampson said. “There’s a lot of high school kids, college kids, who date basketball. Dot was married to it. He didn’t cheat on basketball.”
Dotson would talk to teammates about the incident on occasion. He didn’t run from it. He felt how he was treated was unfair, Gray recalled, but he didn’t complain.
“He never made excuses,” Gray said. “He took his loss, learned from it, and obviously it helped him get to where he’s at today.
“Some people wouldn’t be able to shake back from that, and have enough determination to overcome it.”
Whether or not Damyean Dotson deserved a second chance, he was granted one. And so far, he has made the most of it.