Tulane University tells its students it stands with survivors of sexual violence. The university funds awareness campaigns; Title IX offices and prevention programs stress support, safety and accountability. But those community values collapse the moment a potential football win enters the picture. By taking in Jake Retzlaff, a quarterback who was accused of rape less than a year ago, Tulane sends a painful message to survivors.  

On May 21, 2025, an unnamed woman filed a civil lawsuit against Retzlaff in Salt Lake City, alleging he raped, strangled and bit her after meeting through social media. Retzlaff has admitted to meeting with the woman but claims all relations were consensual. 

A few days after their meeting, the woman underwent a forensic exam where the hospital took photos of her injuries. The woman chose not to file criminal charges and police said evidence “revealed no actionable investigative leads.” 

The woman proceeded with a civil case. On June 30, the case was dismissed with prejudice “upon the merits of the Plaintiff’s complaint against the Defendant,” according to the joint motion. Each side paid its own fees, and the resolution was sealed. Legally, that ended the case.  

But “with prejudice” does not mean exoneration. It only means the lawsuit cannot be refiled. As a result, we will never see the evidence argued under oath.  

Brigham Young University responded by suspending Retzlaff for seven games not for the alleged rape, but for admitting to performing premarital sex. The school’s honor code explicitly prohibits premarital sex, yet there is no explicit mention of sexual assault as a category of violation in the school’s code. 

Weeks later, the Green Wave accepted him as a walk-on after more than a weeklong background review that included its Title IX office, according to reporting from ESPN. It is unclear what constituted this review.  

What makes this decision worse is the contrast. The Green Wave recently pulled out of pursuing five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava, potentially because of his steep name, image and likeness demands, as well as rumored attitude and commitment concerns. That means Tulane weighs personality and price tag in its recruiting process. Yet, when faced with a player accused of rape in court, Tulane decided he was worth the tradeoff. 

The Green Wave’s head coach, Jon Sumrall, markets the football team as a program built on “men of character.” But the record shows that “character” is flexible, bending wide enough to allow men with allegations of violence against women.  

That hypocrisy matters because it tells survivors something no awareness campaign can erase: Your comfort is negotiable. Your experiences can be minimized if they threaten to interfere with the scoreboard.  

Universities love to frame athletics as community-building. But communities fracture when survivors realize that the same community supposed to protect them was willing to risk their comfort for a sports game. That trade-off reverberates in classrooms, dorms and daily life, where survivors are left questioning whether their pain carries weight on this campus.  

As someone who believes Tulane should embody the advocacy it promotes, decisions like this drown out those promises and leave me questioning what that advocacy is really worth. Recruiting a player with such a heavy case attached to his name sends a message that cuts against what I thought Tulane stood for.  

To me, it feels like a choice that undermines the university’s stated values and risks triggering survivors in our community. Survivors deserve to know that their well-being comes before athletics, and this decision makes me question whether that promise is being kept.  

To every survivor reading this, your voice matters, and it deserves to be heard. Speak up. Reach out. Work toward a community where your safety and dignity are never up for debate. This university should be accountable to you — but it will only change if we demand it. Survivors deserve a community that refuses to look away.  

And to the people who may not carry these experiences themselves but see the weight of them on others: your silence still shapes this campus. Use your voice. Stand alongside survivors. Refuse to let comfort and convenience excuse indifference. Change will only come when all of us, together, insist on building a safe, dignified and trustworthy community.