UW coach Mike Hopkins on departure of Nahziah Carter after upheld sexual assault allegations
On Tuesday, University of Washington head basketball coach Mike Hopkins spoke for the first time since guard Nahziah Carter was suspended by the university after investigations upheld two allegations of sexual assault.
Carter, who had been suspended from the team since October, announced on Friday that he was leaving to pursue a professional career. Hopkins said the process to dismiss Carter from the basketball program had been underway since his appeal of the University Student Code of Conduct policy was denied Dec. 2.
“I take allegations of this nature extremely seriously,” Hopkins said. “Wednesday night Naz informed me that he would be leaving the program to pursue a professional career. As the leader of this program, I hold myself, our student-athletes and our staff to the highest standards on and off the court. We hold ourselves accountable to those standards. For that reason, Naz is no longer a part of this program.”
Earlier this year, two students separately reported Carter to UW’s Title IX office. A hearing officer determined Carter violated the Student Conduct Code regarding sexual assault in both cases.
By Dec. 4, the first decision had been appealed and upheld and the deadline to appeal the second decision had passed. Carter announced on Twitter that evening that he was leaving the program. When Hopkins released a statement, it made no mention of the sexual assault complaints.
“Earlier this week, Nahziah and I spoke to discuss his status as a member of our men’s basketball program,” Hopkins said. “In that conversation, he informed me that he will be leaving to pursue a professional basketball career. I am in agreement that this step forward can provide an opportunity for Nahziah’s growth and development.”
Hopkins was asked about that omission on Tuesday.
“It wouldn’t be appropriate for me, as someone in my position, to talk about a university issue,” Hopkins said. “I know there is a process, and we had to let the process play out.”
The outcome of the first complaint was decided on Oct. 2. Carter then was indefinitely suspended from the basketball team. The program announced on Oct. 15 that Carter violated the Intercollegiate Athletics Student Code of Conduct but did not reveal information regarding the sexual assault hearings.
“Given the student privacy considerations in play, our practice is not to proactively communicate findings of this nature involving students, regardless of whether they involve student-athletes,” UW spokesman Victor Balta said in an email on Tuesday night. “There is some information that the university may release upon request, depending on the violation that was found.
“In this case, ICA followed its standard procedure for announcing the suspension of a student-athlete. It would not be appropriate for a coach or other athletics department staff to disclose specific findings of a university-level Title IX investigation.”
The reason for Carter’s suspension wasn’t revealed until Saturday when one of the students who said she reported Carter brought attention to the allegations by posting information about the sexual assault findings on Twitter. UW’s student newspaper, The Daily, then reported on the complaints.
UW did release a statement on the complaints against Carter — which included a timeline — when The News Tribune inquired on Saturday night.
“Again, I don’t take these allegations lightly. It’s very important to educate our kids,” Hopkins said. “My heart goes out to the victims. I couldn’t imagine what they’re experiencing. It’s very important that we learn lessons from all these different things that we’re going through during the season — on and off the court.”
This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 6:59 PM.
