Former Ohio State football players make shocking claim during trial

Amir Riep and Jahsen Wint are currently on trial having been accused of raping a then-19-year-old woman while they attended Ohio State University and played for the football team. On Wednesday, Riep and another former player testified that Buckeyes football players were told to record or get evidence of consent from any sexual partner in order to protect themselves from accusations.

One of the key pieces of evidence in the trial was a cellphone video that Riep took of the alleged victim. The video, which was played in court, captured the sound of the woman crying and agreeing with the player after he asks if the sex was consensual.

The alleged victim has testified that she was invited to visit the players at their apartment and that Riep disrobed her and the two players forcibly raped her.

 Both former players are charged with two counts of rape and one count of kidnapping, which are all first-degree felonies.

Riep and Lloyd McFarquhar, also a former Ohio State football player, testified Wednesday that they were told to get evidence from sexual partners by members of the OSU coaching staff. They did not say who, on the coaching staff, told them to do this.

The Columbus Dispatch reached out to Ohio State but team spokesman Jerry Emig declined to comment, though he did send a statement regarding how the school discusses consent with students.

“In general, when the Department of Athletics speaks with student-athletes about consent, we work closely with subject matter experts on campus and follow the university’s well-established Non-Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct Policy,” said Emig in a statement.

“You’ll see that page one of the policy defines consent as, ‘permission that is clear, knowing, voluntary, and expressed prior to engaging in and during an act. Consent is active, not passive. Silence, in and of itself, cannot be interpreted as consent. Consent can be given by words or actions, as long as those words or actions create mutually understandable clear permission regarding willingness to engage in (and the conditions of) sexual activity.'”

Riep’s attorney played four videos in the court on Wednesday that showed instances of other women responding to whether or not the sex he had with them was consensual. The former player also testified that he would tell the women before recording that “I’m on the football team and this is something that we just are taught to do to protect ourselves. It’s nothing against you.”

Head coach Ryan Day dismissed the players from the Buckeyes in 2020 after they were charged.

If you are a victim or know one, please call the national hotlines for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673

[Columbus Dispatch, Yahoo!]