A law firm in Lexington, Kentucky, announced Tuesday it filed a civil lawsuit against Buffalo Bills rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston on behalf of a woman accusing him of sexual assault in 2021.
Trial attorneys Peter Flowers, Jonathan Mincieli and Lauren Edmunds of Meyers & Flowers and Mark Bryant, David Bryant and Emily Roark of Bryant Law Center submitted the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
鈥淭he lawsuit outlines serious allegations of nonconsensual sexual contact that occurred in (Rebecca) Hendryx鈥檚 on-campus dormitory,鈥 the press release stated.
According to the law firm, the civil lawsuit brings, 鈥渃laims of sexual assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress and seeks both compensatory and punitive damages for the harm our client has endured.鈥
Hairston signed a four-year, $15,275,982 contract on June 13.
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The Bills declined to comment when contacted by The Buffalo News.
An attempt to reach Hairston鈥檚 agent was unsuccessful.
Hairston, the Bills鈥 first-round draft pick in April, was not criminally charged after an investigation. After drafting Hairston, Bills general manager Brandon Beane said the team did a 鈥渓ot of research鈥 on Hairston鈥檚 background and called him an 鈥渋mpeccable kid.鈥
鈥淚f there was anything to that, he wouldn鈥檛 have been invited to the (NFL scouting) combine (or) to the draft,鈥 Beane said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 unfortunate when things like that are attached to someone鈥檚 name and in this case, it doesn鈥檛 seem to be anything there.鈥
The law firm鈥檚 press release said Hairston and Hendryx first met in 2021 outside their on-campus residence hall at the University of Kentucky.
鈥淟ater that same day, at Hairston鈥檚 request, Hendryx visited his dorm room,鈥 the press release stated. 鈥淒uring the interaction, she became uncomfortable when he attempted to isolate her in his bedroom and she promptly left. That evening, Hairston contacted her via Snapchat, requesting to meet up to engage in sexual activity. She declined. After that exchange, there was no further contact between them until the night of the alleged assault.鈥
According to the lawsuit, Hairston went to Hendryx鈥檚 dorm room uninvited late in March 2021.
Hairston would have been 17 at the time.
鈥淒espite being told she was tired and uninterested in spending time together, (Hairston) entered her room without permission,鈥 the press release stated. 鈥淥nce inside, he followed her into her bedroom and ignored her repeated refusals to engage in sexual conduct. Hairston then forcibly removed Hendryx鈥檚 clothing and sexually assaulted her. Shocked and distressed, Hendryx reported the incident to law enforcement within hours of the sexual assault.鈥
According to an report, a spokesperson for the Lexington police said the department did not have a report matching a sexual assault allegation against Hairston.
Also according to , Dani Jaffe, a spokesperson for the University of Kentucky and university police, said she could not comment on the lawsuit but that “sexual assault allegations are thoroughly investigated and can involve police, Title IX, student conduct officials and other legal entities. If and when charges are warranted, or if a student is found to have violated our Code of Student Conduct, such charges and disciplinary measures are filed and pursued aggressively to protect our students.”
