The university found out about rape allegations against a recruit from an internet article, rather than from the football staff’s background check.
Southern Miss head coach Jay Hopson’s staff did not alert university officials to criminal accusations against a potential enrollee, according to sources at Southern Miss and a document obtained by SB Nation.
As first reported by The Athletic, Hopson’s staff recruited junior college running back Charles West, who was previously accused of raping two women at knifepoint in separate instances in 2015, to USM.
A source at Southern Miss confirmed to SB Nation that football staffers told West to move to campus, despite not notifying the university’s admissions department about West’s past.
Per a document obtained by SB Nation, school officials initially flagged West because he was one of several players whose academic eligibility was in doubt. A source at USM told SB Nation that on January 25, staffers then discovered this article from the Dallas Morning News, detailing 2015 accusations against West.
When USM staffers contacted football administrators following the discovery of that article, at least one USM football staffer indicated he had also been unaware of West’s past until a background check for an apartment rental in Hattiesburg brought the allegations to light. The football staff apparently did not pass the results of any West background checks along to USM admissions.
Internal documentation obtained by SB Nation shows West was one of six prospects flagged by USM for potential compliance issues, all being recruited by assistant coach Paul Gonnella.
247Sports lists Southern Miss as the only school with interest in West as a JUCO prospect, let alone the only school to offer West a scholarship out of Garden City Community College, and lists Gonnella as West’s primary recruiter.
University officials tasked with clearing enrollees did not receive complete transcripts and academic paperwork on West from coaches until January 16, a day before a USM spring admissions deadline, a source confirmed to SB Nation.
In addition, a source confirms that no USM football staffer disclosed West’s history of rape accusations at any point of the admissions process, though some USM football staffers were unaware of West’s past.
As for how far along West’s recruitment went, USM confirmed Thursday night to SB Nation that West signed grant-in-aid papers (necessary to receive a scholarship). He is no longer with the team.
SB Nation asked compliance sources at other schools about the tight timeline surrounding West and whether it would be unusual for coaches to seek admittance for multiple players right before enrollment and days before Signing Day.
One said it would be unacceptable, and that it would likely mean someone was trying to hide something. Another said it’s common “all the time, especially in football.” A third said it definitely happens.
Later, Hopson didn’t alert his bosses prior to his pursuit of former Baylor head coach Art Briles.
Southern Miss found itself in the middle of a firestorm days prior because Hopson interviewed the disgraced former head coach:
The attempt to hire Briles was conceived and executed solely by Hopson and football staffers, without first broaching the subject with university officials, a source close to Southern Miss confirmed to SB Nation.
A separate source described the situation with a metaphor: “there was not clearance from the tower before they brought [Briles] in for landing.”
USM moved on, and Hopson issued a perplexing statement in which he defended interviewing Briles, disagreed with USM officials’ decision to tell Briles he was no longer in consideration, and later tried to justify it by saying that Briles tough to scheme against as an opposing coach.