SEATTLE — Editor's note: On Friday, April 12, the University of Washington (UW) released a statement regarding Tylin Rogers' allegations that can be viewed here.
It's been more than 24 hours since prosecutors charged University of Washington football running back Tylin "Tybo" Rogers with two counts of rape, but the scrutiny has intensified over how the school has handled the allegations.
The UW has remained tight-lipped about any questions regarding Roger's team status regarding the rape charges, and the investigation that court records reveal began back last fall with a Title IX complaint against him made on November 28, 2023.
Rogers did not travel with the team to play in the Pac-12 Championship game in Las Vegas. Sports writer Dan Raley told KOMO News it was Roger's second suspension, and he wondered if his days with the team were numbered. Raley asked Ryan Grubb, the then-Husky offensive coordinator, in mid-December about Rogers' status.
RELATED: UW football player charged with felony rape, suspended from team
"We're working through some things," Grubb said in December. "Some challenges he had off the field. I can't comment on what t it was exactly, but Tybo's done a great job with being here, listening to directions, working through this moment, and being a good steward of the team. He's had a good attitude through this, and there are some things a little bit out of his control he is trying to work through, and we're trying to work with him."
We now know around the same time, serious allegations were made against Rogers. Court documents describe two violent and graphic encounters in which Rogers allegedly assaulted two women around the same time last fall. One of the women allegedly told him she would not have sex on the first date when they arranged to meet at her place. She said after her roommate left, he repeatedly assaulted her.
"These allegations and charging papers are stunning to me," said Raley.
Raley, who wrote about Roger's status after the Pac-12 Championship on Sports Illustrated's FanNation site Inside the Huskies, said he knew who to ask about it.
"I just cornered Ryan Grubb because I knew he'd give me an honest answer," said Raley. "We didn't know (Rogers) other than he was a great football player and could have been someone high profile at the UW and maybe a pro football player."
Rogers was arrested on Friday near Husky Stadium. On Tuesday, he was charged in King County Superior Court with one count of second-degree rape and one count of third-degree rape. He has been suspended indefinitely from the team.
According to court documents, a warrant found multiple emails within the UW Athletic Department confirming Rogers should be taken off the travel roster for the PAC-12 Championship game. But video from the KOMO News sports team shows Rogers back on the field just a month later. According to court documents, the incidents involving Rogers occurred between October and November of 2023.
"The coaching staff has changed, and so has the athletic director the people who made those decisions aren't here anymore," Raley said.
Rogers played Texas in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 and Michigan in the National Championship game on Jan. 8.
KOMO News, via email, reached out to the UW's Athletic Department, former Coach Kalen DeBoer, former Offensive Coordinator Ryan Grubb, and former Athletic Director Troy Dannen.
As of this writing, Dannen responded through a spokesperson with "no comment." A spokesperson for Alabama Football sent KOMO News the following statement Thursday from DeBoer:
“While I am not able to comment specifically on the situation involving an individual at my former institution because of federal privacy laws and the ongoing criminal matters, I do want to make it clear that I take any allegation of sexual misconduct very seriously," DeBoer said in the statement. "I always have and always will follow established institutional policies and procedures to ensure prompt reporting and proper handling of allegations by the appropriate authorities.”
"The coaching staff has changed, and so has the athletic director," said Raley. "The people who made those decisions aren't here anymore. He was at practice Tuesday when Coach Jed Fisch was confronted about the timeline. He said it appeared to him that the coach was blindsided.
Raley has his own hunch about the Rogers flip-flip team status.
"Some people feel they have to be fair until a legal decision is made," said Raley.
“I’ve worked on multiple sex abuse allegation cases in civil litigation arenas,“ said Paul Schneiderman, a Seattle sports attorney, litigator, and at one point, was the Save our Sonics attorney.
"There could be some federal education and privacy laws that could be impeding the UW from giving full statement," said Schneiderman. "I would only be speculating there may be procedural reasons why some gaps, and I think some reasons why they are not commented is federal privacy laws. It's not surprising at all that the University would not want to comment in this case. We don’t know if a hearing occurred in December."
The University's assistant athletic director for athletic communications told KOMO News via an email that they will not have anything additional beyond Tuesday's statement. In that statement, the UW said, in part, that Rogers is suspended indefinitely, and it will continue to gather facts and cooperate with law enforcement -- as requested.
"Perception is everything image at the "U" and the football program, dealing with all that," said Raley.
Rogers is set to appear in court on April 18 for his arraignment.
