Hunter
04/26/24
16 current and former athletes from the University of Iowa have joined in a federal lawsuit against the state Department of Criminal Investigation, Department of Public Safety, and its agents, claiming their constitutional rights were violated.
ESPN reports the suit alleges state criminal investigators violated their rights by using geolocation software without a search warrant to track activity on their cellphones as part of a widespread sports wagering inquiry.
State investigators later obtained warrants to confiscate and search the athletes’ phones, but the lawsuit says the warrants were “invalid and unconstitutional” because the information used to justify the warrants was acquired without a warrant. The information obtained resulted in criminal charges for athletes and the loss of NCAA eligibility.
In addition to the UI athletes, nine Iowa State athletes and one from a community college are part of the suit.
Matt Boles, Adam Witosky and Van Plumb are the attorneys for the athletes. In a joint statement, they said, “The lives of these young men have been disrupted and altered in way[s] still yet to be fully seen. It is our hope that through the civil action we can help these young men put their lives back on track and gain a measure of justice for the violation of their rights.”
ESPN reached out to Iowa state officials for a comment about the lawsuit, but they did not immediately respond.
