Ex-NMSU basketball players file lawsuit over alleged sexual assaults

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Two former New Mexico State men's basketball players said they were subjected to hazing and sexual assault by older teammates.

During a press conference, the former players added that their alleged attackers were multiple members of the basketball team who coerced the victims into remaining silent. 

"There were most definitely other players that got attacked the way that we got attacked," Shakiru Odunewu said in an interview with ESPN earlier this week. "But ... these other guys, I feel like they manipulated them to believe that if they came out, that they were snitching."

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A view of University Arena, "The Pit," home to the University of New Mexico Lobos basketball teams, during a game Nov. 14, 2014, in Albuquerque, N.M.  (Aaron Sweet/Getty Images)

Some assistant coaches were also targeted, according to Odunewu and Deuce Benjamin. They added that players who committed the alleged acts of harassment also pulled down assistant coaches' pants in public places.

"After the [game] at UTEP, when we lost, they pantsed one of the assistants," Benjamin said. "One assistant coach had his pants pulled down while he slept on the bus," he said, and another was targeted but yelled enough to dissuade the attackers. 

"[Other coaches acted] like they didn't see it."

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Benjamin and Odunewu detailed their experiences for the first time publicly Wednesday. Their lawsuit was filed against the university in April for the alleged mishandling of the assaults.

The lawsuit states that Odunewu reported