“I DID NOT FINISH COLLEGE”: RACHAEL PIUS SPEAKS OUT ABOUT TEXAS TECH TITLE IX CASE INVOLVING FORMER QB JETT DUFFEY

“I DID NOT FINISH COLLEGE”: RACHAEL PIUS SPEAKS OUT ABOUT TEXAS TECH TITLE IX CASE INVOLVING FORMER QB JETT DUFFEY

LUBBOCK, Texas — Rachael Pius has publicly identified herself as the woman previously described as Jane Doe in a Texas Tech sexual misconduct case involving former quarterback Jett Duffey, sharing what she says were lasting consequences nearly 10 years after the alleged assault.

In an Instagram post supporting the woman behind a recent sexual assault lawsuit involving Cornell University, Pius described her own experience and criticized how universities handled allegations involving athletes.

“10 years ago I was raped under the influence by a TTU football player,” she wrote. “As his friends/teammates watched his motives and did nothing.”

Pius said she eventually reported what happened.

“A report was made after I had the courage to speak up,” she wrote. “Texas Techs own Title IX program found him responsible for raping me. But the DA dismissed my case.”

Previous reporting based on Texas Tech records documented that a 3 member Title IX panel found Duffey responsible for 2 counts of sexual misconduct involving nonconsensual intercourse following a 2016 incident. The complainant said she was too intoxicated to consent. Duffey maintained that the encounter was consensual.

A Lubbock County grand jury determined there was insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges. Duffey was not arrested or criminally charged in connection with the allegation. The university’s finding was an administrative determination that he violated school policy, rather than a criminal conviction.

Texas Tech suspended Duffey from the university for the spring and summer 2017 semesters.

Pius questioned the timing of that punishment.

“His ‘punishment’ from TTU and football advisors, agreed that he would be suspended from playing football for 2 seasons,” she wrote. “The seasons they chose were Spring and summer.”

“There is no ‘in season’ football during spring and summer,” she added.

The documented sanction was a university suspension for 2 semesters. Although spring football practice takes place during that period, neither semester includes the regular fall football season.

Duffey returned to Texas Tech after the suspension and eventually started the final 8 games of the Red Raiders’ 2019 season.

Pius said her own plans changed permanently.

“At the time I was about to be a junior in college. I wanted to transfer to TTU,” she wrote. “After this I did not attend tech and I did not finish college.”

“I attended therapy ongoing, yearly, more than just spring and summer.”

She described difficulties that extended beyond her education.

“I have struggled with my identity, my speech, my mental health, and my life,” Pius wrote. “But he went on at TTU and remained the QB for them.”

Another Texas Tech student filed a separate Title IX complaint involving Duffey in 2019, alleging an assault while she was incapacitated. That complaint ended through a voluntary resolution. Duffey’s attorney said the university cleared him in that matter, and Duffey denied both women’s allegations.

After leaving Texas Tech, Duffey was denied admission to Tulane for academic reasons. Central Michigan subsequently declined to admit him after learning about the second complaint. He later enrolled at Hampton University and played football there in 2021.

Pius criticized the opportunities he continued to receive.

“Many schools ended up denying his football talents when they saw the truth,” she wrote. “But Hampton University was excited to have him.”

Her post also described the emotional effects she continues to experience.

“I have done a lot of ongoing healing the entire 10 years,” Pius wrote. “But my anger and fear and even the shame he gave to me, still arise.”

“This is not just a one schools problem,” she continued. “This unfortunately is not just Cornell’s creation. This is a destruction from our system.”

Pius directed her message to the former Cornell student whose lawsuit alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted by fraternity members in October 2024. Prosecutors initially declined to bring charges but recently reopened the investigation and began preparing the case for presentation to a grand jury.

“Jane Doe of Cornell University. I am thankful you are alive, as I know for myself, after being Jane Doe, a part of me di3d,” Pius wrote.

“You are not alone and thank you for your courage. I believe you.”

She closed by extending that support to others who reported sexual assault and those who never did.

“Thank you Jane Doe from Cornell. Thank you any Jane Doe from any university. Thank you any Jane Doe from anywhere,” she wrote.

“Thank you any Jane Doe, who never got the chance to have herself written as Jane Doe. I believe all of you.”

Pius’s identification as the complainant is based on her own public disclosure. Duffey previously denied the allegations, and the Texas Tech case did not result in criminal charges.

Photo and original post credit: Rachael Pius