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Activist Brenda Tracy took to Twitter following the statement that the Portland Trail Blazers would announce their new head coach, presumed to be Chauncey Billups, at a press conference on Tuesday. Tracy founded the organization Set the Expectation, which focuses on engaging with athletes to combat physical and sexual violence. Tracy called into question how thoroughly the Trail Blazers vetted Billups.
However, it’s more likely that they just asked Billups his version of the events and asked his friends what they think of Billups character. That’s what sports organizations usually call “thorough vetting”.
— Brenda Tracy (@brendatracy24) June 27, 2021
Tracy was the victim of a gang rape perpetrated by players on the Oregon State football team in 1998. Since her story was first published in the Oregonian in 2014, Tracy has worked to put an end to sexual violence in sports by educating athletes.
In 2000, Billups settled a civil lawsuit stemming from a 1997 incident in which a woman said she was sexually assaulted by Billups and other Boston Celtics players at the time. No criminal charges were filed. Police reports published in the book “Out of Bounds” by Jeff Benedict, summarized here and here [trigger warning for graphic descriptions], detail the narrative and aftermath.