Nebraska Football: Huskers RB Maurice Washington embroiled in controversy

Nebraska football player Maurice Washington has reportedly been charged with a felony relating to California’s “Revenge Porn” law and here’s what we know.

Nebraska football running back Maurice Washington has been seen as one of the future bright spots for the Huskers but after a report about him being charged with a felony in relation to California’s “Revenge Porn” law, his future in Lincoln could be in doubt.

The news was first reported by an NBC affiliate and it stems from an incident regarding an ex-girlfriend of Washington’s, who had a sex video made and distributed without her permission.

Washington did not record the video and was not part of it, however, he had the video sent to him and according to the allegations, he sent it to the woman and according to the NBC report, used derogatory language towards her in his response.

The woman in question was Washington’s girlfriend during his freshman year of high school and the two broke up. However, when he signed with the Nebraska football program, she reportedly reached out to congratulate him on social media and Washington sent the video back to her as a response.

The Bay Area affiliate of NBC also reported, citing the lead investigator on the case, that the University of Nebraska was made aware of the incident last fall, yet Washington still played every game of the 2018 season for the Huskers.

While the University has yet to comment on the situation, the NBC station did have a statement from Washington’s lawyer, John C. Ball from Lincoln, Nebraska. Here is his statement:

"“This is a situation involving an inappropriate cell phone video. The allegations are that Mr. Washington sent that video to his high school girlfriend. Mr. Washington did not make the video, nor does he appear in the video. The incident is alleged to have taken place in California, several years ago. Mr. Washington will continue to be fully cooperative with the authorities in this situation. We are in contact with those authorities, and are in the process of making arrangements to move forward and resolve this matter. Mr. Washington has confidence in our justice system, and knows that he can rely on the fundamental constitutional rights of due process and the presumption of innocence.”"

Certainly, there are a lot of moving parts left with this and it is important not to jump to any conclusions. There are not allegations that Washington committed any acts against the girl, only that he sent the video.

The University of Nebraska has responded to the allegations and it says that last fall, it was made aware of an issue with Washington and that investigators from California were wanting to speak to Washington. However, the school says nothing else came out of it, until recently when it was notified of charges.

That clears up some things about what the university knew and when it knew it. Still, this is becoming a messy situation.

We will update this when more news becomes available.