Former ISU basketball player and 2014 graduate Bubu Palo, who faced rape allegations while in college, is suing Iowa State and the Iowa Board of Regents for what he says was a mishandling of his case.

Iowa State or the Iowa Board of Regents hadn’t filed a response to the petition, which was filed March 21, as of Wednesday. 

Palo is claiming that ISU officials found him guilty despite insufficient evidence and used the disciplinary system to not give Palo the chance to transfer to another school, according to a petition obtained from the Story County District Court.

Palo also claims in the suit that the wrongful ruling handed down by the university “destroyed” his opportunity to play professional basketball because he was suspended and later benched during his junior and senior years, according to the petition.

“Mr. Palo suffered at the whim of the arbitrary administrative decisions made by President Leath, other administrators at ISU and the Board,” wrote Michael Sellers and Trent Nelson, Palo’s attorneys. “Mr. Palo continues to suffer from that decision to this day.”  

The lawsuit lists the following grievances against Iowa State and the Iowa Board of Regents: violating Iowa Code chapter 625.29, tortious interference, breach of contract and pain and suffering.

Iowa State denied the allegations through an email statement. 

“The basic premise of Mr. Palo’s lawsuit is that he would have had a more successful professional basketball career if the university had not suspended him,” said Executive Director of University Relations John McCarroll. “However, that is pure speculation, and it is not the job of courts to engage in speculation. We deny the allegations made in this petition.” 

Palo was charged in September 2012 with second-degree sexual abuse stemming from an incident on May 2012, when a fellow student said Palo and a friend abused her.

The charges were dismissed in January 2013. 

During the investigation, Palo was suspended from the men’s basketball team. After the charges were dropped, Palo played in 17 of Iowa State’s final 19 games.

The petition claims that since Palo was fully reinstated at the end of the 2012-13 season, he had no reason to believe he was subject to further suspension. Palo didn’t attempt to transfer schools because of this belief, according to the petition. 

In the summer of 2013, Palo was found not guilty by an administrative law judge. The ISU Judicial Affairs Committee, the committee that investigates and oversees possible violations of the Student Code of Conduct at Iowa State, appealed the decision to ISU President Steven Leath in June 2013. 

In August, five days after the start of the 2013-14 academic year, Leath ruled that Palo was in violation of ISU regulations and suspended him indefinitely from basketball.

Since the decision came after the start of the academic year, Palo was unable to transfer to another school without losing eligibility. The petition claims Leath’s finding was an “arbitrary finding in both its [punitive] justification and in timing.”

Palo appealed the decision but was denied in December 2013. He then requested judicial review of the findings, and requested a stay to return to the basketball team during the investigation. He was cleared to play in January 2014, per a court ruling, but was relegated to the bench for the rest of the season. 

The complaint said these unfounded suspensions from Iowa State prevented Palo from gaining experience for professional basketball. 

“This lack of exposure and firsthand experience destroyed Mr. Palo’s opportunities to play in professional basketball leagues in the United States and abroad,” the petition reads. 

However, Palo has played for the Sioux Falls Sky Force, an NBA D-League team in South Dakota, since last year. 

Palo also claimed pain and suffering as a result of the university’s mishandling of the case. Palo said the media exposure was a direct result of ISU officials’ “persistent efforts” to keep Palo from playing, along with their comments to the media. 

“These actions on the part of ISU gave credibility to the unfounded allegations against Mr. Palo and caused him a great deal of stress during that period,” the complaint reads.  

Palo is seeking compensation for his “emotional distress, future income and the value of the future experiences lost,” among other things, according to the petition. 

“ISU had a duty to thoroughly investigate the facts behind the accusations that led to the punitive actions against Mr. Palo,” the petition reads. “And failed to do so, causing harm to Mr. Palo.”