Former NFL cornerback Shareece Wright has revealed he is one of the 12 people who anonymously allege that they were sexually assaulted by a former high school athletic trainer – while still minors.
ESPN reports that the alleged assaults occurred when Wright at the others were studying at a Southern California high school, according to court documents and interviews.
Wright told ESPN that he hopes speaking out will ‘stop it from happening to other kids.’
‘The less it’s kept a secret, the harder it is for it to continue to happen,’ the 36-year-old said.
Back in September 2022, Wright was among six former high school football players who sued the Colton Joint Unified School District and former trainer Tiffany Strauss-Gordon.
Shareece Wright claims he was sexually assaulted by a former high school athletic trainer
Another six have since joined the list of plaintiffs. Strauss-Gordon – who has been suspended since 2022 – has denied the allegations and no criminal charges have yet been brought.
Strauss-Gordon’s father Harold Strauss, who died in 2019, turned Colton High School into a football powerhouse.
Wright claims he first got to know Strauss-Gordon when he was a 15-year-old freshman. She was 21 at the time. He accuses her of grooming him through flirtation, favoritism and giving him a nickname.
It’s alleged that Strauss-Gordon inappropriately touched Wright during treatment sessions and performed oral sex on him in the training room.
Wright told ESPN that when he was 17, he and Strauss-Gordon had several sexual encounters in places such as the locker room and weight room. According to the lawsuit, as reported by ESPN, the pair had sex at Harold Strauss’s home.
It’s claimed that school officials knew of allegations against her all the way back in 2011, while Wright claims both players and coaches joked openly about Strauss-Gordon’s actions. Receiving oral sex from her was said to be known as the ‘Tiffany treatment.’
‘You’ve got football, you’ve got the coach’s daughter, you’ve got a permissive school environment where it’s allowed to happen – you have a sort of perfect storm of sexual abuse that could be covered up easily,’ Wright’s attorney Morgan Stewart told ESPN. He also represents eight other plaintiffs.
Wright told ESPN that he finally decided to speak out, in part, due to concerns for his own sons, who are aged nine and 12.
‘I just want to make the conversation comfortable for people to speak up about,’ he said.
The age of consent in California is 18. Adults who engage in sexual activity with a minor can face prosecution for statutory rape. But the local authorities told ESPN that no charges were filed against Strauss-Gordon because of a lack of sufficient evidence.
She told police in 2022 that the men had filed the lawsuit for financial reasons.
Back in 2011, Wright was one of three players from the school who were drafted into the NFL – more than any other high school in the country.
Wright was selected by the Chargers before going on to play for the 49ers, Ravens, Bills, Raiders and Texans. He played in the NFL until 2018.
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