“Growing up, I always wanted to be an Aggie,” said William Benjamin Jr., also known as “The Deuce.”
Benjamin was a high school basketball star and was named New Mexico’s player of the year twice. His dream has always been to follow in the footsteps of his father, William Benjamin Sr., who was an Aggie Hall of Famer by playing on the New Mexico State basketball team.
But at a press conference Wednesday, Benjamin gave a heartbreaking and tearful account of how his childhood dream turned into his worst nightmare.
Benjamin alleges that during his brief stint as an NMSU basketball player, he suffered multiple sexual assaults from his teammates. According to a lawsuit filed by Benjamin and his former teammate Shak Odunewu, who allegedly suffered the same attacks, his coaches and other school officials failed to act when confronted with the allegations.
“First it hurts, then it changes you,” Benjamin said of his treatment, and he held back tears. “I have a part of me that is not the same.”
Redshirt freshman Odunewu said he was initially hesitant to tell his story because he feared it would affect the careers of those in school.
“But it got to a point where I couldn’t take it anymore,” he said. “It’s very sad that my college experience has gone like this… I hope me and Deuce will get through this and have the strength to dominate whatever path we choose.”
Benjamin’s father joined his son at the press conference, detailing how the school he graduated from failed to protect Deuce when she needed him most.
“My child has failed. My family has failed,” said William Benjamin, bursting into tears. “And as a father, I feel like I let my son down for putting my son in this situation.”
NMSU spokesman Justin Bannister said in a statement that the school “continues to view this issue as extremely important” and that the alleged behavior of these former players “has no place on our campus.”
But Deuce and Odunewu are looking for greener spaces. Both are no longer Aggies and have no intention of returning to NMSU.
Attorney Ramez Shamieh hopes the case will bring Deuce and Odunewu the justice they deserve, and clean up a basketball program that has been the subject of multiple scandals in the past.
“By pressing the university to make changes to hold people accountable, there will be change,” Shamieh said.
New Mexico’s education department took notice. Last week, she sent a letter to NMSU requesting that the school’s athletics department be investigated, including Deuce’s allegations.