In 2015, former Baylor football player Sam Ukwuachu was convicted of sexual assault. In March of 2017, that conviction was overturned by an appeals court. Following the appeal, Ukwuachu sent an email to The Dallas Morning News. Some of the contents were revealed, and it’s safe to say that Ukwuachu didn’t pull punches expressing his rage.
Alleged rapist from Baylor apparently sends a lot of profane emails to reporters about his case https://t.co/RTnHT9JhZu pic.twitter.com/J7r4ShKTag
— Tyler Kingkade (@tylerkingkade) August 2, 2017
The Dallas Morning News did officially complain to the police about the emails. But per a report from Tommy Witherspoon and Phillip Ericksen of the Waco Tribune-Herald, “Dallas police recently suspended the investigation, citing insufficient evidence for a harassment charge.”
That decision did not surprise William A. Bratton III, Ukwuachu’s attorney.
“If they were threatening or harassing, they would have taken the appropriate action if they felt he committed a crime,” Bratton said, per Witherspoon and Ericksen. “He didn’t commit a crime. He is just very frustrated with the entire process and felt like he wasn’t treated fairly during trial, so anybody who just automatically assumes the other side is right and he is wrong, that upsets him. That is not to say he couldn’t have used a little more civility in his responses to them, but other than that, there was nothing illegal in what he did.”
Ukwuachu’s troubles were some of the many that contributed to coach Art Briles getting fired.
It’s easy to understand Ukwuachu’s frustration, especially if he was wrongly accused and initially convicted. But he would have done well to take a slightly more professional tone in his message.