NBA Player Anthony Lamb Accused of Rape in Lawsuit Against University of Vermont

Daniel Kreps
·3 min read
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Cleveland Cavaliers v Golden State Warriors - Credit: Getty Images
Cleveland Cavaliers v Golden State Warriors - Credit: Getty Images

NBA player Anthony Lamb, currently a member of the Golden State Warriors, has been accused of rape in a new lawsuit filed against the University of Vermont that alleges the school mishandled numerous rape allegations.

Kendall Ware, a former University of Vermont student athlete, is one of three women who have sued the school and its trustees for sex discrimination, denial of equal protection and violations of Title IX.

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While Ware previously went public with her rape accusations against a Vermont basketball player in the summer of 2020 as part of a Burlington Free Press story about her Title IX experience, the lawsuit against the University of Vermont names Lamb as the man involved for the first time.

“The allegations made against me in 2019 that have recently resurfaced are patently false,” Lamb said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “I have always been fully cooperative regarding the alleged incident, and have welcomed any investigation into the matter. Simply put, I have never committed sexual assault.”

The lawsuit — obtained by Rolling Stone — details the alleged sexual assault that occurred on Sept. 7, 2019: Lamb and Ware, a member of the school’s swimming and diving team, began dating in Jan. 2019, but broke up six months later. The next school year, Ware attended an off-campus party hosted by the Vermont men’s basketball team, which included Lamb.

“Later that evening, Lamb began screaming and insulting Ware in the driveway outside the house. Ware and Lamb went together to Lamb’s bedroom, where Ware believed that they would be discussing Lamb’s rage that night. In the process of discussing their relationship and making up from the fight, Lamb began to have sex with Ware,” the lawsuit alleges.

“During the encounter, without Ware’s consent, Lamb forcefully anally penetrated Ware as she repeatedly pleaded with him to stop, telling him ‘no’ over and over. Ignoring her unequivocal demands, he told her to ‘just take it’ and continued to rape her. In the aftermath, Ware felt frozen. At first, she dissociated from her body. Then, she began to cry uncontrollably. One thought played through her mind on loop: ‘I think Anthony just sexually assaulted me.'”

A month later, on Oct. 7, 2019, Ware says she reported the alleged rape and two other instances of sexual misconduct — including one alleged incident where Lamb filmed her during sex without permission — to the University of Vermont’s Title IX Office, according to the suit.

Despite the subsequent investigation into Lamb, the school continued to use Lamb in advertisements promoting Vermont’s sports. “Ware and her fellow students asked UVM to pull the advertisement, which seemed to publicly affirm that UVM did not care about, or did not believe, its own student survivors of sexual assault,” the lawsuit states.

Lamb is not among the defendants named on the plaintiffs’ lawsuit against the University of Vermont.

“Anthony is not a defendant in this recent lawsuit and, to our knowledge, he has never been charged with any wrongdoing in any legal case,” a rep for the Warriors told the Athletic in a statement. “Prior to signing Anthony in September, we did our due diligence with the NBA and his prior teams, as we do with all players. If any new information comes to light, we will certainly evaluate it and act accordingly.”

Lamb, who went undrafted after leaving Vermont in 2020, made brief stops with the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs before joining the Warriors, the defending NBA champions, on a two-way contract this season. Lamb has thus far played an average of 18 minutes across 18 games this season for the Warriors.

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