LEGAL SHOCKWAVE: BYU QB Jake Retzlaff Responds to Civil Lawsuit, Denies Sexual Assault Allegations

BYU QB Jake Retzlaff responds to civil lawsuit, denies sexual assault allegations

Attorneys representing Jake Retzlaff have responded to a civil lawsuit filed against the BYU quarterback last month alleging he sexually assaulted a Salt Lake County woman in his Provo apartment in November 2023.

“Mr. Retzlaff specifically and categorically denies each and every and all allegations that he bit, raped or strangled AG, which are ridiculous and bizarre allegations, all of which are false and untrue,” states the response, filed in Third Judicial District Court in Salt Lake City Friday.

In a 14-page document entitled “Answer of Jake Retzlaff to Complaint,” attorney Stephen R. Waldron of the law firm Savage, Yeates and Waldron P.C. in Salt Lake City writes that:Among plaintiff Jane Doe A.G.’s complaints was that she was “raped, strangled and bit” by Retzlaff in his bedroom after she and a friend visited him and his roommates the night of Nov. 22, 2023, which was Thanksgiving Eve, to play video games and hang out. The lawsuit seeks more than $300,000 in damages for each of three causes of action “to be proven at trial.”In the response, Retzlaff said that he and AG “had a pleasant and entirely consensual evening together, playing video games, and a normal evening of consensual sexual interaction that was uneventful but pleasant, with the plaintiff sleeping over and leaving the next morning to return to Salt Lake City,” according to court documents.

After the civil lawsuit was filed on May 21, BYU responded with this statement:

“BYU became aware today that a civil lawsuit involving Jake Retzlaff had been filed this morning. The university takes any allegation very seriously, following all processes and guidelines mandated by Title IX. Due to federal and university privacy laws and practices for students, the university will not be able to provide additional comment.”

Contacted Friday afternoon, BYU athletics department spokesman Jon McBride declined to comment on the latest development and referred the Deseret News to the school’s original statement.

BYU’s Honor Code, which all students agree to adhere to annually, prohibits premarital sexual relations.

California-based attorney Mark D. Baute sent an email to media outlets on May 21 saying that he was “counsel for Jake Retzlaff” and that the rising BYU senior who graduated in April “is also factually innocent” of the allegations. Waldron is “an extension” of Baute’s office, according to a source.

Since making the statement on May 21, BYU officials have remained publicly quiet on the topic, and BYU football coach Kalani Sitake said Monday at a golf event in Cedar Hills that neither he nor anyone else affiliated with the football team or athletic department can comment on the matter.In Friday’s response, Retzlaff’s attorneys say the plaintiff initiated a text message with Retzlaff a month or so before the night in question and then drove from the University of Utah campus to his apartment in Provo “to play video games that evening and sleep over.”

She told Retzlaff she was a University of Utah student, but he does not remember where she resided at the time, according to the court filing.

Retzlaff said the plaintiff told him she went to high school in Salt Lake City and was attending the University of Utah in November 2023, but “lacks sufficient information” to determine whether she still lives there now. He says they were not childhood friends, as she allegedly told Provo Police.

Retzlaff’s response claims that after their “one night together” the plaintiff continued to “exchange friendly and flirty texts and direct messages” with him, mostly concerning the rivalry between Utah football and BYU football, according to the court document.

For instance, on Jan. 30, 2024, AG texted Retzlaff and said, “We (Utah) will win. Trust.”

After Retzlaff responded with “Sure, whatever you say,” the plaintiff wrote back: “I will bet on it. Ha ha ha.”Prominent attorney: BYU’s Jake Retzlaff could face long legal battle

Meanwhile, several players have confirmed that Retzlaff continues to live in Provo and has been participating in player-run practices with his teammates

After Retzlaff asked “what exactly would you bet?” the plaintiff responded: “What are you thinking?”

The exchanges continued through at least Feb. 1, 2024, as noted in the response.

The response notes that “no mention was made by AG during those post-sleepover text exchanges about their evening together being unpleasant, in any way, and at no point does AG claim she was upset or disappointed about their evening together, instead, AG is clearly enjoying their flirty text banter eight weeks later and is urging Mr. Retzlaff to place a fun or flirty bet on the outcome of the upcoming rivalry football game.”

BYU won the game 22-21 on a last-second field goal.

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The response says that AG and Retzlaff had no contact during BYU’s recent 11-2 season and win over Colorado in the Alamo Bowl. However, shortly after the bowl game, “the plaintiff AG hired a Salt Lake City lawyer and made her first-ever claim of rape linked to a large monetary demand from Mr. Retzlaff, who by that time was being publicly identified as an NFL draft prospect due to the 11-2 season ending in 2024,” the court document states.

Retzlaff told KSL Sports in the middle of January that he planned to return in 2025 for his final season of eligibility.In the response, Retzlaff says that none of the witnesses present at his apartment that night, including the plaintiff’s friend, “saw or heard anything unpleasant or coercive, and instead, only witnessed polite, courteous, positive and normal consensual behavior and interaction among and between Mr. Retzlaff and AG, who made it clear that she wanted to spend the night with Mr. Retzlaff.”

Retzlaff contends that the “proper venue” for the case is Provo, and not Salt Lake City, as the plaintiff desires.