Decision to expel ex-UTC wrestler Corey Mock reversed in court

A state judge has ruled that the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga made a mistake in finding former Moc wrestler Corey Mock guilty of sexual misconduct based on his inability to prove he had obtained verbal consent from a woman who described her own memory of their encounter as clouded by intoxication.

Corey Mock (Photo/GoMocs.com)

Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Carol L. McCoy held that UTC Chancellor Steven R. Angle had rendered an "arbitrary and capricious" decision last December in ordering the expulsion of Corey Mock, a senior. In demanding that Mock prove he had obtained verbal consent in advance of sexual intercourse, Angle held the student to an untenable standard, partly because the campus's code of conduct defines as consent not just verbal messages but "acts that are unmistakable in their meaning," according judge McCoy who is based in Nashville.

In addition, the judge held, Angle violated Mock's due-process rights by interpreting the university's code of conduct, which requires initiators of sexual activity to obtain consent, as establishing a judicial requirement that students accused of sexual misconduct prove that they had obtained consent in order to clear themselves.

The case began nearly 18 months ago. According to a timeline published in the Chattanooga Times-Free Press, on March 16, 2014, Mock and the alleged victim (who InterMat is not identifying) met at a party. Mock said they had consensual sex; the woman said she was unconscious and was raped. On April 3, she filed a complaint with the university. Mock went before University Judicial Officer Joanie Sompayrac for a hearing under the school's Uniform Rules and Procedures Act on June 24; in early August, Sompayrac ruled that Mock was not responsible for sexual misconduct. However, three weeks later, Sompayrac reversed her decision after the woman and the university asked her to reconsider. At that time, Mock was expelled from UTC, but Sompayrac stayed that decision pending an appeal.

On Dec. 2, 2014, Angle, ruling on Mock's appeal, found him responsible; the former student/athlete was expelled. Mock appealed Angle's decision to Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville, which granted Mock a temporary injunction, allowing him to take his fall semester finals. After a Jan. 9, 2015 hearing in Nashville, the Chancery Court granted a protective order allowing Mock to continue his studies during spring semester, citing "irreparable harm" that result from him losing a semester if he were to win his appeal. However, a protective order allowing Mock to return to the UTC Mocs wrestling team was denied. On Jan. 26, UTC filed an objection to that protective order, saying that Mock would not graduate that spring because the two classes he needed would not be offered until summer. Mock was expelled.

No criminal charges were ever filed against Mock; university officials said the decision to press charges is typically left up to the victim. State law does not require instances of sexual assault on college campuses to be reported to police.

InterMat first learned of the decision to overturn UTC's decision on Monday from the CoreyMock.net blog created by Corey's father C.D. Mock, who had been head wrestling coach at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill until mid-June, when he was fired. In a post dated Aug. 9 titled "Corey Mock Wins In State Appeals Court", C.D. Mock described the judge's decision, then wrote, "Needless to say, we are very happy. It has restored a sense of justice and fairness to me personally for our judicial system that I was losing. The judge followed the law, no BS, no politics, no games â€¦

"This has been a long fight. My son has remained at UTC in school in a horrible environment -- something very few young men would do in his situation. They took away his senior year as a student. They took away his senior year as an athlete. They took away any chance he ever had to fulfill his dream of being a wrestling coach as a career. His reputation will never be restored; this will follow him forever in 'googleland'. Our family has spent thousands of dollars defending him. I have personally been called sexist, woman-hater, men's rights advocate ... for nothing more than defending my son's innocence. (It will be interesting to see if any of those folks apologize). I lost my job and a lot of "friends" over this â€¦"

The former Tar Heel coach went on to say, "This has never been about being victims. This has always been about standing up for what we believed to be right and honorable â€¦ We need to find ways to better address sexual assault against women in colleges. But, not at the expense of creating a whole new class of victims!"

" â€¦ Everyone wants women to be protected better -- everyone!" C.D. Mock continued. "Let's find a way to do that which doesn't create an environment where young men's lives are ruined because we took away their rights. Both of these are worthy objectives and the only reason people can't get together on them is because of ridiculously stubborn people who refuse to care about anything except satisfying their personal agendas, at whatever cost."

C.D. Mock

C.D. Mock had drawn heat for comments he had made about his son's situation on his CoreyMock.net blog as well as on social media. The former coach had identified the victim publicly, and provided graphic details of the alleged incident in his blog. In a January 2015 interview with The Daily Tar Heel student newspaper at North Carolina, C.D. Mock said, "The purpose of the blog was simply because I want people to know the other side of this story. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that my son is not guilty of sexual assault or rape â€¦ Mud has been slung. I have been called every name in the book. They're copying the chancellor on things that I've written, and they've called for me to be fired."

On Friday, June 12, North Carolina announced that C.D. Mock had been relieved of his duties as the head wrestling coach. UNC athletic director Bubba Cunningham said, "I made the decision that a coaching change was in the best interest of our wrestling program moving forward. I appreciate C.D.'s service to the program over the last 15 years and wish him luck in his future endeavors. I believe a new head coach will re-energize the program and return it to the level of success I expect from all of our teams."

In the same statement, the school announced that Coleman Scott, who came to UNC as an assistant coach last May, had been named interim head coach.

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Decision to expel ex-UTC wrestler Corey Mock reversed in court

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