Tybo Rogers no longer with UW Huskies football program

Commentary: Lack of accountability in Tybo Rogers case is disturbing, disappointing

To me, it feels like a disservice to the alleged victims who went through proper channels to report what happened. And the way this was handled doesn’t exactly send the best message to any future victims either.

SEATTLE - Tybo Rogers, charged with raping two women in Seattle, is no longer a member of the University of Washington football team.

The University of Washington confirmed the news, first reported by ESPN, to FOX 13 Seattle on Wednesday, stating: "He is no longer a part of the football program."

Court documents say Rogers played in two College Football Playoff games for the school after at least one of the allegations was known to the university.

Seattle police officers arrested 18-year-old Tylin "Tybo" Rogers on April 5 and booked him into King County Jail. He was charged with second-degree rape and third-degree rape and his bail was set at $150,000 in each case, according to court documents.

Rogers had been suspended from team activities until further notice, the Washington athletic department said in a previous statement. The university would continue to gather facts and cooperate with police, as requested, the statement said.

A Seattle Central Community College student told police she was raped in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood last year. According to court documents, Rogers and the 19-year-old woman met and started messaging each other after matching on the Tinder dating app in August 2023. Rogers went to her apartment to hang out on Oct. 23 and assaulted her, according to court documents.

Authorities said in court documents that the woman reported the alleged rape to police on Oct. 28, and completed a sexual assault kit at Harborview Medical Center.

A 22-year-old University of Washington student reported that she was raped in November 2023 in the University District, police said.

The woman met Rogers at a Halloween party at the university and then matched with him on Tinder, according to court documents. Police said the two made plans a couple weeks later to hang out and that upon entering her apartment Rogers was immediately forceful and assaulted her. The woman told police at one point Rogers "used one of his hands to strangle her."

The second woman reported the alleged rape to the university on Nov. 28, police said. Rogers allegedly called her on that date to confront her about the allegations, police said in court documents.

He was also suspended from team activities around late November 2023, according to court documents. The freshman running back did not travel with the team for its victory over Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship game on Dec. 1.

At the time, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said during a news conference that Rogers was "working through some things, some challenges he’s had off the field." Rogers returned to team practices by mid-December, according to court documents.

Multiple emails were also sent within Washington athletic department confirming Rogers should be taken off the team’s travel roster for the Pac-12 championship game, but no documentation of reasons for such an action were given, the documents said. He was allowed to appear in the Huskies’ two College Football Playoff games a month later, however.

Rogers recorded five carries for 19 yards in the Huskies’ semifinal win over Texas on Jan. 1. The 18-year-old rushed for 2 yards in the national championship game against Michigan on Jan. 8.

Washington was coached last season by Kalen DeBoer, who left following the national championship game to take the head job at Alabama.

"While I am not able to comment specifically on the situation involving an individual at my former institution because of federal privacy laws and the ongoing criminal matters, I do want to make it clear that I take any allegation of sexual misconduct very seriously," DeBoer said Thursday in a statement issued by Alabama athletics. "I always have and always will follow established institutional policies and procedures to ensure prompt reporting and proper handling of allegations by the appropriate authorities."

DeBoer referred to his statement when asked about the decision-making process in allowing Rogers to play in the playoffs.

"I can’t really comment on that or have anything to add," he said in a regularly scheduled news conference Thursday.

Jedd Fisch is now Washington’s coach. After practice Tuesday, Fisch told local news media that nothing about Rogers being suspended last year, or the reasons for it, had been brought to his attention.

"I wasn’t here for that," Fisch said. "As soon as I found out about the allegations, as soon as it was brought to our attention, he’s been suspended indefinitely. I have no comment about what happened in the past. That has nothing to do with me."