USC

USC's Rose Bowl-Winning Kicker Fights Expulsion

Matt Boermeester was investigated by the school for allegations that he abused his girlfriend, who has denied the allegations.

Former University of Southern California kicker Matt Boermeester has filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court in an effort to overturn his expulsion following a school investigation of allegations that he abused his girlfriend.

Boermeester was suspended from the football team in January, the same month he kicked the winning field goal in the Trojans' Rose Bowl victory, and he was later expelled for violating a school order to stay away from his girlfriend, who has denied being abused.

The Los Angeles Times reports the petition filed Aug. 11 claims the couple "briefly engaged in loud, consensual horseplay" in an alley near her residence.

USC countered in a court filing last week that Boermeester placed his hands around his girlfriend's neck and twice pushed her against a wall and that the girlfriend confirmed witnesses' accounts and said she often had bruises from being hit or grabbed by him when he was angry.

The filing said the incident was witnessed by two male students who heard her scream and later described it as "aggressive, not playful."

The girlfriend, Zoe Katz, said in a statement to the Times last month that she has never been abused, assaulted or mistreated by Boermeester and that the investigation by USC's Title IX office was unjust.

"When I told the truth about Matt, in repeated interrogations, I was stereotyped and was told I must be a 'battered' woman, and that made me feel demeaned and absurdly profiled," Katz said in the statement.

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Boermeester was not arrested or charged with any crime involving the events of the late January night after the couple got French fries from a McDonald's restaurant.

"Ms. Katz never made any report to USC; rather another student looking out the window thought he saw a physical altercation, told another student about what he thought he saw, and that student told his father, who then contacted the USC Title IX Office," said the petition filed by attorney Mark M. Hathaway.

The petition faulted the investigation for not having any audio recordings or transcripts of witness interviews.

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