"Regardless, Krakauer says the university “bent over backwards to be fair to Johnson.”
“The woman he allegedly raped is the person who was treated unfairly in this case, as the U.S. Department of Justice made clear after thoroughly investigating the matter,” he says in a statement. “If anyone should have received a big settlement, it was Johnson’s victim.”
Krakauer says he is “extremely disappointed” by the state’s decision not to defend itself in court, and that the strategy encourages other students charged with rape to sue the state, regardless of whether the students are guilty as charged. It also raises the stakes of Krakauer’s pending case before the Montana Supreme Court to force the release of records surrounding Johnson’s hearing.
“Montanans have a constitutional right to know why Johnson’s expulsion was overturned by the commissioner,” Krakauer says, “and why they are now on the hook for paying Johnson a quarter of a million dollars—even though he seemingly received preferential treatment for being a star athlete.”"