WNBA player alleges she was drugged and raped in emotional statement addressing Cornell University scandal

WNBA player Justine Pissott has alleged she was the victim of a sexual assault as she voiced her support for the student who has accused seven Cornell University fraternity brothers of rape. 

Pissott, a 22-year-old who plays for the Las Vegas Aces, revealed she was once drugged and raped during a lengthy statement posted on Instagram on Tuesday.

It comes after the Ivy League university was thrust into the spotlight after a lawsuit was filed earlier this month by an unnamed female student, alleging that multiple members of the Chi Phi fraternity drugged and raped her on the night of October 19, 2024.

In the suit, filed in New York earlier this month, a woman identified as Jane Doe claimed she was plied with alcohol, pressured to take ketamine and repeatedly sexually assaulted for hours.

The 101-page complaint alleged she was ‘gang raped’ after one of her alleged attackers sent a Snapchat message telling fellow fraternity members there was ‘free p***y’ upstairs.

Pissott, who played college basketball at Tennessee and Vanderbilt, admitted the Cornell scandal had been ‘hard for me to see’ and had resurfaced her traumatic experience.

‘As someone who has been drugged and rap**, the Cornell 7 situation has been really hard for me to see. It hits a place in me that I don’t talk about often,’ the WNBA rookie wrote. 

‘When something like this happens to you, it doesn’t just end when that night ends. You carry it with you. The confusion, the pieces you can’t remember, questioning yourself, blaming yourself, and trying to understand how someone could take advantage of you when you weren’t even able to protect yourself.

‘And then you see people questioning survivors. Asking why they didn’t speak sooner, why they stayed quiet, why they acted a certain way afterward. But unless you’ve been through it, you really don’t understand what trauma can do to a person. 

‘There is no “right” way to respond to something that never should’ve happened to you in the first place.’ 

Pissott added that she was not looking for sympathy but wanted to speak out about her experience to make other victims ‘feel less alone.’ 

‘My heart truly hurts for the survivor in the Cornell 7 situation,’ Pissott continued.

‘I pray God covers her through all of this. I pray He protects her mind and her heart while something so painful and personal is being discussed by people who don’t even know her. I pray He gives her strength on the days where it feels like too much and reminds her that what was done to her will never define who she is.

‘I don’t speak about my experience for sympathy. I speak about it because I know how lonely this kind of pain can feel. And if sharing even a small part of my story makes another survivor feel less alone, then it’s worth it. 

‘To her and every survivor carrying something similar, I see you. I’m praying for you. And I pray we continue creating a world where survivors feel safe enough to use their voice without being torn apart for how they survived.’

Doe’s allegations have sparked widespread outrage and intense scrutiny of Cornell and local authorities. Three of the accused seven have publicly denied the claims. One has been fired from their job.

Florence Pugh was among several high-profile figures to address Doe’s allegations over the weekend, writing in a post on Instagram that she felt ‘uneasy and sick and anxious’ after reading about the case.

‘We are not hard enough on those that want to damage human lives,’ Pugh wrote. ‘I salute all those at the college that are fighting for that girl, exposing those boys and making life unbearably impossible to find joy during their terms. They should not be allowed to walk freely like the rest of us who treasure and care for souls.’

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said Monday that his office will present evidence to a grand jury as he faces questions from the public about why there were no criminal prosecutions in the case.

The lawsuit, the reopening of the investigation and Cornell’s response have sparked a flood of commentary on social media. Many people have criticized the school and the district attorney’s office in their posts, while some have expressed doubt about the lawsuit’s allegations. Some posted photos of the seven fraternity members.

The accuser is suing the men, the Chi Phi fraternity, the university, an Ithaca bar and others, seeking undisclosed damages.

The woman went to campus police at the time, but Van Houten said the accuser did not make any claims of being gang-raped or drugged in her initial sworn statement to authorities.

The prosecutor also said he was never contacted by the woman’s attorney about her statement or about reconsidering the decision not to prosecute, but he reached out to the attorney recently.

‘Seeking justice sometimes requires us to reconsider or reopen cases when we are provided with additional evidence,’ Van Houten said in a statement.

‘I have been asked by the community to revisit the decision whether to pursue criminal charges against the seven fraternity members. I have already begun that process, starting with our conversation with Jane Doe and her attorneys.’

The university said in a statement that it supports the decision to reopen the investigation. The school said it conducted its own investigation and issued sanctions, including expelling some students and suspending others. It also said the on-campus Chi Phi chapter was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus.

The woman’s complaint accuses the university of not preventing the alleged assaults and failing to properly address sexual violence on campus. It includes a photo that it says shows a group chat between frat members discussing the night’s events.

The woman, who was a 20-year-old Cornell student at the time and a sorority member, went to campus police about three weeks later, according to the lawsuit. The fraternity and seven of its members were placed on temporary suspension that same day, the lawsuit said.