The settlement does not affect Brzonkala's lawsuit against the two men she accused of rape, former Tech football players Antonio Morrison and James Crawford. This case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1995 college officials found Morrison guilty of sexual assault and suspended him for two semesters. But after two appeals, they instead found him guilty of using abusive language and allowed him to return to school. No action was taken against Crawford and neither player was charged with a crime. That prompted Brzonkala to sue Tech under Title IX, the federal law which prohibits discrimination in educational programs funded by the government [click here]  and Morrison and Crawford under the Violence Against Women Act. She accused the school of treating her rape complaint with indifference to protect the football players and because she is a woman.

A Federal Judge in Roanoke dismissed both aspects of the lawsuit in 1996. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Brzonkala should have been allowed to pursue her Title IX claim against the university and remanded her case for trial in the U.S. District Court in Roanoke, Virginia..

Appeal to Supreme Court

The appeals court did conclude, however, that Congress, in passing the Violence Against Women Act,  had exceeded its authority under the Constitution in allowing a woman to file a civil suit in federal court against someone who had sexually assaulted her. Brzonkala was the first women to file suit under the Violence Against Women Act. Brzonkala has now appealed that portion of the Fourth Circuit decision to the Supreme Court which heard arguments on it last month.