BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo Bills rookie cornerback and first-round draft pick Maxwell Hairston has been named in a civil lawsuit over an alleged sexual assault case when Hairston was a student-athlete at the University of Kentucky.
Bryant Law Center and Meyers & Flowers filed the lawsuit Tuesday after a woman said she was sexually assaulted by Hairston at the University of Kentucky in 2021.
You can read the full lawsuit below.
The lawsuit states that Hairston engaged in non-consensual sexual contact with the woman in her on-campus dorm room back in 2021.
WATCH: Civil lawsuit claims Buffalo Bills CB Maxwell Hairston sexually assaulted woman in 2021
The woman reported the incident to law enforcement and later transferred out of the university.
A spokesperson for the Bills tells 7 News the team is not commenting on the civil suit.
In April, Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane was asked about the allegation after day two of the 2025 NFL Draft. Beane told reporters the Bills organization felt the matter was thoroughly investigated and felt there was no truth behind the allegations, making the team comfortable in selecting Hairston with the 30th overall pick.
WATCH: Brandon Beane addresses the allegations in April, saying they appear to be baseless.
"We did a lot of research. I think all teams were aware of the Title IX thing. That was fully investigated by the school. He even volunteered to do a polygraph and had notes. It was one of those where there was zero information saying that this actually happened, to what the accusation was. You can't take someone's account and think that's the truth. But yes, we fully investigated that," Beane said. "Every person you talk to at Kentucky, teammates, staff there, plus what we've done, I would say this is a heck of a young man, every person you ask. That's unfortunate when things like that are attached to someone's name; in this case, it doesn't seem to be anything there."
7 News reached out to the University of Kentucky for a statement and we were provided the following:
"The university is not a party to this lawsuit and therefore cannot comment on it. However, sexual assault allegations are thoroughly investigated and can involve police, Title IX, student conduct officials and other legal entities. If and when charges are warranted, or if a student is found to have violated our Code of Student Conduct, such charges and disciplinary measures are filed and pursued aggressively to protect our students."
Legal analyst Florina Altshiler said civil lawsuits are often pursued when criminal charges aren’t filed, especially when the accused has a high profile or perceived financial resources.
“This is a civil suit for money damages, which is different than a criminal case, where somebody would be looking at a potential sentence or penalty of imprisonment,” Altshiler said.
Altshiler emphasized that proving consent in these types of cases can be complex.
“It’s very difficult,” she said. “It comes down to credibility — and a civil lawsuit certainly never helps with credibility.”
She added that while DNA evidence may be collected in cases like this, it doesn’t resolve questions of consent.
“DNA can never answer the question of consent,” she said.
At this stage, Altshiler said, there’s no way to determine whether the allegations are true or false, only that the civil suit seeks monetary damages as a legal remedy.
