New allegations against former NFL veteran Marcellus Wiley are expanding into a broader legal fight, with multiple women now accusing him of sexual assault in a case that reaches back to the 1990s.
A lawsuit filed in New York in April includes four accusers, one of whom is a former ESPN production assistant. Their claims add to three earlier lawsuits accusing Wiley of rape during his time at Columbia University in 1994. Those cases were first brought in 2023 and later expanded in 2025. Wiley has denied all allegations, previously calling the initial lawsuit “BS,” while his attorneys rejected claims of sexual misconduct in a 2024 court filing.
The new complaint outlines alleged incidents between 1995 and 2009 across California, New York, and Texas. Two women claim Wiley assaulted them in California in the late 1990s. One said he “overpowered me and raped me,” adding, “Afterward, I felt humiliated and shamed…so I never told anyone.” Another alleges she was raped at a hotel in 1999 while a senior at USC and reported it to LAPD, though no charges were filed.
A separate accuser claims Wiley began “grooming me” when she was 13 after meeting her during a middle school visit while he played for the Buffalo Bills.
“Wiley drove towards me, slowed down, and pulled over. He lowered the window, called me by name, and asked me to come over,” she wrote. She says he gave her tickets, gifts, and invited her to his Orchard Park home, calling her “little momma.”
“Wiley frequently mentioned his sociology degree from Columbia University, which led me to believe he was respected and trustworthy. He gave me the same CDs to clean over and over,” she wrote. “My whole identity was wrapped up in the belief that I would eventually marry Wiley.” She alleges he later flew her to Dallas when she turned 18 and assaulted her, stating, “Marcellus Wiley raped me on my 18th birthday, after grooming me from the age of 13,” and adding, “If Columbia had properly pursued the complaints… I would never have been groomed and raped.”
The former ESPN staffer alleges Wiley lured her to his hotel room in 2009 under the pretense of a work meeting.
“He pushed me up against the windows of the room so hard I thought they would shatter,” she wrote. “I was petrified and believed I was going to be killed.” She claims he then forced her onto a bed and masturbated onto her despite her pleas to stop. “The assault was devastating to me, and I will live with the effects to this day,” she wrote.
The lawsuit also accuses Columbia University of enabling Wiley. Attorney Laura Gentile alleged the school knew about complaints but only placed him on academic probation. “By promoting, protecting, and elevating a sexual predator… Columbia University created a false image of Wiley… thereby enabling Wiley’s vicious propensity to rape/assault women,” she wrote.
According to Rolling Stone, one of the original accusers is now pushing to turn the case into a class action lawsuit against both Wiley and Columbia. A hearing on that request is scheduled for May 12.
