Moments after the men charged into his apartment, Caperton Humphrey remembered the baseball bat in his bedroom.
If they came at him — and Humphrey believed he saw the imprint of a pistol in one man’s jogging pants — he needed a plan to fight back.
For months, four of these men had been his teammates on the Kansas Jayhawks football team. Now they and about a half-dozen others were in Humphrey’s living room, threatening him, his father Jamie, and even Caperton’s 15-year-old brother. Seconds later, Jamie Humphrey dialed 911, putting his phone on speaker before setting it on a countertop.
Caperton Humphrey didn’t know it, but the end of his time with KU football was just a few days away, with this serving as the breaking point.
The final resolution: KU’s athletic department agreeing to pay him more than $50,000 in benefits to go home after he reported threats and harassment from teammates.
“They bought him off. That’s what they did,” Jamie Humphrey told The Star. “They bought him off to keep his mouth shut.”
The Humphrey family says they explored other options before the matter escalated to this.
After Caperton Humphrey said he had an argument with a pair of teammates — and the next day discovered someone had loosened the lug nuts on one of his tires — he filed a police report. When that same feud led to arguments before workouts in the locker room, Jamie Humphrey reported that to a lifelong friend in KU’s compliance office and also told him the players were selling drugs. The information was eventually funneled to football coach Les Miles who, according to Caperton Humphrey, told the players to watch themselves.
Finally, after yet another altercation in practice, Humphrey told The Star, tensions rose highest at his apartment that night.
When the police arrived with sirens blaring — and after the players and the others had scrambled away — Caperton’s mother, Jennifer, could barely be consoled. The family had come from West Virginia to move Caperton out of his Lawrence apartment complex to get away from these teammates … but it was obvious now that wasn’t going to be enough.
“She basically said that there’s no way she could go home without me,” Caperton said, “(without) knowing that I was away from them.”
He and his dad said the family requested a meeting with Miles the next day, but it was declined. Miles did meet with Caperton and the four other football players, though, asking both sides to apologize. Neither side obliged.
Miles, according to Caperton and Jamie, offered a different solution. The players would settle their differences on the practice field, pitting them against each other — head-on — in full-contact drills.
The Star reached out to Miles, former KU athletic director Jeff Long, KU compliance director David Reed and KU Athletics for comment on this story. Miles and Long didn’t respond and Reed and KU Athletics didn’t comment.
“I came out of that meeting, and I was like, (Forget) this,’” Caperton said. “They don’t want to talk to my family. They don’t want to do anything to help me. Why sit in this misery and fear for my life over something dumb?”
A few weeks later, Caperton was gone, driving more than 700 miles back home to West Virginia.
KU Athletics said it would pay for the trip and more — as long as the family agreed to never tell their story.
If they came at him — and Humphrey believed he saw the imprint of a pistol in one man’s jogging pants — he needed a plan to fight back.
For months, four of these men had been his teammates on the Kansas Jayhawks football team. Now they and about a half-dozen others were in Humphrey’s living room, threatening him, his father Jamie, and even Caperton’s 15-year-old brother. Seconds later, Jamie Humphrey dialed 911, putting his phone on speaker before setting it on a countertop.
Caperton Humphrey didn’t know it, but the end of his time with KU football was just a few days away, with this serving as the breaking point.
The final resolution: KU’s athletic department agreeing to pay him more than $50,000 in benefits to go home after he reported threats and harassment from teammates.
“They bought him off. That’s what they did,” Jamie Humphrey told The Star. “They bought him off to keep his mouth shut.”
The Humphrey family says they explored other options before the matter escalated to this.
After Caperton Humphrey said he had an argument with a pair of teammates — and the next day discovered someone had loosened the lug nuts on one of his tires — he filed a police report. When that same feud led to arguments before workouts in the locker room, Jamie Humphrey reported that to a lifelong friend in KU’s compliance office and also told him the players were selling drugs. The information was eventually funneled to football coach Les Miles who, according to Caperton Humphrey, told the players to watch themselves.
Finally, after yet another altercation in practice, Humphrey told The Star, tensions rose highest at his apartment that night.
When the police arrived with sirens blaring — and after the players and the others had scrambled away — Caperton’s mother, Jennifer, could barely be consoled. The family had come from West Virginia to move Caperton out of his Lawrence apartment complex to get away from these teammates … but it was obvious now that wasn’t going to be enough.
“She basically said that there’s no way she could go home without me,” Caperton said, “(without) knowing that I was away from them.”
He and his dad said the family requested a meeting with Miles the next day, but it was declined. Miles did meet with Caperton and the four other football players, though, asking both sides to apologize. Neither side obliged.
Miles, according to Caperton and Jamie, offered a different solution. The players would settle their differences on the practice field, pitting them against each other — head-on — in full-contact drills.
The Star reached out to Miles, former KU athletic director Jeff Long, KU compliance director David Reed and KU Athletics for comment on this story. Miles and Long didn’t respond and Reed and KU Athletics didn’t comment.
“I came out of that meeting, and I was like, (Forget) this,’” Caperton said. “They don’t want to talk to my family. They don’t want to do anything to help me. Why sit in this misery and fear for my life over something dumb?”
A few weeks later, Caperton was gone, driving more than 700 miles back home to West Virginia.
KU Athletics said it would pay for the trip and more — as long as the family agreed to never tell their story.
He reported football teammate threats to KU. A secret document paid him to go home
Caperton Humphrey says a feud with teammates escalated to the point they stormed into his apartment and threatened his family’s safety. But after he told KU, a confidential settlement was reached.
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He reported football teammate threats to KU. A secret document paid him to go home
Caperton Humphrey says a feud with teammates escalated to the point they stormed into his apartment and threatened his family’s safety. But after he told KU, a confidential settlement was reached.
