The first-round draft pick for the Buffalo Bills is facing an allegation of sexual assault that team officials said they “fully investigated” and dismissed.
The civil lawsuit was filed by an Ohio woman who attended the University of Kentucky with defensive back Maxwell Hairston in 2021, according to ESPN.
The civil suit alleges that the incident took place in March in a residence hall where both lived, according to the Democrat and Chronicle.
The lawsuit alleges Hairston “made (her) feel uncomfortable when he attempted to isolate her in his bedroom.”
“Plaintiff inquired about the purpose of Defendant’s visit, to which Defendant responded that he wanted to hang out with Plaintiff. Plaintiff declined and further expressed that she was tired and going to bed before turning around and walking away from the door,” the lawsuit said, according to USA Today.
🚨NEWS:#Bills first-round cornerback Maxwell Hairston is being sued for sexual assault in civil court in Kentucky.
The lawsuit claims Hairston followed a woman into her bedroom, ignored her repeated refusals, forcibly removed her pajama shorts, and then sexually assaulted her. pic.twitter.com/XgWiPxlbOB
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) July 2, 2025
The lawsuit states that Hairston forcibly removed the woman’s pajama shorts before sexually assaulting her.
“Our client showed remarkable strength in coming forward, and we are proud to stand with her in pursuit of accountability and justice,” Peter Flowers, one of the woman’s attorneys, said.
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“No one — regardless of their status or athletic success — is above the law,” Flowers said.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane had said the team vetted Hairston.
“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 said.
“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,” he said.
The lawsuit said the incident was reported to police and that the woman was examined by a sexual assault nurse examiner, according to ESPN. It did not provide the results of that examination.
The woman’s lawyers told ESPN they would not provide police or college documents they have, “due to certain information [that] must be kept confidential.”
A representative for the Lexington police said there was no report on file matching an allegation against Hairston.
Dani Jaffe, a representative of the University of Kentucky and university police, would not comment on the lawsuit but said, “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.”
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