Editor’s note: This article references sexual assault.
Multiple defendants in the Chi Phi lawsuit were previously a part of the Cornell Rugby Football Club, which the club confirmed in a Friday Instagram post. Four named defendants appear in the club’s previous rosters, The Sun found.
A former Cornell student, identified as a Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit against the University, Chi Phi and others on Sept. 14, alleging that she was sexually assaulted and gang raped after being coerced into consuming drugs at Cornell’s Chi Phi house in 2024.
Former Cornell Chi Phi President Orazio Petito and defendants Matthew Ingalls, Winston Lee and Scott Kretzschmar are listed on the rugby club’s previous rosters, The Sun independently verified.
Ingalls, Lee and Kretschmar were accused of criminal sexual acts in the lawsuit, while Petito was accused of “breaching his duty to supervise and maintain” Cornell’s Chi Phi chapter.
The rugby club stated that “players who were known to be connected with the alleged events were permanently removed from the team and alumni network as soon as their affiliation with the incident was established” in the Friday post. It did not identify the specific defendants.
Petito and Kretzschmar appeared on the club’s 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 rosters, while Ingalls and Lee appeared on the club’s 2023-24 roster.
The rugby club condemned the actions alleged in the lawsuit, stating that the club has “zero tolerance for sexual misconduct.” It voiced support for the plaintiff, writing, “first and foremost, our thoughts are with the victim.”
The post also clarified that its current members were never affiliated with Chi Phi.
“The conduct alleged is horrific and fundamentally inconsistent with the values of the Cornell Rugby community,” the statement reads.
Varsha Bhargava is a member of the Class of 2027 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She is the managing editor of the 144th Editorial Board and was a news editor for the 143rd Editorial Board. She can be reached at vbhargava@cornellsun.com.
