For more than three years, expelled University of Southern California (USC) football player Matt Boermeester – embroiled in a Title IX assault accusation case – has been fighting the state legal system just for the chance to have his side heard on a federal level.

Despite a small and rare legal victory, the one-time National Football League (NFL) hopeful says he has a long way to go in his quest for due process in a life derailed by what he deems an unjust “male bias witch hunt.”

“The truth is important because the consequences for me have been so devastating. The truth is all I am seeking here,” Boermeester told Fox News this week. “You don’t realize, you are a kid at the time, that USC is trying to protect itself and its hundreds of millions of Title IX funding, not you as the student.”

Late last month, the California Court of Appeal reversed the trial court decision and overturned Boermeester’s January 2017 expulsion, ruling that his Title IX proceeding was “unfair.”

This paves the way for Boermeester, now 26, to forge ahead with a seven-count federal lawsuit against the prominent university on the grounds of “breach of contract, infliction of emotional distress, negligence and selective enforcement of Title IX,” the federal legislation that outlaws gender-based discrimination in the education system and obliges institutions to pursue investigations around sexual misconduct.

Andrew Miltenberg, an attorney for Boermeester, said it “is clear that USC used a flawed investigation method which included denying Matt the opportunity of real-time cross-examination of witnesses.”

“The next step is to push forward with the federal lawsuit, which has been filed, but we had to put it on hold while the California State Court gave us the right to move forward, which it just did. That suit will go into a discovery which will allow us to depose various witnesses and get to see what was in their (USC) records, which will help us prove this was unfounded, and expose the larger biases in the system,” he continued. “There is a long way to go; we have fought for four years just to get this far. The ruling was an important beginning, but it is not the end.”

Boermeester, then 22, was a member of the USC football team, who kicked the game-winning field goal for USC at the 2017 Rose Bowl.

But just days after the victory, and his first night off crutches after a post-season surgery, Boermeester’s life unraveled.

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According to court documents, in the early hours of Jan. 21, 2017, two USC students heard some commotion and allegedly observed – from a window – Boermeester put his hand on his then-girlfriend Zoe Katz’s neck and push her against a wall near her apartment. One of the students reported this incident to the USC men’s tennis coach – their father – which sparked an investigation, as required by law.

Five days later, Boermeester was charged with “intimate partner violence” – despite the fact that the alleged victim stated on multiple occasions that such conduct never occurred. The honors student was handed a letter informing him of the charges and immediately escorted off campus, ejected with just two classes to go before graduation, suddenly slapped with F’s for other subjects, dropped from the football team, and instantly deemed persona non grata.

“I wasn’t allowed to go to class, I wasn’t allowed to talk to my coaches or teammates, and my eligibility to play had expired. I was completely cut off from everything,” he said. “The school quickly sent me a bill for the two classes I had left; they had already made up their mind that I was guilty.”

The descriptions of the incident from eyewitnesses painted a picture of a rough physical altercation, yet Boermeester contended that he and his then-girlfriend were merely “playing around” and “roughhousing” by throwing McDonald’s fries at one another.

But those few moments have proven to be life-altering.

As a result of the expulsion, Boermeester was unable to complete the two classes needed to receive his degree from USC and unable to resume his role on the USC football team, resulting in irreparable damage to his academic career and derailing aspirations to play in the NFL.

“Based on nothing more than a third-party report by a non-witness–essentially a rumor that was easily and repeatedly disputed–a star athlete lost his education and his future career in the NFL,” Miltenberg continued. “That window of opportunity is very small for an athlete, and now it is gone. Professional sports is absolutely shut down for anyone with a sexual assault mark on their transcript. It doesn’t matter how good they are.”

Not only could Boermeester not get a look in from other NFL teams, but he was made to forgo a scholarship to another school because of the F grades and the financial hold from the two remaining classes.

“I couldn’t even get a try-out or go to a camp because of the stigma on my name,” the once prominent kicker asserted. “And I couldn’t even graduate.”

Moreover, Katz maintained that she was never abused or mistreated by her partner, but was informed the Title IX office was obligated to investigate and could proceed without her consent. In Boermeester’s words, his then-girlfriend tried to “speak up” on his behalf but was “threatened with tampering with an investigation” and treated as something of a battered victim.

Miltenberg also emphasized that the case against his client was “predicated on unlawful gender stereotypes and motivated by a desire to demonstrate publicly the University’s harsh stance against male perpetrators of sexual misconduct, based on nothing more than a third-party report by a non-witness.”

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As part of a court filing in the initial lawsuit, USC asserted that its investigation found Boermeester put his hands around Katz’s neck, “causing her to cough, and shoved her into a cinder block wall in the alley near her apartment at least twice” in the early hours of Jan. 21, 2017, and has staunchly maintained its position, citing surveillance video, in the case against Boermeester.

A representative for USC told Fox News in a statement that the school “disagree(s) with the appellate court’s decision and plan to appeal the case to the California Supreme Court.”

According to multiple attorneys interviewed by Fox News on the subject nationwide, more and more cases in a similar vein to Boermeester’s are now gaining traction in the justice system at a time when the Education Department is making sweeping changes to the way such investigations take place.

“The procedures at college campuses still stand out. Appeals like those in the recent Matt Boermeester case in California are becoming more common, as disturbingly deficient records reach appeals courts,” observed David Katz, a former assistant U.S. Attorney. “New rules encourage hearings by such standard, not a mere preponderance. New initiatives sent to campuses are a step in the right direction to try to get away from some colleges’ fawning acceptance and knee-jerk pursuit of accusations.”

Enacted in 1972, Title IX was initially designed to ensure that students have fair access to education without being discriminated against on the basis of sex. But decades later, the Department of Education started to clarify the law’s implications for on-campus sexual harassment and in 2011 – under the Obama administration – further defined that it is the responsibility of institutions of higher education “to take immediate and effective steps to end sexual harassment and sexual violence,” and threatened mass fines and the withholding of critical federal funding should schools fail to adequately fulfill Title IX responsibilities.

However, the controversy surrounding Boermeester’s case is just one of many being brought into the public limelight in the era of “Me Too,” contrasted with the notion of due process remains ripe for contentious debate.

Current Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who cited the Boermeester case in her argument for revising federal guidance on campus sexual assault verdicts, recently imposed a number of changes intended to restore due process protections to students accused of wrongdoing. One of the new mandates will also put a stop to the practice of universities launching Title IX investigations without the permission of alleged victims. The department advocated that the changes will “balance the scales of justice on campuses across America.”

“Aside from the increased protections for legitimate victims of sexual misconduct, there were sorely needed protections implemented for those accused to ensure all people are afforded proper access to education,” explained California-based criminal defense attorney, Troy Slaten. “Much like prosecutors around the country, universities understand that students – most of whom are already straddled with staggering debt – don’t have the ability to fight a protracted court battle to vindicate their rights. Universities have nearly limitless resources to take cases through several layers of appeal. As we see in the Boermeester case, he’s been fighting since before 2017 when he was expelled. At that rate, even a win is a loss for him and makes other students feel that they may have rights but with no remedies.”

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While slated to go into effect for the fall semester, the changes have also garnered significant opposition and steep concerns that the reforms will take campuses back to a time when rape and sexual harassment was carried out with impunity, and subsequently, democratic attorneys from 17 states and the District of Columbia have filed a lawsuit against DeVos in a bid to halt regulations passed last month restricting sexual misconduct cases falling under Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination. The state of New York also submitted its own complaint to the Supreme Court earlier this month, and Democratic Presidential hopeful Joe Biden has pledged to reverse the amendments if elected to the top job in November.

“While I may never get those years back, I won’t stop fighting for the truth in the court of law — or for other young men who may find themselves in my circumstances,” Boermeester added.

Hundreds remained on the streets of Minneapolis late Wednesday night protesting the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died after pleading for help as a police officer pinned him to the ground with his knee on Floyd’s neck.

The demonstrations, which began Wednesday, were initially peaceful but turned “extremely dangerous,” according to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

“The situation near Lake Street and Hiawatha in Minneapolis has evolved into an extremely dangerous situation,” Walz said on Twitter. “For everyone’s safety, please leave the area and allow firefighters and paramedics to get to the scene.”

Police officers created a barrier outside the police precinct that protesters have been targeting, smashing its windows by throwing items including water bottles. Authorities have responded by shooting tear gas.

Across the street from the precinct, the fire department was responding to an AutoZone store in flames, according to a CNN team on the ground. Groups of demonstrators looted and damaged stores in the surrounding areas, according to CNN’s observations.

An attorney representing Floyd’s family, Benjamin Crump, said in a statement Wednesday that he and Floyd’s relatives are calling for peaceful protests and social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“We cannot sink to the level of our oppressors, and we must not endanger others during this pandemic,” the statement said. “We will demand and ultimately force lasting change by shining a light on treatment that is horrific and unacceptable and by winning justice.”

The four officers involved in Floyd’s death were fired from the department Tuesday, Minneapolis police said.

The officers involved in the incident were identified by Minneapolis police as: Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng, according to the police website.

An attorney for Chauvin, says his client is the officer seen on video restraining Floyd with his knee. Tom Kelly says he will not yet be releasing a statement on Chauvin’s behalf.

Thomas Plunkett, who is representing Kueng said, “At this time, out of respect for Mr. Floyd, we are declining all invitations to discuss these painful events.”

Earl Gray is representing another of the officers involved but has declined to say who his client is.

CNN has not determined the attorney for the fourth officer.

Minneapolis mayor calls for charges

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Wednesday called for criminal charges against the police officer who was seen pinning Floyd to the ground with his knee in an incident that is spurring street protests and local and federal investigations.

“What I can say with certainty, based on what I saw, is that … the officer who had his knee on the neck of George Floyd should be charged,” Frey said in a news conference Wednesday.

Frey declined to say what the officer should be charged with, and said his knowledge is “limited to the video evidence that is there” about Floyd, a black man. He said he made his opinion known to Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, whose office would be in position to file state charges.

“George Floyd deserves justice. His family deserves justice. The black community deserves justice, and our city deserves justice,” Frey said.

No charges have been filed in the case.

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo declined to discuss Floyd’s death on Wednesday but said the actions of the former police officers “in no way reflect the values, and the vision and the culture” he wants to change in the police department.

Officers should be charged with murder, family says

Floyd worked security at Conga Latin Bistro in Minneapolis for five years, according to its owner, Jovanni Thunstrom.

The 46-year-old Houston native moved to Minneapolis for work and to drive trucks, his friend and former NBA player, Stephen Jackson said.

Members of Floyd’s family remembered him as a man who wouldn’t “hurt anybody.” The family wants the four officers charged with murder.

“They were supposed to be there to serve and to protect and I didn’t see a single one of them lift a finger to do anything to help while he was begging for his life. Not one of them tried to do anything to help him,” Tera Brown, Floyd’s cousin, told CNN’s Don Lemon on Tuesday.

‘I can’t breathe’

Floyd was arrested Monday evening after officers responded to a call about an alleged forgery in progress.

The officers were told the suspect was sitting on top of a blue car, Minneapolis police say, and found Floyd inside a car when they arrived.

Police said he “physically resisted” after he got out of the vehicle. Officers handcuffed Floyd, who police said “appeared to be suffering medical distress.”

Video from bystanders shows Floyd handcuffed and Chauvin with his knee pressed against the neck of the 46-year-old. Two officers handled the man on the ground while another stood nearby with his eyes on the bystanders as traffic passed.

“Please, I can’t breathe,” Floyd says. “… My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Everything hurts.”

At one point the Floyd said, “Give me some water or something. Please. Please.”

Surveillance video obtained from a nearby restaurant showed the first point of contact police had with the man. An officer escorts Floyd handcuffed out of a car and Floyd sits on the sidewalk. Moments later, the officer and another escort Floyd away, still with his hands behind his back.

Floyd was declared dead at a nearby hospital shortly afterwards. A finding on the cause and manner of Floyd’s death is pending and it is being investigated by local, state and federal law enforcement, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said.

In a statement on Tuesday, police said additional information had “been made available” and the Federal Bureau of Investigation had joined the investigation.

The FBI Minneapolis Division has said the federal investigation into Floyd’s death will focus on whether the police officers “willfully deprived (Floyd) of a right or privilege protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.

Officers’ attorneys had represented other Minnesota officers in high-profile deaths

The Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis said Tuesday the four officers were cooperating in an investigation and urged “now is not the time to rush to (judgment)” while the officers’ actions are examined.

At least three of the fired officers are being represented by attorneys who previously represented other police officers involved in high-profile killings in Minnesota.

Chauvin’s attorney, Kelly, represented then-St. Anthony police Officer Jeronimo Yanez, who shot and killed Philando Castile during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights in July 2016. A jury found Yanez not guilty of manslaughter; Castile’s family and his girlfriend reached settlements with various cities.

Gray, like Kelly, had represented Yanez.

Plunkett was involved in the defense of Minneapolis police Officer Mohamed Noor, who was convicted of third-degree murder and manslaughter for shooting and killing Justine Ruszczyk while responding to her 911 call in July 2017.

Floyd’s death ‘it’s like déjà vu’

Monday’s incident is forcing Gwen Carr to relive the death of her son Eric Garner, who also uttered the words “I can’t breathe” while in a New York officer’s chokehold.

“It’s hard enough we’re coming up on the anniversary of my son’s death, and now to hear about this young man, it’s like déjà vu,” Carr told CNN. “It’s just like the murder of my son all over again. He was basically the same age as Eric.”

The officer who choked Garner in 2014 never faced charges. He was fired in 2019 after being found guilty in a disciplinary trial of using a chokehold on Garner and later sued the city over his termination.

NBA superstar LeBron James, Cleveland Browns player Odell Beckham Jr. and other athletes have voiced their outrage over Floyd’s death.