Buffalo Bills rookie Maxwell Hairston has been accused of sexual assault in a federal lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Kentucky.
The plaintiff, Rebecca Hendryx, claims she was living in the same University of Kentucky dormitory with Hairston in early 2021. It was there, her attorneys allege in the filing obtained by Daily Mail, that Hairston barged his way to her dorm room. Hendryx claims she physically resisted Hairston’s advances only for him to forcibly remove her clothing and sexually assault her.
‘Defendant, without Plaintiff inviting or asking him to come in, entered the Plaintiff’s dorm room before the door could shut,’ reads the filing. ‘Plaintiff re-iterated that she was tired, but the Defendant expressed that he was “high as f***” and was “trying to have sex.” Plaintiff then walked into her bedroom and Defendant followed.
‘Despite Plaintiff expressing to Defendant her non-interest in engaging in sexual intercourse with him several times, Defendant forcefully removed Plaintiff’s pajama shorts. Plaintiff then pulled her pajama shorts back up. Defendant told her, “I know you want to [have sex].”‘
Soon after, Hendryx told law enforcement about what occurred, filed a police report and underwent a physical examination with a specially trained nurse, according to the filing. Officers recovered a used condom from her dorm bedroom that Hendryx claims was used by Hairston during the alleged sexual assault. Hendryx would go on to transfer away from Kentucky in 2021 due to her extreme anxiety.
Hairston has not been charged with a crime and it’s unclear if he was ever investigated. Neither Lexington police nor the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office immediately responded to Daily Mail’s request for further information.
Buffalo Bills cornerbacks Maxwell Hairston (31) speaks to the media after rookie minicamp
Daily Mail has reached out to Hairston’s agents for comment. Hairston does not have a listed attorney, but Daily Mail has sought comment from two Illinois lawyers who attempted to make a filing in the case but were prevented from doing so on procedural grounds, according to court records.
The Bills have declined comment on the matter, but GM Brandon Beane previously said the team looked into the claim before drafting him 30th overall in April.
‘Yeah, he’s an impeccable kid and we’ve done a lot of research,’ Beane told reporters. ‘I think all teams were aware of the Title IX thing [sexual assault allegation]. That was fully investigated by the school. There’s everything out, he even volunteered to do a polygraph and had notes. It was one of those where there was zero — zero — information saying that this actually happened to what the accusation was.
‘Just like anything in this world, you can’t just take someone’s account and think that’s the truth, but yes, we fully investigated that,’ he continued. ‘If there was anything to that he wouldn’t have been invited to the Combine, to the draft — he was at the draft last night.
‘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 and in this case, it doesn’t seem to be anything there.’
Hairston ran an impressive 4.28-second mark in the 40-yard dash at the scouting combine
The 21-year-old cornerback was recently drafted in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft and was expected to be a major contributor for Bills team coming off another AFC Championship Game appearance. Hairston recently signed his rookie deal: a four-year pact that will pay him $15.4 million.
The school has not addressed the allegations directly but did issue a statement on procedure.
‘… Sexual assault allegations are thoroughly investigated and can involve police, Title IX, student conduct officials and other legal entities,’ read the statement provided to ESPN.
‘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.’
Hairston wowed NFL teams at the scouting combine in March, where he posted an impressive 4.28-second mark in the 40-yard dash.
