Buffalo Bills rookie CB Maxwell Hairston named in civil suit over alleged sexual assault

Buffalo Bills rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston has been sued for sexual assault, per a report from WKMB in Buffalo. Hairston was named in a civil suit over the alleged incident which happened in 2021, while Hairston was a student-athlete at the University of Kentucky.

Bryant Law Center and Meyers & Flowers filed the lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, the outlet reported. The lawsuit claims that Hairston engaged in non-consensual sexual contact with a woman in her dorm room on March 24, 2021. Hairston came to her dorm room uninvited, according to the lawsuit. He allegedly ignored her repeated refusals to engage in sexual contact.

She reported the incident to law enforcement before transferring to a different school. Hairston was not criminally charged at the time.

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane said in April — after selecting Hairston with the 30th overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft — that the organization was aware of the allegation. Beane said they “fully investigated” the allegation and determined “it doesn’t seem to be anything there.”

Serious allegation emerges against Maxwell 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 even volunteered to do a polygraph and had notes,” Beane said. “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.

“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.”

Hairston, 21, was regarded as one of the top cornerbacks in this year’s class after seeing his draft stock rise throughout the pre-draft process. Hairston was sidelined for much of his junior season in Lexington after missing five games with a nagging shoulder injury.

He still made an impact during his time on the field, logging 15 tackles, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles, one sack and an interception — which turned into a pick-six, the third of his career — during his final season playing under Mark Stoops.