Bellator Champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane Sues School, Former Coach Over Alleged Sexual Abuse

MMA star Macfarlane among women suing Punahou, former basketball coach for sex abuse https://t.co/Xtx1V1ljqC #HNN

— Hawaii News Now (@HawaiiNewsNow) April 23, 2020

Bellator MMA flyweight champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane is going public with accusations that her former coach sexually abused her and other students when she was young.

Hawaii News Now first reported this on Thursday morning, reporting that the lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Macfarlane, her sister and an unnamed student. The lawsuit alleges that her former coach, Dwayne Yuen, sexually abused her when she was on the Punahou basketball team.

“I had an inappropriate relationship with an adult who was in an authoritative position and a position of power, as a 12-year-old,” she said, “and that has 100-percent affected what I think is a healthy relationship.”

The allegations include multiple instances of the coach forcing the children to touch his genitals, paying them for sexual acts and also sending lewd photos of himself to them. The third unnamed student further claimed that he also threatened her via text and phone message, and included the transcripts of some messages in the lawsuit.

Yuen worked for the Punahou basketball program from 2003 to 2006, and in 2003 is when Macfarlane says the abuse began. In addition to the trauma caused by the abuse, she also moved on from the sport to wrestling, which led later to a transition to MMA.

“I ended up losing my love for basketball, which was crazy,” she explained. “That’s what I wanted to do as a career. I wanted to play professional basketball in the WNBA.”

While Yuen has not yet put out a statement or responded to his claims, he has requested that those seeking information contact his attorney. The school did respond, however, and the officials expressed their support for Macfarlane.

“In no uncertain terms, Punahou stands with survivors of sexual abuse everywhere, and we respect the courage to it takes to report these incidents,” the school wrote in a statement. “The reports allege abuse from 2004-2005 by Dwayne Yuen, a former girls basketball coach at our school. We are currently investigating these reports and are committed to working with the survivors to find resolution and healing.”

In furtherance of this message, the school claims they have reported the allegations to the local police as well as opening an internal investigation into the matters. Macfarlane and her sister are not thrilled by this prospect, as they explained in the lawsuit that they reported this incident over 15 years ago, and the school did not offer them the “help and protection” that they demanded.

Unbeaten as a professional in 11 outings, Macfarlane last defended her flyweight throne against Kate Jackson at Bellator 236 in December. Her bout with Jackson marked the first time she had fought 25 full minutes, with her previous five victories all coming by stoppage. Macfarlane holds a slew of records among female Bellator fighters, including: most fights, most wins, longest win streak, most title defenses as well as the most victories in championship affairs.