Las Vegas Aces rookie Justine Pissott has disclosed her own experience as a sexual assault survivor while voicing support for the woman at the center of the Cornell fraternity gang rape allegations.
Pissott, 23, shared her message across multiple Instagram Story posts on Tuesday, connecting her personal history to the case that has drawn national scrutiny and official investigations. The New Jersey native, who played college basketball at Tennessee and Vanderbilt before joining the WNBA, wrote that she was delivering what she called “a vulnerable message but something that I want to share.”
“As someone who has been drugged and raped, the Cornell 7 situation has been really hard for me to see. It hits a place in me that I don’t talk about often,” Pissott wrote on the platform. “When something like this happens to you, it doesn’t just end when that night ends. You carry it with you. The confusion, the pieces you can’t remember, questioning yourself, blaming yourself, and trying to understand how someone could take advantage of you when you weren’t even able to protect yourself.”
The guard did not specify when her assault occurred or provide additional details about the circumstances.
Pissott directed the second portion of her message toward the former Ivy League student who has sued Cornell University and seven former Chi Pi fraternity members, alleging she was drugged and gang-raped in 2024. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten has since reopened the matter to pursue a grand jury review following intense public pressure.
“My heart truly hurts for the survivor in the Cornell 7 situation,” Pissott continued in her Instagram Story. “I pray God covers her through all of this. I pray He protects her mind and her heart while something so painful and personal is being discussed by people who don’t even know her. I pray He gives her strength on the days where it feels like too much and reminds her that what was done to her will never define who she is.”
The WNBA player emphasized that her disclosure was not a bid for sympathy. “I speak about it because I know how lonely this kind of pain can feel. And if sharing even a small part of my story makes another survivor feel less alone, then it’s worth it,” she wrote.
Pissott also addressed the scrutiny survivors commonly face. “And then you see people questioning survivors. Asking why they didn’t speak sooner, why they stayed quiet, why they acted a certain way afterward. But unless you’ve been through it, you really don’t understand what trauma can do to a person. There is no ‘right’ way to respond to something that never should’ve happened to you in the first place,” she wrote on Instagram.
She closed with a direct message to others with similar experiences: “To her and every survivor carrying something similar, I see you. I’m praying for you. And I pray we continue creating a world where survivors feel safe enough to use their voice without being torn apart for how they survived.”
The case stems from allegations that a woman was drugged and sexually assaulted by multiple fraternity members at the Chi Pi house in 2024. The accuser reported the incident to Cornell Police in November 2024, approximately a week after the alleged attack, providing a six-page statement. Van Houten initially declined to pursue further investigation, then later released that full statement to the public—a move several veteran prosecutors described as highly unusual. Former prosecutor Seth Zuckerman characterized the district attorney’s actions as an attempt to manage fallout, noting, “He is clearly trying to contain the public-relations nightmare.”
Cornell has maintained that its initial response was appropriate and disputed claims that no discipline was imposed, stating that an internal disciplinary panel had suspended and expelled some fraternity members. The accuser’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra, confirmed Monday that two of the men were expelled.
The handling of the allegations has triggered responses from officials at multiple levels. Ithaca Mayor Robert Cantelmo announced Monday that he would push to block city permits for Cornell’s Greek life and student activities. New York Governor Kathy Hochul called for a probe into the university’s response, stating Tuesday that “for any student to come forward after an experience like this takes extraordinary courage. No student should ever be left wondering whether the institutions meant to protect them will listen and act,” Hochul added that “there are also serious questions about Cornell’s campus culture and its systems for prevention, reporting, and response.”
Pissott was selected in the 2025 WNBA Draft and joined the Aces roster this season.