Courtesy of family of Nathan Valencia
Nathan Valencia and his girlfriend, Lacey Foster, are shown in this undated photo. Valencia, 20, died at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center on Nov. 23, days after participating in a charity boxing match sponsored by a UNLV fraternity.
Published Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021 | 6:05 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021 | 8:25 p.m.
UNLV announced Wednesday it has suspended the Kappa Sigma fraternity following the death of a university student who participated in a charity boxing event organized by the Greek life organization.
The fraternity was handed an interim suspension, pending the outcome of an investigation into the Nov. 19 “Fight Night” event at the Sahara Event Center in Las Vegas, the school said in a release. Nathan Valencia participated in the event and died Nov. 23 from injuries suffered during his match. He was 20.
The fraternity's national organization began a review Monday of "whether Kappa Sigma’s internal policies and standards of conduct were followed” by the UNLV chapter, Kappa Sigma executive Mitchell Wilson said.
"Kappa Sigma Fraternity expects all of our chapters to conform with all applicable state and local laws," Wilson said in a statement.
A weigh-in for the fight took place at the UNLV Student Union two days before the event.
“Our hearts ache for Mr. Valencia’s family, friends and loved ones,” UNLV President Keith Whitfield said in the release. “We take our responsibility to review this tragic incident and the events leading up to it very seriously, and we are doing so both thoroughly and fairly to ensure something like this never happens again.”
While suspended, the UNLV Kappa Sigma chapter must cease all operations and activities, the school said. Its status as a registered student organization has been revoked pending an outcome of the probe by the university and the Office of Student Conduct.
The university added it will “cooperate fully with any other independent reviews by state and local agencies.”
The news comes a day after the Nevada State Athletic Commission announced it had opened an investigation into the event. Commission chairman Stephen Cloobeck said the body will “look at every aspect of this event.” Cloobeck also said Whitfield, the Nevada chancellor of higher education and the university’s board of regents “all have some explaining to do.”
Responding to Cloobeck, UNLV said in a statement to the Las Vegas Sun that it would “cooperate with the Nevada State Athletic Commission and is committing all available resources to actively review the incident. Because the review is ongoing, we have no additional information to share at this time.”
Metro Police said Monday it had investigated the licensing of the event and that “there is no information that there is any criminality on the part of the venue,” despite the coroner ruling Valencia’s death a homicide. Police added any enforcement action for the promoter or participants in the event should come from the athletic commission.
The Richard Harris Law Firm issued a statement Tuesday on behalf of the family saying they welcomed the investigation and calling into question the credentials and conduct of the referee.
"We have confirmed from multiple sources that there were no paramedics or medical personnel of any kind at this event. We have also confirmed that participants in years past were knocked unconscious and so injured they required hospital attention," the statement said.
A vigil was held Saturday, which would have been Valencia’s 21st birthday, at the UNLV Alumni Amphitheatre. A GoFundMe started by Valencia’s girlfriend, Lacey Foster, to cover medical and funeral expenses, has raised nearly $59,000.
