[3] In 2021, Sports Illustrated released an article on members of the men's soccer team engaging in sexual harassment and assault of students on campus.

The allegations, which first came to surface in 2020 through social media posts, describe students who reportedly were taken to "the soccer house" and engaged in hazing.

In addition to finding that eleven individuals engaged in sexual assault, such eleven individuals also engaged in anti-LGBT rhetoric, though such behavior, contrary to the Sports Illustrated, was not found to be pervasive in the soccer program.

Administration at USF did find Padilla engaged in offending behavior, though he was given a deferred suspension, meaning he was permitted to graduate.

Upon the allegations surfacing on social media, Padilla was suspended from New Mexico United, then the professional team which he played for, following a Change.org petition.