The lawsuit alleges that the school failed to “perform an investigation or take meaningful disciplinary action against the players or coaches,” even after being presented with evidence corroborating the family’s claims.
According to Fox News, the lawsuit was filed earlier this week in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. It names defendants including Ursuline High School in Youngstown, several individual educators, coaches, and parents, as well as the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown.
In a press release issued by The Chandra Law Firm, which is representing the mother of a football player and her daughter, attorneys alleged that the plaintiff’s teenage son was “violently assaulted” during a nine-day football camp that traveled through Florida, Tennessee, and Alabama earlier this summer.
The alleged victim was not identified by name in the lawsuit, but is described in court documents as a freshman on the team. He was purportedly assaulted by a student-athlete on the first night of the trip; another player recorded the incident and shared the footage on the team’s Snapchat.
The family says that the hazing and bullying continued for several days.
On the fourth day of the camp, the victim was allegedly assaulted by several other athletes, who restrained and stripped him naked. This attack, like the first, was filmed and uploaded to social media.
The lawsuit suggests that school officials failed to take any meaningful action after being informed, despite Ursuline’s football coaches having knowledge of threats made to certain players.
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The mother, notes Fox News, first reached out to an assistant coach in mid-June, before the camp had completed. The coach reportedly dismissed her complaints out of hand, making an off-hand remark about “boys being boys.” Later, after her son had returned home, she met with school officials, who she described as “showing no regret, remorse, or compassion” during their first meeting.
The lawsuit alleges that the school failed to “perform an investigation or take meaningful disciplinary action against the players or coaches,” even after being presented with evidence corroborating the family’s claims.
Furthermore, the plaintiff says that her daughter—the alleged victim’s sibling—was subjected to a concerted campaign of intimidation, with the family facing other forms of retaliation.
“This case is about accountability. No family should have to endure the trauma this family suffered at the hands of other students and then at the hands of school officials who, the suit alleges, made excuses, ignored, and even tried to cover up what happened,” said Subodh Chandra, an attorney representing the family.
Chandra indicated that there may well be other victims and urged them to come forward and share their stories.
“We would welcome hearing from people with information about the lawsuit’s allegations—and also from other victims,” he said.
In a statement addressing the lawsuit, Ursuline High School maintained that its students’ well-being is its top priority and that any allegations of misconduct are taken seriously.
“The safety and well-being of our students is Ursuline High School’s top priority. Ursuline parents can and should feel confident that their sons and daughters are in a safe environment every day. To that end, we want to highlight the steps we’ve taken in regard to the allegations about the football program,” the school said in a statement.
“After the students and coaches returned from the trip in question, one family made a formal report to the school alleging misconduct. Once informed, Ursuline’s administration timely opened an investigation,” an Ursuline High School official said in the statement. “Immediately thereafter, Diocesan representatives and local authorities were notified of the allegations. Both Ursuline and the Diocese of Youngstown continue to cooperate fully with the authorities’ investigation, which is ongoing. Both out of concern for the identity of minors and at the request of the police, Ursuline has not discussed the allegations in public.”
The school said that action was taken against those students “most directly involved” in the assaults, though several of the alleged perpetrators left the district “before discipline could be imposed.”
In direct response to the incident, Ursuline High School said that it has revised its program policies and now requires an increased chaperone presence and mandatory training reviews.
The Ursuline football team’s upcoming game, scheduled to take place on Friday, has also been canceled in wake of the family’s filing.
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Ursuline cancels high school football game, issues statement amid hazing lawsuit. The latest
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