UK STUNT team member sues university, team after injury during tryouts
A member of the University of Kentucky’s STUNT team filed a lawsuit recently against the coaches and the school after she was severely injured during team tryouts.
Lilly Rose Zidek filed suit Sept. 22, claiming she was injured when she was dropped during the team’s walk-on tryouts, typically held for people who do not have a scholarship for a sport.
Zidek a freshman at the time of the Sept. 23, 2024, injury, had an athletic scholarship, and was dropped by someone trying out for the team. Zidek was a “flyer” — someone who is held up and thrown in the air during competitions — on UK’s STUNT team.
STUNT is one of the university’s newest varsity sports, focusing on the athletic and technical aspects of cheerleading. It was added as a sport in 2021, and the team began competing in 2022.
During the school’s 2024 walk-on tryouts, an “inexperienced” woman trying out for the team was underneath Zidek. The woman, not named in the suit, failed to perform her role and allowed Zidek to fall and hit her head on a basketball court, according to the suit.
The “inexperienced” walk-on positioned Zidek in an unsafe location, partially off the mat, according to the suit.
Zidek claims the three coaches named in the suit — Blair Bergmann, Catherine Ruslavage and Vanessa Copeland — failed to provide supervision, safe conditions or proper vetting of the woman trying out for the team.
Zidek was “significantly and permanently injured” in the fall, the lawsuit states. Court documents do not elaborate on her injuries.
Zidek’s lawyer’s did not respond to a request for comment Monday. Neither did the three coaches named in the suit.
Jay Blanton, spokesperson for UK, said the university does not comment on pending litigation. And, he said, given federal student privacy laws, it would be inappropriate to comment on details of an individual student.
However, Blanton said, the NCAA and normally allows schools to continue to giving financial aid to student-athletes who are injured and no longer able to compete in a sport. This is commonly called a “medical scholarship.”
He did not confirm if Zidek was receiving such a scholarship, support citing privacy laws.
Zidek’s hometown is Avon, Ohio. She attended Cambridge High School, according to the team’s website. She is still listed on the team roster, but her profile is the only one that does not include a photo.
UK’s STUNT team was also in the news recently when one of its now-former members, Laken Snelling, was arrested and charged with several crimes after police said she gave birth to a baby that was later found dead in her closet.
