Coaches blamed college football player when he reported sexual harassment, lawsuit says
UPDATE: McClatchy News has removed the names of the three coaches named in the lawsuit because all claims against them and Troy University were dismissed with predjudice in December 2022. Jack Dawson is still named as a defendant in the case, court records show. A trial is scheduled for July 15, 2024.
The original story is below.
Soon after a college freshman began playing football for Troy University in Alabama as a walk-on, a teammate started sexually harassing, abusing and bullying him, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court.
This included verbal abuse, such as “sexual statements and homophobic slurs,” and physical abuse that escalated to a filmed incident in which the teammate sexually assaulted the player with a pool cue, the complaint states.
The player repeatedly complained of the harassment to three coaches, who blamed him “for bringing the abuse upon himself” and suggested that he should fight his teammate to resolve the issue, according to the lawsuit.
Specifically, the coaches implied the player was being harassed because he was “perceived” as homosexual and told him, “Guys don’t like that gay (expletive),” according to the complaint.
Now the former player is suing his ex-teammate, Jack Dawson, who currently plays for Jacksonville State University in Alabama, his former coaches and Troy University after joining the team in July 2020, the complaint filed July 25 in federal court in Montgomery shows.
Dawson was arrested Aug. 22 on assault charges in connection with the lawsuit’s allegations, the Montgomery Advertiser reported.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and was filed for Title IX violations, violations of the 14th amendment’s equal protection clause when it comes to sexual harassment and gender/sex discrimination, negligence, recklessness, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and battery and assault.
Dawson’s attorney, Mary-Ellen Bates, told McClatchy News in a statement: “My client intends to vigorously defend this litigation, and looks forward to clearing his name.”
Troy spokesman Matt Clower told McClatchy News in a statement that “Troy University denies all allegations contained in this lawsuit and will vigorously defend itself in court.”
The player’s experience at Troy University
After the player enrolled at the school, his coaches told him they recruited Dawson, a punter from Australia, and that he would be his suitemate, according to the complaint.
In August 2020, Dawson arrived at the university and “almost immediately began harassing” the player, the complaint states.
Dawson’s alleged harassment included yelling and banging on the player’s door as he slept, throwing beer bottles at his door, breaking into his dorm, urinating on his car, exposing his genitals to him while hurling homophobic slurs and more, according to the complaint.
This harassment extended to the football field during practice, as Dawson is accused of repeatedly tackling the player during drills when tackling was not involved and calling him expletives as one coach watched.
As a result, the player began suffering anxiety and depression, and his parents tried meeting with two of the coaches in October to discuss the bullying, but they never showed up, according to the complaint.
On Oct. 20, the player requested a private meeting with one coach and told him he could “no longer tolerate” Dawson’s bullying, the complaint states.
“In response, the coach said, ‘Do not tell anyone that I told you this, but the way to handle a bully is to beat their (expletive). You should beat Jack Dawson up so you can get the message across that you are done with him and will not take any more (expletive),’” according to the complaint.
The coach only offered violence as a suggestion for the player to protect himself, the complaint states.
Days later on Oct. 24, the player was laying on the floor of the players’ lounge with other teammates when he felt an “excruciating pain” and realized Dawson assaulted him with a pool cue from behind while others laughed, according to the complaint. Another coach is accused of referring to the incident as “horseplay.”
After more harassment ensued, the three coaches met with the player in late November and told him he should resort to fighting Dawson, the complaint states.
The abuse and harassment continued into December and was reported to university leadership and police after coaches failed to intervene, according to the lawsuit.
“It became clear to (the player) that the coaches, as well as other leadership at Troy University, were not going to implement any precautions or actions to prevent further sexual harassment and bullying,” the complaint states.
The coaches suspended the player and Dawson from the team, and the player unenrolled from the university on Dec. 14, according to the complaint.
“Upon information and belief, (the coaches) believed (the player) was being sexually harassed because he was homosexual, and they chose not to intervene on behalf of (the player) because of their perception of (the player’s) sexuality,” the complaint states.
An attorney for the former player, Curt Tanner of Cory Watson Attorneys, told McClatchy News in a statement that his client “came to Troy for an education and the chance to play Division 1 football — not to be needlessly tormented, harassed, and assaulted.”
Tanner added that the “coaches were made aware of these serious accusations at the time, and they responded in a completely inappropriate and ineffective manner that did nothing to protect him from physical and verbal abuse.”
“Troy University failed (the player) and we intend to make them answer for their failure,” Tanner said.
One coach is at another university, and a spokesman for the university’s athletic association declined a request for comment from McClatchy News.
McClatchy News reached out to the other two coaches for comment and was awaiting a response. McClatchy News also contacted Jacksonville State, where Dawson is a punter, for comment.
“We believe this lawsuit will have a profound impact on people in college athletics — and anyone who reads about it — to take harassment and assault seriously and to support those who are wronged,” another one of the former player’s attorneys, Adam Pittman of Cory Watson Attorneys, told McClatchy News in a statement.
Troy, Alabama, is roughly 50 miles southeastof Montgomery.
This story was originally published August 25, 2022 at 12:35 PM with the headline "Coaches blamed college football player when he reported sexual harassment, lawsuit says."
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