Gay teen & family sue high school for protecting football players that bullied him daily
A former student of a Catholic high school in Ohio is suing after he allegedly faced constant bullying by members of the schools football team, and the administration allegedly did nothing to stop it. And this is the third federal lawsuit that the school is facing this year about bullying on school premises.The lawsuit was filed by a teen and his legal guardian grandmother, identified in court documents only as Grandson Rudolph and Grandmother Rudolph. The complaint says that Grandson was bullied every day when he started high school at Ursuline in the 2023-2024 school year because he was out as a gay teen, according to WTRF. The bullying included slurs, threats, and even once having food thrown at him, which left a red mark. Related His school didnt call the cops after a transphobic bully attacked him. Now its paying the price. The students who bullied him were football players, but one teacher is also accused of joining in. Religious education teacher Nannette Jacobs allegedly participated in mocking Grandsons appearance. The lawsuit accuses other teachers of witnessing the bullying but doing nothing.The Rudolphs tried to get help from the schools administration, but they allegedly did nothing. Grandmother Rudolph said that she called the school 20 times in three months and didnt get any help. Instead, she said that the administration reacted with hostility to her attempts to get help. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Eventually, Grandson Rudolph transferred to another high school. He now needs weekly therapy as a result of the bullying, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit names Ursuline High School, Assistant Principal Margaret Damore, the head football coach Daniel Reardon, and the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown as defendants. The school is not commenting on the pending legal matter.The school is facing two other federal lawsuits related to student misbehavior. One lawsuit, filed this past September, is about allegedly violent hazing that occurred on the football team, where one players mother says that her son was physically and sexually abused by teammates at a football camp where coaches did nothing to stop it.Its just boys being boys, an assistant coach allegedly told the mother. Some of the hazing included discussions of having younger players fight each other, with the loser getting his butt taken. The school suspended the football season and put its coaches on leave as a result of that lawsuit and the public outrage that followed.And another lawsuit was filed against a player on the Ursuline football team, Assistant Principal Damore, and Ursuline High School for allegedly sexually harassing, stalking, and menacing a female student at the school in 2023. The lawsuit says that the football player, identified as Football Player 6 in the suit, demanded that the girl send him pictures of herself undressed and touched her hands and put his arms over her shoulders at school without her consent. He asked her to have sex with him over social media. She refused and blocked him, but she says in her lawsuit that that made the harassment, including the forced touching, get more forceful and hostile. In one particular violent encounter, the student alleges that Football Player 6 chased her down on the last day of summer school, picked her up, dropped her on the ground, and then dragged her across the turf for 30 feet, which caused serious injuries. After he did it, he said that he would do it again.The alleged victim said that she tried to tell an assistant football coach what happened, and that he just responded OK and told her to go to the bathroom. The alleged victims mother said that she reported what happened to the schools administration and that the assistant principal tried to blame the victim for not coming to her immediately instead of going to the assistant coach. The suit says that the school did not report the incident to law enforcement and strongly advised the alleged victims mother not to file a police report.Ursulines culture of ignoring violent assaults by its football players has existed for many years due in part to the schools negligent and reckless hiring, training supervision and retention of administrators, coaches and teachers; and the schools willingness to turn a blind eye to the physical victimization of students it is entrusted to protect all because the school elevates the glory of the football team above basic humanity and decency, the lawsuit states.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.