February 28, 2024
NCAA Compliance and Sports Litigation Team Wins Dismissal of Head Coach in Player Lawsuit
FormanWatkins NCAA Compliance and Sports Litigation team members WG Watkins, Courtney Hunt and Mitch McGuffey secured dismissal of a lawsuit against their client, an SEC head football coach.
The plaintiff was a student athlete seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages from FormanWatkins’ client personally and from the university that employed him. He brought numerous claims under federal and state law for alleged discrimination based on race and sex, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and gross negligence. FormanWatkins along with counsel for the university, filed a motion to dismiss, which was converted to a motion for summary judgment.
The judge found there was no showing of discriminatory intent, that immunity defenses applied, and that the plaintiff could not meet the legal requirements to prevail on any of his claims.
The decision has been appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, where the FormanWatkins team will continue to defend its client.