Second lawsuit filed against Ursuline High School alleging abuse by football player

On Wednesday, a minor female high-school student, through her mother, filed a federal Title IX civil-rights lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio against Ursuline High School, Assistant Principal Margaret Damore, Athletic Director John DeSantis, the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, and an Ursuline student (identified in court as “Ursuline Player-6”) and his parents.

This is the second lawsuit to be filed against the school, its officials, and members of the football team.

Late Monday, Sept. 8, the school announced it had suspended one coach and put two others on leave.

“Coach McGlynn and Coach Syrianoudis were placed on administrative leave on September 8, 2025, pending the outcomes of the ongoing investigations and litigation. There have been no decisions regarding renewal of their contracts or future employment,” the statement read. “Coach Reardon has agreed to an indeterminate suspension on September 8, 2025, pending the outcomes of the ongoing investigations and litigation. Likewise, there have been no decisions regarding renewal of Coach Reardon’s contract or future employment.”

However, hazing-victim’s lead counsel has called those steps insufficient.

The new suit alleges the student violently assaulted, sexually harassed, stalked, and menaced the girl, according to the law office handling the case. Title IX is the federal statute that prohibits sex discrimination and sexual harassment in education, and retaliation for opposing it.

The complaint alleges that school officials intentionally failed to act, even after the mother and daughter notified them, because the player was a “venerated star football player.” The lawsuit uses pseudonyms for the alleged victims. In the filing, the family is identified as Mother Chef and Daughter Chef.

The suit also alleges that Assistant Principal Margaret Damore retaliated against Daughter for her legally protected activity of complaining about Player-6’s conduct, by imposing disparate, disproportionate discipline on her for minor transgressions compared to other students—and certainly relative to the total lack of consequence for football Player-6’s alleged brutal attack on her.

After two years of ongoing harassment, inaction, and retaliation, Mother Chef sold her home of 28 years and moved to a different school district so Daughter Chef could transfer for her safety, the complaint states.

Lead counsel Subodh Chandra said the suit alleges Defendants treated Daughter Chef’s life, safety, and dignity as less important than winning football games and they allegedly covered for their star football player, lied to Mother Chef, and ignored the repeated pleas of their student and her family.

“This family, along with others whose situations we are investigating, had the courage to come forward at long last because they learned about the Ursuline-hazing lawsuit,” Chandra said.

The attorney’s office stated that based on the volume and nature of the additional information it has learned, it anticipates additional, related lawsuits being filed against Ursuline and its officials in the coming weeks.

This story was originally published September 10, 2025 at 10:59 AM.