Ten former athletes file sexual abuse claims
Torts are part of expanding case involving trainer
Ten former San Jose State athletes have filed tort claims with the California State University system as part of an expanding sexual abuse case involving a trainer and school officials’ handling of the allegations.
The claimants, whose names were redacted in the documents obtained Thursday by this news organization, allege they were victims of sexual abuse, harassment and discrimination.
They filed the torts on Monday, a day before former deputy athletic director Steve O’Brien filed a wrongful termination and retaliation lawsuit in Santa Clara County Superior Court alleging he was fired for trying to preserve the integrity of the internal investigation into the women’s claims of sexual abuse.
The tort claims have come in the aftermath of the school’s response to sexual abuse charges by former members of the SJSU women’s swim team against former athletic trainer Scott Shaw.
The athletes’ claims allege that the state university system violated federal and state laws by
allowing Shaw to have access to young women, including minors, without effective supervision.
They also said university officials failed to prevent Shaw from committing sexually offensive acts against student-athletes, including the claimants, failed to appropriately train Shaw and failed to take necessary preventative and remedial actions in response to complaints.
San Jose State University officials did not respond in time for the print deadline.
School officials failed to ensure their training program to prevent and report sexual abuse and harassment adequately protected the athletes, the claim said.
One claimant said in the tort that she suffered significant personal injuries, including those from the physical battery, physical injury, weight changes, great pain of mind and body, shock, emotional distress, psychological injuries, physical manifestations of emotional distress, embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, disgrace, humiliation and loss of enjoyment of life.
According to the athletes’ attorneys, the second Title IX investigation has provided the first step toward justice.
“These young women trusted SJSU to protect them and act in their best interests,” said a statement from the Arns Law firm and attorney Fiore Achermann. “The findings of the investigation demonstrate the opposite.”
The statement said San Jose State officials had a known systemic problem regarding the sexual assault of athletes and students by its employees, including Shaw.
“We will pursue all remedies available to the victims of Shaw and others under the law to ensure that all responsible parties are held accountable and to prevent something like this from ever happening to another young woman at SJSU.”
The women seek institutional reform and measures of accountability to ensure the safety and protection of current and future studentathletes, according to lawyers. They also seek compensatory damages.
According to O’Brien’s suit, the women who first brought the allegations against Shaw told swim coach Sage Hopkins about eight years later that the abuse was ongoing. That spurred Hopkins to push the school to reopen the case. San Jose State officials renewed the investigation into Shaw in December 2019, after Hopkins circulated a nearly 300-page document among university, Mountain West and NCAA officials that detailed the allegations, the O’Brien suit said.
After Hopkins took action, athletic director Marie Tuite asked O’Brien to reprimand the swim coach. O’Brien alleges in the lawsuit that he was fired in retaliation for not carrying out the order.
The athletes’ tort claims filed to the CSU headquarters in Long Beach come as the San Jose State athletic department faces mounting legal problems including an FBI investigation into the handling of the Shaw case. A recent Title IX investigation by the school concluded that Shaw repeatedly sexually abused athletes during massage therapy sessions that supposedly were meant to treat injuries. Five other Title IX cases were ongoing, lawyers said.
Tort claims are the legal mechanism for filing lawsuits against California government agencies. State officials have 45 days to respond to the claims before the claimants can proceed to court.
According to multiple sources, Peter Turner, the school’s former softball coach, filed a tort claim notice with Cal State after his contract was not renewed last summer after a 21-5 season. And David Rasmussen, SJSU’s senior athletic compliance officer until resigning in December, has submitted an internal complaint with the school.
The athletes’ tort claims allege that Cal State officials knew of a pattern of repeated sexual abuse by Shaw but were “deliberately indifferent to a substantial risk of sexual abuse to its students.”
A San Jose State investigation that concluded in 2010 cleared Shaw of wrongdoing. Shaw resigned in August after the investigation was reopened.