Former UVA wide receiver Aiden Howard has filed a lawsuit against the university and the coaches claiming that he was and teased and bullied by other receivers which ultimately led to him being severely injured in a hazing incident during their fall camp in August.
CourthouseNews.com was the first with the story.
Howard said he was targeted because he was soft-spoken, however it was discovered that he couldn’t comprehend the playbook well and this caused his teammates to call him names such as “slow” and “retarded”. It was also later discovered that he had a learning disability, which explained his lack of knowledge of the playbook but it incited for bullying from his fellow teammates.
He later learned of a hazing ritual from the upperclassmen where first-year players are required to fight against each other as an initiation process. Howard describes the scene as a taped-off “ring” with fellow players and coaches surrounding the area to look on to the fight.
He also said that coaches didn’t allow phones during these fight and encouraged them to not record the fight.
After his fight with the other player, Howard suffered a concussion which resulted in his father taking him off the team.
Howard said he had surgery on Sept. 29 after seeing a doctor, who revealed that he had a broken orbital bone.
Howard did request that the university release him from his national letter of intent which was granted. However, according to the filed complaint, the university granted the release saying “that it was due to ‘conduct of others within the university’ and gave no further comment or reason for granting Aiden the requested release.”
Howard said he transferred to Robert Morris University and planned to play for them this season but now “cannot compete with RMU’s Football program during the 2016-2017 academic year.”
The complaint goes on to say that “It is unclear if he will ever play football again.”
Howard is seeking damages for violations of Title IX, the federal law banning gender discrimination in education. He also files for civil-rights violations, negligence, and violations of the Rehabilitation Act and Americans With Disabilities Act.
