Gary Patterson and TCU Are Being Sued by 6 Former Football Players
This has been the most wild Big 12 football story of the off-season, and I doubt it will be topped.
What originated as a lawsuit from Kolby Listenbee against Gary Patterson, former Athletic Director Chris Conte, assistant coaches Doug Meacham and Rusty Burns, and a number of trainers from the TCU staff alleging misconduct (in regards to forcing Listenbee back early from injuries) has morphed into something much bigger. Now, five more former TCU players have joined the suit.
In a filing Wednesday (Feb. 21), former receiver Kolby Listenbee added the stories of Lonta Hobbs, Ed Wesley, David Johnson, Stansly Maponga and Cameron White to his lawsuit.
The suit that alleged a pattern of "systematic misconduct" at TCU is now bolstered by six prominent names from the Gary Patterson era.
You can read the entire from scribd.com by scrolling further down. There are some significant findings that back up the claims by Listenbee and his former teammates.
For instance:
TCU's lack of an orthopedic physician on staff nor any radiology equipment on campus, unlike other top tier schools across the nation that have the resources TCU has. The systematic scheme allows injured players to receive subpar treatment for their serious injuries, gives the coaches premature return-to-play decision when serious injury or harm could be caused, and creates an inherent conflict of interest.
As Texas Tech fans, we know how alleged mistreatment of a player can end the tenure of a coach who has brought success to your university. Now we have TCU being sued because over an alleged rampant disregard for personal safety of at least six former players.
The stories of the five additional players all involve the coaching staff pressuring them to return to action early, even threatening them with loss of playing time if they didn't return.
The lawsuit (page 18) includes a story about Stansley Maponga, who was allegedly told by Gary Patterson that if he left early, "Maponga would not be allowed to come back to TCU to complete his degree in the future, would not be allowed to use the facilities at TCU to work out, and that NFL scouts and coaches would be informed that Maponga had a poor work ethic and was soft."
If the allegations in the lawsuit ring true and more players come forward to corroborate, TCU might be paying more than just Listenbee. They might be paying for a new head football coach.
You can read the lawsuit against TCU in full below.
TCU Lawsuit Update - 2/21/18 by Jordan Ray on Scribd
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