Riley Cochran-Hernandez, a former football player at Del Campo High School, is suing the San Juan Unified School District in Sacramento County, California, over alleged abuse and racism.
The 23-page federal lawsuit accuses his former high school football coaches, Jeff Remington and Matt Costa, of years of abuse, racial harassment and retaliation, according to KCRA News.
“Coach Remington was telling us to report people to ICE for bounties, and we’re all kind of just like, what has this got to do with football?” Cochran-Hernandez said about the coaches referring to students from immigrant backgrounds.
Additionally, the lawsuit claims that, despite his father informing school administrators of the behavior, they did nothing to safeguard students. He alleges that after making the report, the coaches retaliated against him.
“They were expressly made aware that this activity was going on, and they didn’t take the action to protect students,” his attorney Karin Sweigart told KCRA News. “That’s one of the most disheartening things about this situation.”
He claims to have suffered an injury with long-term consequences
The former Del Campo football player also claims his former coaches pressured him to keep practicing despite a serious injury.
Cochran-Hernandez says that during one practice, he tore his quadriceps muscle and brought a doctor’s note instructing him to rest. “The coach blasted me out in front of everybody on the team,” Cochran-Hernandez said.
He added that he had hoped to play football at the University of Michigan, but the injury worsened and continues to affect him.
“I’ve kind of learned to walk with my leg being numb,” Cochran-Hernandez said. “But I haven’t learned to run or anything. I haven’t run since football.”
The school district did not comment on the lawsuit
In a statement to KCRA News, a San Juan Unified spokesperson said the school district did not comment on pending litigation, but added that “creating and maintaining safe learning environments for students and staff is a top priority for the San Juan Unified School District.”
“I went through a lot,” Cochran-Hernandez said. “And to be honest, I don’t think anybody should go through what I went through.”
Efforts to contact both the school and the coaches for comment have so far been unsuccessful.