Nine More Student-Athletes Join Class-Action Suit Alleging Abuse on the University of San Francisco Baseball Team and Lack of Oversight by USF and the NCAA

Nine former University of San Francisco (USF) baseball players haver joined the class action lawsuit filed in March 2022 against their two (now former) baseball coaches, USF, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

The players allege that USF coaches Anthony Giarratano and Troy Nakamura created an intolerable sexualized environment on the team over the course of 22 years, that USF knew about their misconduct and did nothing to stop it, and that the NCAA has inadequate policies in place to protect student-athletes from such abuse or prevent coaches from moving on to another member institution with impunity.

The amended complaint includes the claims brought by the original three plaintiffs. It provides vivid details and allegations of an environment rife with emotional abuse and highly sexualized behavior, with the earliest allegations dating back to 1999 — Giarratano’s first year as coach.

The original complaint was filed on March 11, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division. Since the filing, Giarratano and Nakamura have been fired, and USF athletic director, Joan McDermott, has left her position.

“Since we filed this case on behalf of three young student-athletes who had the courage to stand up and share their horrific experiences at USF, we’ve been contacted by many former USF baseball players who share similar stories of crippling emotional abuse and perverse sexual behavior by the USF coaches,” said Elizabeth Fegan, founding partner of FeganScott, and one of the attorneys representing the students. “These experiences clearly illustrate why USF and the NCAA should be held accountable for abuse by coaches.”

According to Fegan, the intent of the suit is to force the school to adopt and implement best practices to prevent future occurrences and to compensate the young men for the harm they suffered at the hands of the coaches.