Caden Cox made historical past at Hocking College in 2021 when he turned the primary identified individual with Down syndrome to play and rating in a school soccer sport. Now, he’s suing the junior school, claiming he was discriminated in opposition to, harassed and assaulted.
In a lawsuit filed by his mom, Mari Cox, on Thursday, Mr. Cox accused a former supervisor on the scholar recreation middle the place Mr. Cox labored of “disability discrimination, physical assault, and persistent verbal harassment.”
Mr. Cox burst onto the nationwide sports activities scene within the fall of 2021, after kicking a third-quarter discipline objective and went on to kick three extra that season, incomes a characteristic on ESPN. Months later, he created a clothes assortment with the model Jake Max, that includes the college’s colours.
“They said he couldn’t even go to college and look where he is,” Mari Cox advised the community on the time.
Mr. Cox additionally labored whereas attending Hocking College, a neighborhood school in Nelsonville, Ohio, the place the go well with alleges he was harassed and assaulted by his boss. His supervisor, Matthew Kmosko, is among the many defendants named within the go well with, together with Betty Young, the college president, the board of trustees and 5 unnamed school workers.
Mr. Kmosko, who resigned, was discovered responsible in January of menacing Mr. Cox and sentenced to 30 days in jail.
The school and the board of trustees mentioned in an emailed assertion that they might not touch upon energetic investigations or pending litigations, however “will cooperate with officials.”
Dr. Young additionally declined to touch upon the go well with, filed within the U.S. District Court for Southern Ohio. “I am happy Hocking College could provide an opportunity for Caden to be a successful student and student-athlete and now a graduate,” she mentioned in an e mail, including that the college “remains committed to all our students.”
Mr. Kmosko repeatedly used “derogatory slurs about individuals with Down syndrome,” degraded Mr. Cox’s skills, as soon as demanded to undergo his telephone and put his hand on Mr. Cox inappropriately, the go well with claimed, and he was the topic of different harassment complaints.
In July 2021 and once more in January 2022, Ms. Cox, who additionally works at Hocking College, emailed considerations about Mr. Kmosko to highschool officers, however his conduct solely worsened, the go well with mentioned, culminating with Mr. Kmosko following Mr. Cox into a rest room and threatening him with a knife.
Mr. Cox was granted a safety order in opposition to Mr. Kmosko in May 2022, however the harassment left him with anxiousness that restricted his skill to go to campus, the go well with mentioned, and he would turn into upset each time he noticed a crimson automobile much like Mr. Kmosko’s.
The lawsuit blames “the deliberate indifference of Dr. Y-oung and other Hocking personnel” for the trauma Mr. Cox incurred from Mr. Kmosko, for which he’s looking for compensatory and punitive damages.
It additionally accuses the school of retaliation, saying it denied Mr. Cox two commencement awards he had been promised after legal professionals representing the Cox household delivered a letter to the college administration in early December detailing their allegations.
After graduating from Hocking College final yr, Mr. Cox participated in a soccer internship at Texas A&M. He expects to attend Ohio State University within the fall, for a certificates program for college kids with disabilities.
“The last thing we wanted was a lawsuit. This college has been a major part of our lives,” Ms. Cox mentioned in a press release shared by a lawyer.
“Caden had a great experience before this happened. We just felt like our complaints to administrators went nowhere,” Ms. Cox wrote. “We really hope this leads to a change in how harassment is addressed for all vulnerable students at the school.”
Source: www.nytimes.com