PHILADELPHIA – For the second time, Penn State University and its football team’s head coach are denying allegations from a former cornerback that those entities and a former defensive tackle collectively ignored incidents of hazing and sexual harassment targeted against him.
On April 7, Penn State University and its Coach James Franklin filed a renewed motion to dismiss an amended complaint lodged by plaintiff Isaiah Humphries of Sachese, Texas.
Specifically, the defendants wish to have Humphries’ counts for negligence, negligence per se and negligent infliction of emotional distress dismissed from this lawsuit. After several months of litigation, the defendants assert Humphries has no legal standing for his claims.
“Humphries fails to state a claim for negligence against the University or Franklin because courts in Pennsylvania and across the nation consistently have held that universities do not owe their adult students a duty of care, absent exceptional circumstances not present here,” the dismissal motion read, in part.
“Moreover, Humphries alleges that four classmates caused his injuries, not the University or Franklin. The University and Franklin therefore are not the proximate cause of Humphries’s purported injuries.”
Humphries, who played one season with Penn State University’s Nittany Lions in 2018, alleges a campaign of hazing and harassment was directed towards underclassmen.
Humphries further claims that Barber conspired with fellow teammates, such as linebacker Micah Parsons, defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos and linebacker Jesse Luketa, who “collectively orchestrated, participated in, directed and/or facilitated a campaign to harass and haze” both him and other underclassmen members of the team.
One moment recalled in the suit had Barber, Parsons, Gross-Matos and Luketa telling the underclassmen that they intended to make them “their bitch, because this is a prison” and having used the phrase, “I am going to Sandusky you.”
The reference being to that of Jerry Sandusky, the former assistant coach of the Penn State University football team who is now serving state prison time after being convicted in 2012 on multiple charges of child sexual abuse.
Other incidents alleged in the lawsuit describe the foursome of Barber, Parsons, Gross-Matos and Luketa taking the clothes of underclassmen players and not returning them, wrestling underclassmen players to the ground and humping them or simulating sexual acts with them, and making sexual contact with underclassmen players while in the team showers.
The incidents in question took place in the Lasch Football Building, a campus dormitory, or “other places” in Centre County, some of which were allegedly observed by team coaching staff, according to the litigation.
In addition to reporting the hazing and harassment to the team staff himself, Humphries’ father Leonard Humphries - a Penn State University alumnus, former member of the school’s football team and former NFL player - also reported the behavior to Franklin.
However, the suit said nothing substantive was done.
The sum total of all the alleged events caused him to resign from the Penn State University football program in December 2018 and transfer to the University of California.
Shortly after the filing of the suit, Penn State University released a statement in response to Humphries’ allegations, stating no claims of hazing against anyone were substantiated.
Further, the defendants allege Humphries “possesses no facts that would demonstrate the University violated the Antihazing Law.”
“First, the plain text of the law itself only prohibited and criminalized acts by a ‘person’ who engaged in hazing. The University is not a ‘person’ and instead falls squarely within the statutory definition of ‘institution,’ per the motion.
“The Antihazing Law therefore does not contemplate criminal liability on the part of an institution for engaging in the act of hazing (nor does it provide the foundation for a negligence per se claim).”
According to the defendants, because Humphries could not put forward a cognizable negligence claim, his claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress must also be dismissed.
For multiple counts of negligence per se (violation of anti-hazing statutes), assault and battery, negligent infliction of emotional distress, intentional infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy, the plaintiff is seeking joint and several judgment against the defendants, unspecified compensatory, exemplary and pre-judgment delay damages, plus interest, further relief as the Court may deem appropriate and a trial by jury.
The plaintiff is represented by Steven F. Marino and Joseph Auddino of Marino & Associates, in Philadelphia.
The defendants are represented by Carol Steinour Young, James P. DeAngelo and Sarah Hyser-Staub of McNees Wallace & Nurick in Harrisburg, plus James S. Urban, Katherine J. McLay and Matthew A. Kairis of Jones Day in Pittsburgh and Houston and Anthony G. De Boef of De Boef Lucchesi, in State College.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania case 4:20-cv-00064
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com