Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN — An expanded federal lawsuit against Ursuline High School involving allegations of hazing by its football program was filed Monday by the same attorneys who filed previous lawsuits.

The expanded lawsuit adds a new family as plaintiffs, adds another defendant — former athletic director John DeSantis — and adds more evidence and more allegations against school officials, including administrators and coaches.

The original lawsuit was filed in September by a mother and her children using the pseudonym “Doe” and numbered 200 pages. It alleges hazing and sexual abuse stemming from a football team trip over the summer. Named as defendants in that suit were school administrators, coaches, players and their parents, as well as the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown and Bishop David Bonnar.

The expanded filing, which numbers 290 pages, alleges a four-year pattern of hazing, sexual abuse and coverups within the Ursuline football program. Specifically, it states a second victim — referred to only as Son Roe — was subject to hazing and threats during a football trip in 2024, which was a year before the incident from the original lawsuit.

The new complaint alleges administrators and coaches knew about the 2024 accusations, but failed to report it, which resulted in the 2025 allegations.

“What we see are extremely serious allegations corroborated now not only by victims and witnesses but by actual perpetrators who are confessing their misconduct and explaining that they acted as minors in the way that they did out of character based on their belief that this was part of the culture and tradition of Ursuline High School’s football program,” said Subodh Chandra, attorney for the plaintiffs.

The expanded lawsuit includes a dozen new allegations, including a multi-year hazing tradition, school officials knowing of the tradition and coaches tolerating it, obstruction of justice, and evidence that contradicts school officials’ claims that they investigated.

There is also new video evidence listed in the complaint, with videos that date back to 2022. The suit also claims Ursuline held a parent meeting to discuss the football team’s future.

One of the new allegations states that head football coach Dan Reardon falsely accused a rival high school of filing the lawsuit and falsely alleged that the video evidence was altered or manufactured.

Ursuline High School responded to the lawsuit in a statement:

“We are reviewing the second amended complaint with our legal counsel. As with the allegations previously raised, these latest allegations are extremely upsetting. No students or their parents should have to deal with such challenges, and we will continue to cooperate with any investigating authorities.

“Indeed, Ursuline timely opened an internal investigation, which included reporting the alleged conduct to child services in two counties and the Youngstown Police Department, interviewing students alleged to be involved in the conduct, and issuing discipline consistent with our code of conduct. UHS then provided all documents it possessed at that time regarding its internal investigation to the Youngstown Police Department pursuant to subpoenas from the Youngstown police.

“As with the previous allegations, we have no intention of trying these cases in the media or in public. We will allow the legal process to proceed to accord proper respect and due process for all parties involved. Unfortunately, that means we continue to be limited in what we can share publicly, given the privacy issues involved and the fact that we are facing active litigation.

“The safety of all students must be paramount. We continue to pray for all the people who have been affected by these allegations. Given the sensitivity of the ongoing situation and the requirements of the legal and investigative process, we cannot comment further.”

PREVIOUS LAWSUITS

The first lawsuit was filed in September against Ursuline, three of its football coaches, 11 Ursuline football players and others over allegations of hazing and sexual and physical abuse of another football player.

A week later, a separate lawsuit was filed over allegations of sexual harassment against a female Ursuline student by an Ursuline football player.

The second lawsuit, also filed in U.S. District Court, alleges that a “star” Ursuline football player started sexually harassing a female Ursuline student in June of 2023, “asking this petite … freshman for sex and nude photos.” She refused the boy’s advances, the suit states.

“Unable to accept her rejection, (the boy’s) bullying and harassment escalated into a physical attack at school, causing (the girl) serious physical injuries,” which the suit states are depicted in a photograph made part of the filing.

A photo in the lawsuit shows the reddened lower part of a person’s back. The suit states that a female student took the photo for the girl after seeing the redness and telling the girl “This is really bad.”

The second lawsuit alleges the girl and her mother reported the assault to assistant principal Margaret Damore, who the suit states told the girl and her mother that the school “would handle the matter” and advised them “not to report the attack to police,” the suit states.

According to the Chandra Law Firm, which filed both lawsuits, both are Title IX civil rights lawsuits. Title IX is the federal statute that prohibits sex discrimination and sexual harassment in education and retaliation for opposing it, according to the Chandra Law Firm web site.

Judge Benita Y. Pearson is assigned to the case.

The first lawsuit alleged activities during a trip the Ursuline football team made to several southern states in June during which an Ursuline football player alleges he was physically and sexually assaulted by members of the football team and that the school dismissed the family’s complaints and engaged in a coverup.

Ursuline head football coach Dan Reardon was suspended indefinitely and assistant coaches Tim McGlynn and Christian Syrianoudis were placed on administrative leave for the rest of the season. They are the three coaches named in the first lawsuit.

The legal trouble led to Ursuline canceling its football season.