YOUNGSTOWN (OH)
WKRC-TV, CBS-12 [Cincinnati OH]
September 12, 2025
By WKRC
Multiple schools have canceled scheduled football games against an Ohio Catholic school after a 200-page federal civil rights lawsuit was filed against several parties on behalf of a student who was allegedly hazed, physically assaulted, sexually assaulted and subjected to the creation and dissemination of child pornography.
According to reports from Youngstown-based news station WFMJ, multiple schools have made the decision to cancel games against Ursuline High School after two separate lawsuits were filed alleging abuse by some of its football players and a lack of concern by its coaches.
Ursuline confirmed Monday that the team’s head coach, Dan Reardon, had agreed to an indefinite suspension, and that assistant coaches, Tim McGlynn and Christian Syrianoudis, had been placed on administrative leave.
In light of the allegations, the following schools have made the decision to cancel games against Ursuline’s football team:
- Austintown Fitch High School (Austintown, Ohio)
Austin Fitch officials announced Thursday that its game against Ursuline, which was scheduled for September 26, is canceled.
“Due to the allegations involving the Ursuline Football Program, Austintown Fitch will respectfully not be playing Game 6 against Ursuline on Friday, September 26 at Greenwood Chevrolet Falcon Stadium. This decision was made with careful consideration and in the best interest of our Austintown students and community,” officials wrote in a statement obtained by WFMJ.
- Warren G. Harding High School (Warren, Ohio)
Warren G. Harding announced Wednesday that a game scheduled for September 19 against Ursuline would be canceled.
“In light of recent allegations against the Ursuline Football Program and a second Federal lawsuit filed today, the Warren G. Harding Raiders, respectfully, will not be playing Ursuline in Game 5 scheduled for September 19. The decision was made with careful consideration, and the district is confident it is in the best interest of our Warren G. Harding students and our community.” Warren City Schools Superintendent Steve Chiaro said in a statement obtained by WFMJ.
- St. Vincent-St. Mary Catholic High School (Akron, Ohio)
St. Vincent-St. Mary Catholic High School officials speaking to WFMJ confirmed the cancellation of a game against Ursuline that had been scheduled for October 3.
- Farrell High School (Farrell, Pennsylvania)
Ursuline officials previously made the decision to cancel a game against Farrell High School, which was scheduled to take place on Friday, September 5, according to a report from WKYC.
According to WFMJ, the Ursuline football team is 2-0 and is on a bye this week.
The team only has three opponents left who have not canceled. They are the following:
- Cardinal Mooney High School (Youngstown, Ohio)
- Chaney High School (Youngstown, Ohio)
- Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio)
It cancellations come after these lawsuits were filed in connection to alleged abuse committed by Ursuline football players.
- The allegations of the first lawsuit
According to WKYC, the alleged victim was subjected to an “initiation” ritual by several players who pulled him from a closet in his hotel room and threw him onto a bed, where one player allegedly assaulted him. Another player is accused of filming the incident and sharing the video on the team’s Snapchat group.
The lawsuit claims that the victim was ridiculed about the assault the following day in the presence of Reardon and both assistant coaches. A player allegedly told the victim he was “going to get his butt took.”
Four days later, the student was allegedly lured to another room, where he was slammed onto a bed, had his mouth covered, and was stripped of his pants and underwear, according to the report. This second encounter was also reportedly filmed and shared on Snapchat.
Text and social media messages included in the lawsuit purportedly show students planning and bragging about the assaults. The filing details a call between the victim’s mother and assistant coach Chris McGlynn, in which McGlynn allegedly expressed neither surprise nor dismay about the hazing, describing the incidents as “just boys being boys.”
After police were notified, the school began an investigation. However, the coaches allegedly instructed players not to discuss the incidents, and administrators were accused of doing little to investigate and deleting the team’s social media accounts, WKYC reported.
WFMJ reported that several other alleged victims and/or witnesses have come forward after the lawsuit was filed on Tuesday.
- The allegations of the second lawsuit
According to WFMJ, a second lawsuit was filed against the Youngstown Diocese and Ursuline High School, alleging a pattern of protecting a football player and failing to report assault, harassment and abuse.
The suit alleges that an Ursuline football player, identified as “Ursuline Player 6,” had “violently assaulted, sexually harassed, stalked and menaced” a female student in 2023, when both the alleged victim and the player were freshmen, per the station.
The alleged victim she began talking to the player over Snapchat and, at some point, he asked her for explicit images and if she wanted to have sex with him. The docs state that she rejected the player’s requests and blocked him on Snapchat, but said the alleged harassment increased after that, with the player allegedly touching her in a “forceful and hostile” manner.
According to the suit, the player chased the student down on the last day of summer gym classes, picked her up, and violently dropped her on the ground twice, then dragged her 30 feet across rough turf, which resulted in “serious injuries” and a burn across her back.
When called out by one of the alleged victim’s friends, the player allegedly replied, “Yeah, and I’d do it again,” per WFMJ.
The documents further state that the alleged victim noticed Athletic Director and Assistant Football Coach John DeSantis afterwards and told him about what had happened, with DeSantis allegedly replying “Okay.”
The alleged victim’s mother then reported the incident directly to Assistant Principal Margaret Damore and DeSantis, and while discussing the alleged harassment on Snapchat prior to the student blocking “Ursuline Player 6,” DeSantis allegedly said, “I’m not interested in what happened before. I’m only interested in what happened today.”
The lawsuit further alleges that Assistant Principal Damore attempted to blame the alleged victim because she didn’t tell anyone what happened “immediately,” despite her telling both DeSantis and the gym teacher immediately after what allegedly occurred.
Assistant Principal Damore was accused of “strongly advising” the alleged victim’s mother not to file a police report, telling the woman that the school would “handle it.”
The suit claims Assistant Principal Damore said she would separate the alleged victim and the player, but the family said that did not happen, and claimed the alleged harassment continued for the next two years. The administration at Ursuline was further accused of repeatedly ignoring reports from the alleged victim and her family members, per WFMJ, citing the documents.
The suit states that days after the alleged victim’s report was made, the player called her a “snitch” and said, “She tried to get me in trouble, but she failed,” while she was nearby.
Assistant Principal Damore was also accused of disciplining the student for minor transgressions differently than other students after she came forth with the accusations, adding that when she asked Damore, “So you’re just never going to help me?” Ursuline’s assistant principal allegedly replied, “No.”
- Ursuline’s statement to students and families
Ursuline President Fr. Richard Murphy issued a statement on Wednesday, September 10 regarding the lawsuits, saying the school’s leadership had acted swiftly and had followed all relevant policies.
“While we have no intention of trying these cases in the media or in public, we look forward to presenting a vigorous legal defense. We are secure, based on everything we currently know, that our school leadership followed relevant policies,” Murphy wrote in the letter obtained by WFMJ.
Attorney Subodh Chandra told Spectrum News that the family involved in the first lawsuit has been subject to acts of retaliation.
According to WFMJ, the alleged victim transferred from the school, along with his sister due to alleged intimidation from the football players, who attorneys say wanted to keep her quiet, with one of the accused players allegedly showing up at her workplace and staring “at her in an intimidating fashion.”
“The mother actually received intimidating, retaliatory communications from another parent yesterday after the suit was filed. And the son also received a negative communication from one of the players in the suit,” Chandra said when speaking with Spectrum News.
“We are continuing to hear from other potential alleged victims and potential witnesses,” Chandra said when speaking with WFMJ, “The picture that’s being provided is enabling us to have a deeper understanding of the existing case.”