YOUNGSTOWN (OH)
WKYC-TV, NBC - 3 [Cleveland OH]
November 11, 2025
By Tyler Carey, Sia Nyorkor
A second family has joined a federal lawsuit against Ursuline High School in Youngstown, which had already alleged players on the school’s football team engaged in hazing and sexual abuse of fellow students and that coaches and administrators either allowed the behavior to take place or covered it up.
Cleveland-based civil rights attorney Subodh Chandra and his team filed the amended lawsuit Monday in Northern Ohio U.S. District Court. In addition to the new plaintiffs (listed as “John and Jill Roe, individually and on behalf of their minor son, Son Roe”), the complaint now names athletic director John DeSantis as a defendant. Besides the school itself, prior defendants still include:
- Principal Matthew Sammartino
- Assistant Principal Margaret Damore
- Head football coach Dan Reardon
- Assistant coach Timothy McGlynn
- Assistant coach Christian Syrianoudis
- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown
- 11 Ursuline players (only their initials are given since they are minors)
The first lawsuit sent shockwaves through both Youngstown and the Northeast Ohio high school football scene when it was first filed in September, with the mother of a former player alleging teammates had hazed and sexually assaulted her son during a team camp this past June before sharing videos of the encounter on social media. When she brought the claims to coaches and administrators, she said her concerns were either not properly investigated or dismissed as “just boys being boys,” and that both her son and daughter had to transfer from Ursuline due to continued concerns for their safety.
With prospective opponents pulling out left and right and a separate lawsuit claiming a “star football player” harassed a female student in 2023, Ursuline announced in September that the remainder of its 2025 football season would be canceled after just two games, and the Ohio High School Athletic Association later ruled that Fighting Irish players would not be permitted to transfer and play for other teams during the school year. Reardon also remains suspended while the two assistants are on administrative leave.
Now, a new teen is coming forward to claim he and others were abused in a similar fashion during an earlier travel camp in 2024 — and attorneys for the plaintiffs also say they have video evidence confirming the hazing and assaults stretch back to at least 2022. Four other non-plaintiffs are also listed as victims.
THE NEW ALLEGATIONS
WARNING: The claims detailed in the lawsuit may be disturbing to some readers. Please proceed with discretion.
According to the updated lawsuit, “Son Roe” was a sophomore at Ursuline when he traveled with the football team on a multi-state camp in June 2024. Multiple times, he says teammates threatened to haze him on the trip, but he managed to evade their attacks until one night at a Wisconsin hotel, when he was “jumped” inside another player’s room and others tried to rip his clothes off. It was only when they realized he was wearing football clothes, he says, that they stopped and he was eventually able to get away.
One night later, in Iowa, the plaintiff says players instead attacked two other teammates who are also mentioned as defendants in the lawsuit — one who was forced to strip naked and “apologize” on camera, and another who had his clothes ripped off before being made to also “apologize.” The videos were allegedly posted to the team’s group Snapchat, and several days later, “Son Roe” says he was attacked again when a number of players tried to take his underwear off him.
Per the complaint, the player remained with Ursuline for the 2024 football season “despite being subjected to more violence by teammates and witnessing fights between other players.” On one occasion, “Son Roe” says he was tackled and punched by a teammate during practice (presumably one of the boys who was also hazed on the trip) and that coaches did nothing to stop the fight. In fact, the alleged victim’s father claims McGlynn even referred to the altercation as “great.”
Seeking to transfer, “Son Roe” says DeSantis and Reardon both tried to convince him to stay, but merely “feigned an apology” for what the teen felt was a “toxic” atmosphere surrounding the football team. The teen eventually left Ursuline prior to the 2025 camp — where another ex-player claimed he was hazed in the initial lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges hazing has become a “tradition” within the Fighting Irish football squad — and that DeSantis, Reardon, and others were aware this behavior was taking place but took no steps to put a stop to it. For example, when Sammartino asked a player why he had hazed a teammate back in 2022, the plaintiffs claim the teen told his principal that “it has been going on for years.” Sammartino then allegedly instructed the boy to “lay low” and not “talk about it,” and the player was never disciplined for the purported incident.
Sammartino and other school leaders would’ve been required by law to report the alleged hazing to police, but the lawsuit says this did not happen (at least not immediately). What’s more, Chandra accuses coaches and administrators of instructing players to delete videos of the incidents, and additionally says Reardon called videos showing the hazing activities “manufactured” and even blamed Ursuline rival Cardinal Mooney for spreading the allegations detailed in the court filings. This led to threats against Mooney by what Chandra referred to as the “Ursuline Media Mob,” including messages like:
- “Ursuline is going to retaliate against Mooney”
- “the skies are going to turn dark over Mooney”
- “Judgment day is coming”
- “shoot up the school”
Besides mentioning the separate sexual harassment suit involving the female former student, the complaint also lists four additional victims who were not named as plaintiffs:
- Victim-1 said she was sexually harassed by one of the defendant players, but that when her mother reported the incident, the principal stated, “Oh, that’s just how [defendant] is with all the girls.” The girl later transferred from Ursuline.
- VIctim-2 was a football player who claimed he was abused during the 2022 camp. That alleged encounter will be detailed in the below video analysis.
- Victim-3 was a student who claimed he was “harassed and bullied by several Ursuline football players on the basis of sex,” but that Damore “took no action” after his grandmother told her about the allegations.
- Victim-4 says their mom informed Damore and others that another student wanted to fight them, but that “Ursuline officials failed to prevent the fight.” The teem “was seriously injured and had to be taken to the hospital,” per court documents.
As far as video evidence goes, the plaintiffs say they have obtained more than a dozen tapes that display the abuse firsthand. They are described as follows (WARNING: reader discretion is advised):
- 2022 camp video 1: “While [Victim-2] was on his knees, players ordered him to repeat ‘Please don’t beat my a–‘ and ‘I’ll do whatever you need.’ When the victim refused, players stomped, kicked, and punched the victim repeatedly. One player said, ‘Finger him! Finger him, please!’ Players wrapped a sheet/towel over the victim’s head and throat and proceeded to choke and swing him around. Another player then puts his buttocks on the victim’s head/face.”
- 2023 camp video 1: “Two players wrestled on a hotel bed.”
- 2023 camp video 2: “One player held a victim-player face down on the bus floor while the player humped and ground his penis into the victim’s buttocks.”
- 2023 camp video 3: “The victim was on the floor with no pants or underwear. The victim was covering his genitals with his hands while another player said, ‘So much for that f—ing orgy that you wanted, b—-!'”
- 2023 camp video 4: “Players and victim appear to be in a tug-of-war over clothing. The video has a meme caption saying, ‘get you drawls [sic] back [victim].'”
- 2023 camp video 5: “Player held up a pair of ripped underwear saying, ‘I’m the ma f—ing WWE champ n—-. What you talking about. Got this shit on me. F— you talking about.'”
- 2023 camp video 6: “Player held up a pair of ripped pants and underwear, and said, ‘Man. I got this n—-‘s drawers and his phone.'”
- 2023 camp video 7: “Player picked up the victim by the throat and slammed him onto the hotel bed, then ripped off the victim’s pants and underwear exposing the victim’s naked body; the victim tried covering his genitals with his hands. Other players stood around watching, laughing, and cheering. The player recording the attack walked over and stood over the naked victim while recording.”
- 2023 camp video 8: “One player was held face down on a hotel bed while a second player humped and ground his penis into the first player’s buttocks. A third player humped and ground the second player. Then a fourth player joined in and humped and ground the third player, and then a fifth player joined in and humped and ground the fourth player. All players were clothed.”
- 2023 camp video 9: “Three shirtless players stood in the hotel hallway wearing only shorts. One player grabbed the second player and ripped off his shorts and underwear, exposing the second player’s genitals and buttocks, while the third player laughed.”
- 2025 camp video 1: “Multiple players held down the victim and ripped off his pants and underwear exposing the victim’s genitals.”
- 2025 camp video 2: “Two players held the victim down on the bed. One player then lifted the victim’s legs over his head, but didn’t hump the victim. But when the first player jumped off the bed, the second player grabbed and held the victim’s leg over his head in a similar manner and humped and ground his penis into the victim’s buttocks. The players were clothed.”
- 2025 camp videos (multiple): “These videos show the attack and hazing of Plaintiff Son Doe, in which multiple players held Son Doe down and ripped off his pants and underwear, exposing his genitals and buttocks. One player slapped Son Doe’s bare buttocks; another player threw Son Doe to the ground after the attack, and another player slapped Son Doe’s head/face.”
REACTIONS
Chandra released the following statement upon filing the amended complaint:
“The Second Amended and Supplemental Complaint provides evidence that the misconduct at Ursuline was not only systemic but that the school’s top administrators and coaches shielded it. When presented with videos of assault and child pornography, the principal’s alleged response was to tell students to destroy evidence and keep quiet. That would represent an institutional choice to obstruct justice and protect the football program over children.
“Our clients are determined to hold everyone accountable for perpetuating this toxic culture.
“And they ask, ‘Why isn’t the Bishop (of Youngstown David Bonnar) doing anything about this? Why is he letting Ursuline administrators run the show when the evidence submitted suggests they knew about and indulged the hazing culture for years, and covered it up when caught?’
“We urge other witnesses and victims to contact us through our secure contact form. You are not alone.”
3News also reached out to Ursuline, which responded:
“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 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.”
Additional requests for comment have also been made to both the Diocese of Youngstown and Cardinal Mooney High School. The diocese has previously made remarks asserting it and the school “conducted a timely investigation, cooperated with the appropriate authorities, and took immediate actions to protect Ursuline High School students.”