A former Central Michigan University baseball player has filed a lawsuit against the school, seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages stemming from an alleged punch in the chest from an assistant coach.
As reported by CBS News, the lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, naming Mount Pleasant-based Central Michigan University, CMU assistant coach Aaron Hilt, head coach Jacob Sabol and CMU athletic director Amy Folan.
Dean Brown claims assault and battery, negligence, negligent hiring and intentional infliction of emotional distress, as he was removed from team chats and barred from the baseball stadium after conversations, reports and communications that took place in the aftermath of the incident, according to CBS News, adding that Brown has since transferred to a junior college with the intention to play baseball.
Brown said in the lawsuit that he has lost a year of collegiate athletics eligibility.
Per the reporting of Paula Wethington of CBS News, the alleged assault of Brown took place March 2, as CMU was preparing to play Western Kentucky. A typical pregame routine involved lining up in the field's bullpen "to receive first bumps from Defendant Hilt." The lawsuit claims Brown raised his fist as Hilt approached, expecting the usual greeting, but instead Hilt "punched him in the chest with significant force, which knocked the wind out of Brown, who fell backwards."
Brown was left with a large dark bruise.
"Due to the sheer number of eyewitnesses to the event, word spread quickly throughout the entire team that Defendant Hilt had punched Dean. This resulted in other players sharing messages, GIFs, and memes made in reference to the incident," the lawsuit states, as reported by CBS News.
Dean reported the incident to the head coach on March 3 and sent an email the athletic director March 17.
Brown pitched his final game for CMU on March 19. He was thereafter benched, according to the lawsuit.
He was suspended from the team and banned from entering stadium grounds following an April 18 incident in which Brown sent a teammate a Snapchat message that read, "time to die." The lawsuit claims Brown intended his message be a reference to the team's hype song, "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses.
"Instead of replying to the text in a familiar manner," the lawsuit claims, the teammate reported the text to police, who questioned Brown the next day.
All three individuals named as defendants remain in their positions at CMU, according to the cmuchippewas.com. Both coaches are listed as in their second year at the school. Athletic director Folan has been at CMU for six years.
The university does not comment on pending litigation, according to a CMU statement.
