A lawsuit filed by a minor identified as R.D. accuses Okemos (Mich.) Public Schools and wrestling coach Clint Guess of causing life-threatening injuries during a Dec. 12, 2024, practice, and the attorney representing the injured girl is calling for the termination of athletic director Ken Hintze and others.
“I’m calling for the termination of the athletic director, the principal, the athletic trainers,” attorney Jamie White said, as reported by CBS affiliate WLNS in Lansing. “This girl almost died, and it was by no circumstance of action on the part of the school district that caused her to survive. It was only by another student that recognized the severe injuries that she had suffered, leading to her parents being contacted, and ultimately being diagnosed by the University of Michigan as having fatal injuries.”
Per the reporting of WLNS's Brad LaPlante and Delany Rogers, R.D.’s father rushed her to the University of Michigan Health-Sparrow Hospital, where doctors discovered the wrestler's Stage 4 liver laceration and Stage 5 abdominal hematoma — injuries they said are normally seen in car-crash victims. Sparrow Hospital staff stated any treatment delay could have been fatal.
According to the complaint, several featherweight teammates were absent from the practice in question, so Guess paired the girl with a boy three weight classes heavier who had a history of injuring partners, LaPlante and Rogers reported. The boy allegedly body-slammed R.D. repeatedly while the coach merely told him to “settle down.” R.D. vomited and struggled to breathe, but neither Guess nor athletic trainer Rachel Weiss called 911 or gave her medical attention.
“This young woman chose and wanted to participate in a boys’ sport, and she was literally responded to by indifference,” White said, as reported by WLNS. “Indifference in the sense that, in December of 2024, there weren’t people her size, her coaches threw her to the wolves with big boys that were multiple levels above her weight class in wrestling. We have weight classes for a reason.”
The suit claims gross negligence, citing the mismatch in size and experience. It seeks damages for medical costs, lost athletic chances and an elevated risk of future liver disease.
