Six former members of the Indiana University basketball team are suing the school over abuse they allegedly suffered under now-fired head coach Paul Corasaro.
According to Fox 59, Corsaro was terminated in May after the school concluded an investigation into the alleged mistreatment of basketball players on the team.
Now, six members of the Corsaro's 2024-25 team have filed a lawsuit against their coach.
The 12-page complaint, which was filed in Marion County Superior Court, alleges Corsaro’s actions led all six players to suffer irreparable harm, including physical injury, loss of name, image and likeness (NIL) deals, loss of scholarship opportunities, loss of future NIL revenue and compounding of medical bills.
The players allege Corsaro subjected them to physical and emotional abuse, with some of them contemplating suicide as a result. One player reported calling the suicide hotline on at least two occasions. Another player was ordered by an athletic trainer to have an EKG and bloodwork done, only to find that the symptoms he was experiencing were due to stress and anxiety.
A player who suffered a concussion was reportedly afraid to get treatment over fear of retaliation from Corsaro. When he finally was diagnosed with concussion, he alleges that Corsaro ridiculed him and called him a “soft p****.” That player also alleged that Corsaro told him, “real men play through concussions.”
The lawsuit details a host of instances where Corsaro forced players to play through injury and ridiculed them for their injuries.
The IU volleyball team also reported having witnessed one of Corsaro's outbursts during practice. The team froze during one of their team lifts when Corsaro was in a fit of rage. The volleyball team reported being shocked by Corsaro's actions.
The former players who filed the lawsuit are alleging that IU was negligent in hiring Corsaro, with lawyers criticizing the university's hiring practices and the school's infrastructure for monitoring the behavior and activity of its coaches.
Those staff who witness Corsaro's action would have been compelled by the school's code of conduct to report his actions. However, none of his staff or assistant coaches did so, going so far as to delete footage of Corsaro's outbursts.
Lawyers for the players asked the university to pay more than $2.4 million in damages back in June but that offer was rejected by the school. All six of the players left IU at the end of the 2024-25 season.
A report from October indicates Corsaro filed a tort claim against IU Indy. In that claim, Corsaro indicated that IU Indy defamed him and effectively ensured he’d never be hired as a coach again when they terminated him.
