12:40 PM
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A former University of Louisville football player has filed a lawsuit claiming he was asked to cover up an attack perpetrated by two of his teammates -- and he claims his University and his coach failed to live up to their end of a bargain.
The lawsuit was filed on Dec. 21 in Jefferson Circuit Court by U of L football player Patrick Grant, against the University of Louisville, as well as U of L Football Coach Charlie Strong.
It concerns alleged events that took place on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2010, at 8:30 p.m., when Grant was sitting in the locker room at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. According to police, 18-year-old brothers Jacob and Isaac Geffrad -- Grant's teammates at the time -- allegedly attacked Grant.
According to the lawsuit, the teammates beat Grant so badly that "he required immediate, urgent care and nearly lost his left eye, the bones around it being fractured."
"His injuries to his left eye area were severe," the lawsuit states. "Several of the bones surrounding it were broken and he was internally bruised. In other words, Patrick had sustained a 'blowout fracture' caused by a blunt trauma to the head. These are generally caused from personal altercations. His eye was bulging too. His treating physician was required to probe around the eyeball without any anesthesia in order to determine the extent of Patrick's injuries."
The suit states that Grant underwent surgery, which included the removal of bone fragments from his face, and the insertion of facial implants to rebuild his face.
The Geffrad brothers were eventually charged with assault and kicked off the team.
A cover up?
But Grant claims the alleged assault itself wasn't the only wrong he suffered. According to the lawsuit, Grant was asked to cover up the circumstances of his injuries immediately after they took place.
"On the way to the hospital, the team's trainer told Patrick to lie and cover up the fact that his injuries were at the hands of his teammates," the lawsuit indicates. "Out of fear and desire to play, Patrick lied as instructed, telling the doctor that he was horsing around in the locker room and hit his eye on a locker door."
A short time after his injuries, Grant returned to play football, but had problems with his eyes after taking a "hard hit." The suit states that a doctor told him to stop playing football, unless he was insistent on an NFL career.
The suit states that "in apparent recognition of Patrick's dedication to the football team and everything he suffered at the hands of his teammates and his willingness to play by the 'rules' set by Coach Strong and his staff," Strong promised Grant that his 2011-12 athletic scholarship would remain in place.
"That scholarship would allow Patrick to continue in school in pursuit of a graduate degree in his chosen field: criminal justice," the suit states.
But according to the lawsuit, that scholarship was canceled on Jan. 4, 2012. When Grant protested that the cancellation broke an agreement, Coach Charlie Strong, "simply ended the call and hung up the phone," according to the lawsuit.
The cancellation was a violation of the NCAA bylines, the lawsuit alleges.
Grant is suing, claiming that the University of Louisville breached its contract, and failed to act in good faith when it ended his athletic scholarship. The suit demands that the court issue a declaratory judgment stopping the cancellation of Grant's athletic scholarship and granting him compensatory damages for his perceived wrongs.
A lawsuit represents only one side of a story.
We contacted the University of Louisville for its side of the story, but a spokesman told us the school does not comment on pending litigation.
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