Ex-Virginia football recruit Aidan Howard files hazing lawsuit vs. school
A former University of Virginia football recruit claims he was left with a serious eye injury after upperclassmen forced him to fight a fellow 2016 recruit, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court.
Aidan Howard, a recruit from Monroeville, Pa., alleged he was subjected to bullying and hazing in the 21-page lawsuit that seeks unspecified damages, but it was a fight arranged by UVA wide receivers Doni Dowling and David Eldridge that was the most striking allegation. The two receivers allegedly erected a makeshift ring in the locker room using athletic tape after an August practice and pitted Howard and freshman receiver Hasise Dubois against one another.
The fight “was a part of Aidan’s ‘initiation’ into the football program and to prove his toughness and manliness,” according to the lawsuit filed U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania last week. Dowling, Eldridge, offensive coordinator/inside receivers coach Robert Anae, wide receivers coach Marques Hagans , school president Teresa Sullivan and athletic director Craig Littlepage are listed as defendants in the case.
“Dowling and Eldridge and others took Aidan and Hassis to separate entrances to the football program’s locker room, and then forced Aidan and Hassis to ‘enter the ring’ to flashing lights, loud music, and announcements to simulate a ‘prize fight,’” Howard’s lawyer, James Zeszutek, wrote in the lawsuit.
The fight came to a quick end as Howard sustained a blow to the head that resulted in a concussion and an eye injury. Howard was diagnosed with a broken orbital bone in September and underwent surgery, according to the lawsuit.
UVA said in a statement to ESPN that it “has been actively investigating these reports consistent with its obligations under the law and university policy.”
Howard was granted his full release from the school and enrolled Robert Morris University. He had planned on playing football this season at the school, but the lawsuit alleges the eye injury prevented him from doing so.
Howard, who was diagnosed with a learning disability after he arrived on campus in Charlottesville, Va. in July, was called “stupid,” “dumb,” “slow,” and “retarded” for not grasping the playbook, the lawsuit alleges.
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