Monaco Baseball Lawsuit: Allegations, USF Response, and Status

The USF baseball lawsuit is a pair of federal cases in which 19 former University of San Francisco players accuse head coach Nino Giarratano and assistant coach Troy Nakamura of years of sexual harassment, physical abuse, and psychological intimidation, and accuse the university of ignoring complaints that reached back more than two decades. The first suit was filed in March 2022; a second followed in June 2025. Both coaches were fired in early 2022. As of mid-2025, no settlement has been reached and no trial date is set.¹

What the Players Allege

The original 113-page complaint, filed March 11, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, described a “long-standing history of abuse” dating to 1999 and an “intolerable sexualized environment” inside the baseball program.² Fourteen former players, proceeding as John Does 1 through 14, were plaintiffs in the first case. Five more, John Does 15 through 19, filed the second suit in June 2025. All attended USF between 1999 and 2023.

Allegations Against Troy Nakamura

Nakamura, who served as assistant and later associate head coach, faces the most graphic accusations. The complaint alleges it was considered “normal” on the team to see him “naked on the field or in a window, swinging his penis in a helicopter fashion while the entire team — and Giarratano — watched.”² Players alleged he crawled onto the field naked during a team skit, showered with players, entered their hotel rooms wearing only a towel, described his sexual desires to them, and in one incident instructed a player to perform a handstand while he pretended to eat from the player’s genital area.³ In an allegation of sexual orientation discrimination, Nakamura reportedly staged a skit depicting two players who had not publicly come out as gay simulating anal sex.

Allegations Against Nino Giarratano

Giarratano, who coached USF baseball for 24 seasons, is accused of fostering and tolerating what Nakamura did. Players alleged he witnessed the on-field nudity and responded by kissing a cross on his necklace and looking skyward rather than stepping in.¹ The complaint characterized his conduct as “persistent psychological abuse and repeated inappropriate sexual conduct.”⁴

The 2025 complaint added allegations of direct physical violence. Giarratano allegedly punched one player in the chest and grabbed John Doe 17 by the neck, squeezed, and threw him to the ground. On another occasion he allegedly shoved the same player during a conditioning run while yelling profanities.¹

Retaliation and Harm

The suit alleges a broader pattern of verbal abuse, public shaming, and intimidation that drove players out of the program. At least one player reportedly contemplated suicide, and another experienced stress-related health problems that led to five emergency room visits.⁵ Players who resisted the coaches’ behavior, or whose parents complained, allegedly faced retaliation and were effectively run off the team.³ Of the 19 total plaintiffs, most say they left USF before completing their degrees because of the alleged misconduct.

How USF Handled the Complaints

USF has said it first became aware of complaints about the baseball program’s environment in late 2021. An internal investigation led to Nakamura’s suspension in December 2021 and his termination on January 13, 2022. Giarratano received an “official reprimand” on January 24, 2022, but kept his job. The university concluded that coaches had shown “poor judgment and lack of supervision” but said it “did not find evidence of a widespread harmful culture within the baseball program.”²

Two days after the class-action complaint became public in March 2022, USF fired Giarratano. Athletic director Joan McDermott said the “new allegations in the lawsuit” and his decision to allow the already-fired Nakamura back onto the baseball field were “extremely concerning.”⁶ University president Rev. Paul J. Fitzgerald reopened the internal investigation and apologized “to current and former students who have been affected.”⁷

McDermott retired as athletic director on June 10, 2022, during a stretch of overlapping scandals in USF athletics that also included a separate lawsuit over women’s basketball and a Sports Illustrated investigation into the men’s soccer program.⁸ The lawsuit specifically alleged McDermott had received at least four formal complaints about the coaching staff dating back to 2000, failed to forward them to the Title IX office as required, and in one case shared a parent’s complaint directly with the coaches, who then allegedly retaliated against the player involved.³

Where the Case Stands

The litigation sits with U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler in the Northern District of California (Case No. 22-cv-01559-LB). Several rulings have narrowed it.

On January 4, 2023, Judge Beeler dismissed the claims of John Does 4 through 12 — players from the 1999 to 2018 seasons — on statute-of-limitations grounds, finding they “knew about the misconduct” when it occurred. She also dismissed all claims against the NCAA for lack of personal jurisdiction, citing the association’s Indianapolis headquarters. She let the core discrimination claims against USF, Giarratano, and Nakamura proceed, writing that “because the plaintiffs alleged a sexualized environment that was severe, persistent, and pervasive, the court denies the motion to dismiss.”⁹ Title IX retaliation claims were separately dismissed because the plaintiffs had not adequately pled “protected activity.” Title IX claims brought by the 11 players whose other claims were dismissed on timeliness grounds remain pending against USF.¹

On March 5, 2025, Judge Beeler denied class certification, ruling the case could not proceed as a class action representing all USF baseball players since 2000. Plaintiffs’ attorney Beth Fegan called the decision “procedural,” saying it reflected the court’s preference for individual trials. The remaining plaintiffs will have to pursue their claims separately.¹⁰

The plaintiffs refiled against the NCAA in the Southern District of Indiana (Case No. 1:23-cv-00542), bringing claims of breach of contract, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. On July 2, 2024, an Indiana federal judge dismissed that case, though the dismissal was described as being “at least for the time being.”¹¹

On June 25, 2025, John Does 15 through 19 filed a second 52-page complaint in the same San Francisco federal court, naming USF, Giarratano, and Nakamura. All five attended the school between 2020 and 2023, and four said they left early because of the alleged abuse.¹² This complaint introduced the physical-assault allegations against Giarratano and claimed USF had no sexual misconduct policy addressing the coach-athlete power dynamic. The court may consolidate the 19 plaintiffs’ claims for a joint trial.¹

Plaintiffs’ attorneys say USF has “refused every opportunity to even sit and discuss resolution.” USF spokesperson Kellie Samson has said the university “has continued to litigate the case” because the “most serious allegations have not been borne out by the facts.”¹

The Program Today

USF hired Rob DiToma, previously the head coach at Fairleigh Dickinson, as its new head baseball coach in the summer of 2022. In June 2026, the university announced it had renewed his contract through the 2030 season. No NCAA sanctions against the program have been publicly reported.¹³

1
San Francisco Chronicle. Former USF Players Sue Ex-Coaches, School
2
ESPN. Ex-San Francisco Dons Baseball Players Sue Former Coaches
3
Courthouse News Service. Baseball Players Dodge Dismissal in Discrimination Suit Against USF Coaches
4
ABC7 News. USF Baseball Coach Fired Amid Sexual Conduct Lawsuit
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FeganScott. USF NCAA Abuse Case
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ESPN. University of San Francisco Fires Baseball Coach Nino Giarratano
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ABC News. University of San Francisco Fires Baseball Coach Nino Giarratano
8
Mercury News. McDermott Retires as USF Athletic Director Amid Scandals
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GovInfo. Doe v. NCAA, No. 22-cv-01559-LB, Order on Motions to Dismiss
10
San Francisco Chronicle. Judge Rules on Lawsuit by Ex-USF Baseball Players
11
Law360. NCAA Escapes USF Baseball Coach Abuse Suit for Now
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Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein. New Plaintiffs File Second USF Baseball Misconduct Lawsuit
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USF Dons. USF Announces Baseball Staffing Changes