The Ursuline High School lawsuit is actually four separate lawsuits filed in 2025 against the private Catholic school in Youngstown, Ohio, its principal and assistant principal, its athletic director, football coaches, the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, and several students. Filed by attorney Subodh Chandra of the Chandra Law Firm, the suits alleged hazing, sexual assault, sexual harassment, anti-gay bullying, and a physical attack, along with a pattern of administrative cover-up. Three federal cases have since settled on confidential terms; a fourth, filed in state court, remains open after mediation failed in June 2026.
What the Primary Hazing Lawsuit Alleged
The lead case, filed September 2, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, centered on a nine-day football camp held June 12 through June 20, 2025, that traveled through Florida, Tennessee, and Alabama.1Trib Today. Hey Ursuline, It’s Not Just Boys Being Boys According to the 200-page complaint, football players held a freshman teammate down, stripped him, humiliated him, and one player sexually assaulted him while others recorded the abuse. The videos were posted to the team’s group Snapchat and spread from there.2Ideastream. Lawsuit Alleges Hazing, Sexual Assault by Football Players at Ursuline High School in Youngstown
The lawsuit alleged the victim’s mother reported the abuse to assistant coach Timothy McGlynn on June 16 and that McGlynn responded, “It’s just boys being boys.” Principal Matthew Sammartino and Assistant Principal Margaret Damore were also notified, the complaint said, but failed to investigate and attempted to cover up the misconduct.1Trib Today. Hey Ursuline, It’s Not Just Boys Being Boys
The defendants included the Diocese, Ursuline, Sammartino, Damore, head football coach Daniel Reardon, assistant coaches McGlynn and Christian Syrianoudis, and eleven football players along with their parents.3Spectrum News 1. Ursuline High School Hazing Lawsuit Coaches The claims included hazing, physical and sexual assault, kidnapping, and the production and dissemination of child pornography.1Trib Today. Hey Ursuline, It’s Not Just Boys Being Boys
Three More Lawsuits Followed
A second federal lawsuit was filed on September 10, 2025, a Title IX complaint by a female student and her mother against Damore, Athletic Director John DeSantis, the Diocese, a student identified as “Ursuline Player-6,” and that student’s parents.4Cleveland 19. 2nd Lawsuit Against Ursuline High School Alleges Sexual Harassment, Stalking by Football Player The complaint alleged the male student solicited sex and nude photos beginning in June 2023 and, after being rejected, chased the girl, picked her up, dropped her, and dragged her 30 feet across a turf field, causing severe turf burns.5Ideastream. New Lawsuit Filed Against Ursuline High School and One of Its Football Players Damore and DeSantis, according to the suit, told the mother not to involve authorities and promised to “handle it” by separating the students. The harassment continued, and the family sold their home and moved.
A third federal lawsuit followed on November 17, 2025, on behalf of an openly gay male student who enrolled as a freshman in August 2023. It alleged football players harassed him throughout the 2023–2024 school year with homophobic slurs, thrown food, and mockery of his makeup, and that a teacher joined in by commenting, “He has more makeup on than me.”6WOSU. Youngstown’s Ursuline High School Denies Claims of Assault, Harassment of Gay Student The named defendants were Ursuline, the Diocese, Damore, and an unnamed student described as the “ringleader.”7Trib Today. Ursuline Facing 3rd Federal Suit
The fourth lawsuit, filed November 24, 2025, in the Mahoning County Court of Common Pleas, alleged school officials received multiple warnings about a planned attack on a female student in April 2024 and did nothing. The mother emailed a staff member who alerted Damore, and another student also warned officials. The attack allegedly went ahead, leaving the victim with a concussion and lasting health problems. Ursuline called the claims “baseless and completely without merit.”8Yahoo News. Fourth Lawsuit Filed Against Ursuline
An Amended Complaint Broadened the Case
In November 2025, Chandra filed a 290-page amended complaint in the primary case alleging a “culture of hazing going back to at least 2022.”9WKBN. Expanded Federal Lawsuit Filed Against Ursuline It cited one video from the 2022 camp, nine from 2023, and three from 2025, added a new plaintiff family alleging their son was hazed at the 2024 camp, and named Athletic Director DeSantis as an additional defendant. The amended complaint claimed Principal Sammartino, when confronted with videos, told students to delete evidence and “not say anything to anyone.”10Athletic Business. Lawsuit Against Ursuline High School Amended to Allege Four-Year Hazing Culture
How Ursuline and the Diocese Responded
The Diocese and Ursuline denied the allegations of a hazing culture in a December 1, 2025 federal filing. They said coaches did not learn of the June 2025 allegations until after camp ended and that administrators were formally notified on June 23 by a parent. The school said it opened an internal investigation, notified the Youngstown Police Department and child protective services in two counties, and disciplined eight students: one withdrew during proceedings, two withdrew beforehand, one was suspended for the season, and four were permitted to return pending investigations.11WKBN. Ursuline Denies Hazing Culture in Lawsuit Response
The defense said it turned over the plaintiffs’ videos to police but could not authenticate them and was “unable to interpret the acts shown.” Coaches, it said, had received appropriate training and supervision was present during camps.11WKBN. Ursuline Denies Hazing Culture in Lawsuit Response In the gay student’s case, the school and Diocese responded in January 2026 that a grandmother had reported only “vague, limited, and unspecific concerns” about off-campus issues in spring 2024, and that the student himself denied any incidents when questioned.6WOSU. Youngstown’s Ursuline High School Denies Claims of Assault, Harassment of Gay Student
Fallout for the Football Program
On September 8, 2025, head coach Reardon agreed to an indeterminate suspension, and assistant coaches McGlynn and Syrianoudis were placed on administrative leave. Michael Frasco was named interim head coach.3Spectrum News 1. Ursuline High School Hazing Lawsuit Coaches12Spectrum News 1. Ursuline High School Cancels Season13News-Herald. Ursuline Cancels Remainder of Its 2025 High School Football Season
Players who transferred to other schools ran into an eligibility problem. On September 15, 2025, the OHSAA announced that any mid-season transfer would be ineligible for the rest of 2025 and would have to sit out the first five regular-season games of 2026.14WKYC. Ursuline Football Players Transfer to Different Schools, Won’t Play This Season15Trib Today. Ex-Ursuline Football Players Get Temporary Restraining Order in OHSAA Case16WFMJ. Trumbull County Court Grants Temporary Restraining Order Against OHSAA Ruling on Ursuline Transfers17The Vindicator. Court Denies Ex-Ursuline Players TRO Request Again
Key Rulings by Judge Pearson
U.S. District Judge Benita Y. Pearson oversaw all three federal cases. In October 2025, she allowed the plaintiffs to proceed under the pseudonyms “Jane Doe,” “Son Doe,” and “Daughter Doe,” but denied the same protection to the minor defendants, ruling they had not justified anonymity.18GovInfo. USCOURTS-ohnd-4:25-cv-01822
In December 2025, Judge Pearson imposed a gag order barring all parties and attorneys from public statements about the cases or disparaging remarks about defendants, and ordered both sides to remove blog posts and online material from their firms’ websites by December 19. She cited a “substantial probability” that public commentary could prejudice a fair trial, noting jurors would be drawn from Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbiana counties.19The Vindicator. Judge Orders Ban on Commentary by Parties in Ursuline Lawsuits
Where the Cases Stand Now
By mid-2026, all three federal lawsuits had been marked “settled and dismissed without prejudice,” meaning they are closed but could be reopened if settlement terms are not met. Financial terms are confidential, and final approval requires state probate court proceedings because the cases involve minors.20WFMJ. Settlements Reached in Ursuline Civil Rights Lawsuits
In the primary hazing case, the student defendants settled in stages. Ten students reached a deal on March 18, 2026, and the remaining student and his mother were dismissed on April 28. As of May 2026, the institutional defendants remained in that suit: Ursuline, the Diocese, Reardon, Sammartino, Damore, McGlynn, Syrianoudis, and DeSantis.21Trib Today. Defendants in Ursuline Hazing Suit Reach Deal
The second lawsuit settled with the Diocese, Ursuline, Damore, and DeSantis, and claims against the individual student and his parents were dismissed. The third lawsuit, involving the gay student, also settled with the Diocese, Ursuline, and Damore.20WFMJ. Settlements Reached in Ursuline Civil Rights Lawsuits
The fourth lawsuit, the state-court case over the April 2024 attack, is not resolved. A mediation session before Judge Anthony Donofrio in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on June 12, 2026, failed to produce an agreement among Ursuline, Damore, and the Diocese.22The Vindicator. Resolution Reached in Ursuline Hazing Suit
Criminal Investigation Status
The Youngstown Police Department confirmed in September 2025 that it was actively investigating the hazing allegations but declined to provide details, citing the involvement of minors.23Trib Today. Youngstown Confirms That Police Are Investigating Ursuline Hazing Allegations As of the most recent reporting, no criminal charges have been publicly announced against any players, coaches, or school officials.24Cleveland 19. Federal Lawsuit Accuses Ursuline High School Football Players of Hazing, Sexual Assault