A former Ohio University baseball player has sued the school, alleging that his career ended because his coach discouraged players from complaining about injuries.
RyLee Rogers, a catcher from Cambridge, Ohio, is seeking more than $25,000 in the lawsuit filed recently in the Ohio Court of Claims, The Athens Messenger reported.
University spokeswoman Katie Quaranta said the school doesn't comment on pending litigation, but confirmed Rogers is currently enrolled at the university.
Rogers suffered a tear in the shoulder cartilage of his throwing arm in the Bobcats' 2012 baseball season and underwent corrective surgery before returning to the team for the 2013 season, according to the lawsuit.
Head baseball coach Rob Smith then assigned Rogers to be a bullpen catcher for the annual varsity-alumni game, and he was required to make an "excessive" number of throws, the lawsuit states. Rogers suffered another torn labrum in his throwing arm and underwent surgery that ended his baseball career, according to the lawsuit.
The suit claims Smith discouraged players from complaining about soreness or physical limitations and discouraged them from sitting out of scheduled activities.
Smith, originally named as a defendant, was dismissed from the lawsuit by a magistrate's ruling that said only state agencies and instrumentalities can be defendants in original suits in the Ohio Court of Claims.
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A message left Thursday for Smith at the university was not immediately returned.
