Three former University of San Francisco baseball players filed a class-action lawsuit Friday, alleging head coach Nino Giarratano and a former assistant oversaw an environment that “included persistent psychological abuse and repeated inappropriate sexual conduct.”
The 113-page lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, names the NCAA, USF, assistant coach Troy Nakamura and Giarratano, who has been the Dons’ head coach since 1999.
“The University of San Francisco is aware that a class action suit has been filed in U.S. District Court naming USF, the NCAA, and USF baseball coaches,” USF said in a statement. “The charges in the court filing are extremely concerning and are in direct opposition to USF’s core values. We condemn the abusive and degrading behavior described in the lawsuit. We are committed to our current and former student athletes, and we are committed to determining the facts in the case.
“USF will have a more detailed response after a thorough review of the lawsuit.”
In December, USF suspended both Giarratano and Nakamura after receiving complaints about inappropriate behavior. An investigation led to Nakamura’s termination on Jan. 13.
“While the investigation did not find evidence of a widespread harmful culture within the baseball program, the reported incidents indicated that coaches showed poor judgment and lack of supervision,” the school said then in a statement.
The three former players, identified as John Does in the lawsuit, described varying forms of abuse and described a culture in which “it was ‘normal’ to see [Nakamura] naked on the field or in a window, swinging his penis in a helicopter fashion while the entire team — and [Giarratano] — watched.”
John Doe 1 alleges that Giarratano referred to him using several expletives and repeatedly berated him in an attempt to pressure him to leave the program (he had a significant four-year guaranteed scholarship). He entered the transfer portal in January.
John Doe 2 outlined a pattern of verbal and emotional abuse that resulted in five emergency room visits in the fall of 2021, which contributed to his decision to leave the program.
John Doe 3 said Giarratano told him he was a waste of space, that none of his teammates or coaches liked him and said, “I wish I could take my bat and hit your head as hard as I can and maybe I can get your brain to work,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges the NCAA and USF breached their contractual obligations, as outlined in the NCAA Division I Manual, on numerous grounds, including a failure to “prohibit sexual harassment and/or sexual abuse of student-athletes by athletics department personnel.”
The lawsuit also alleges multiple players have become suicidal as a result of Giarratano and Nakamura’s behavior, but does not provide any additional context.
Former USF baseball player Tyler Imbach described having suicidal thoughts in a public Instagram post in September, and told the San Francisco Chronicle this week: “The USF thing definitely compounded my mental health issues. USF was a rough experience, just the way I was treated by the coaching staff. It kind of sent me over the edge.”
Imbach told the Chronicle he received “verbal abuse” from Giarratano.
The mother of John Doe 1 also told the Chronicle she was concerned her son might harm himself as a result of how he was treated by the USF coaches.