Football (file photo)

By Cecilia Levine From Daily Voice

A bisexual former high school football player has filed a civil complaint in New Jersey, claiming he faced months of anti-LGBTQ harassment from classmates and that the district failed to protect him.

The player, a former student at Arthur P. Schalick High School in Pittsgrove, says the harassment began after he posted on Snapchat on March 14, 2022 that he was bisexual, according to the complaint filed Oct. 29 in Salem County Superior Court. The athlete said another football player, identified as T.H., repeatedly called him “f****t,” “gay,” “fairy,” and “gay boy” in the school weight room and at lunch.

The complaint says coaches and teachers were present but “took no action.” The athlete said other players followed along and used similar slurs.

In June 2022, the athlete said he was in the weight room when T.H. “grabbed Plaintiff by the testicles,” according to the filing. He said the touching “frequently reoccurred during practice or in the weight room.” The athlete reported being harassed daily through mini-camp, classes, team meals, practices and games during his sophomore and junior years, the suit says.

The athlete said he did not initially report the behavior but that it happened openly in front of faculty members and coaches, according to the complaint. By November 2022, he told his mother about the harassment and said he was considering quitting football. According to the complaint, he told her that if he had to return to school with T.H. “he would commit suicide,” court filings show.

The lawsuit says the athlete's mother contacted the school on Nov. 28, 2022. A Zoom meeting followed on Dec. 2, where the athlete formally reported the harassment. He said he was told a harassment, intimidation and bullying investigation would be opened and decided within 10 days, according to the complaint.

Three days later, the athlete said the school nurse informed him he was being unenrolled because of absences. After his mother alerted administrators, Assistant Principal Kevin Mulhern told her to disregard the email because “she was not aware of the situation,” the complaint states.

On Jan. 30, 2023, the athlete received two letters: one stating the HIB investigation had been completed and “it was founded,” and another stating he was unenrolled due to absences. His mother contacted the district again and reminded them he could not attend classes with T.H. “in his current mental state,” according to the filing.

The complaint says the athlete never returned to school and that the district “failed to accommodate Plaintiff.” In the suit, he claims the conduct created a “hostile and/or abusive and/or intimidating educational environment” and that the district was aware of the behavior but “failed to stop same.”

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages as well as court-ordered policy changes, including annual staff training and district-wide assemblies on discrimination and reporting.

Daily Voice reached out to district officials for comment on Saturday morning, Dec. 6. They had not responded as of press time.