Lawsuit: Former Arizona Wildcats swimming coach bullied student for reporting assault

A former member of the University of Arizona swim team is suing the school, saying he was pressured to quit the team after reporting his assault by a former teammate, documents show.

In a lawsuit filed last week in Pima County Superior Court, Nicholas Hogsed alleges that the UA and Arizona Board of Regents were negligent and inflicted emotional distress on him by failing to protect him from retaliation by former head swimming coach Rick DeMont.

Hogsed was a sophomore last August when he was “violently attacked by a fellow men’s swimming team member who appeared heavily intoxicated on alcohol, drugs or both,” the lawsuit says.

Hogsed was taken to the hospital for his injuries and reported the assault to the UA and his swimming coaches, including DeMont, according to the lawsuit.

“Instead of taking any action to address the hostility, Coach DeMont retaliated against him by repeatedly blaming, demeaning and belittling (Hogsed) for reporting the matter to the UA Dean of Students Office,” the lawsuit says.

DeMont told Hogsed he was hurting the team and was responsible for getting beat up, also saying he was “playing the victim” and needed to “be a man,” according to the lawsuit.

Hogsed also alleges that DeMont told him “his door was always open” if Hogsed wanted to talk “about something real instead of ‘this pissant bullshit,' ” the lawsuit says.

For the rest of the semester, DeMont continued to ridicule Hogsed and pressured him to quit the team, encouraging teammates to have nothing to do with Hogsed and not to swim next to him in practice, according to the lawsuit.

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A UA spokesman said the university does not comment on pending litigation.

Hogsed sought a transfer to another school, asking DeMont for a release that would allow him to swim on another team.

The lawsuit says DeMont told Hogsed he’d only grant a release if Hogsed dropped the assault complaint he made to the Dean of Students.

Hogsed left the UA in December because of the “hostile environment and severe mental anguish created by DeMont,” the lawsuit says. DeMont, a former Olympian, retired in June after 30 years as an assistant and head coach.

In the months following the assault, Hogsed lost weight and suffered from anxiety, sleep disturbances, flashbacks, stomach sickness, stress fear and headaches, according to the lawsuit.

The school had a duty to respond to reports of student-on-student violence, and should have known that by ignoring the report and retaliating against Hogsed, his education and swimming opportunities would suffer, the lawsuit says.

“DeMont’s conduct in retaliating against and bullying (Hogsed) to leave the school was extreme and outrageous,” the lawsuit said, adding that DeMont’s behavior was either intentional or reckless.

Hogsed is asking that the court award him damages that include medical care for his injuries, future medical expenses, loss of educational opportunities, loss of past and future wages, legal fees and general damages.