Former University of Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne and track and field coach Fred Harvey have been dropped from a civil lawsuit filed by a former athlete who says she was abused by former assistant coach Craig Carter.
Baillie Gibson is suing the UA and Carter, saying that the school failed to protect her despite being aware of an inappropriate relationship between the two.
Carter was arrested in May 2015. He resigned as UA throws coach the same month, after the school began termination proceedings.
After he was read his Miranda rights, Carter told police that he choked Gibson and held a box cutter to her throat. While he says the two were in a romantic relationship, Gibson has maintained that it wasn’t consensual, saying that for years, Carter threatened her life and those of her family members.
While Byrne and Harvey were initially named as defendants in Gibson’s suit, on Nov. 20, Pima County Superior Court Judge Sarah Simmons dismissed the complaints against them without prejudice.
The state is required to pay for Carter’s defense in the civil suit, and as of the end of September, had spent nearly $640,000 on his legal bills.
Carter and his wife are countersuing Gibson, saying her accusations have caused the Carters emotional distress. They are also suing Gibson’s attorney, Lynne Cadigan, claiming that she defamed them.
Carter is scheduled for trial in March.
