Attorney Alexandra Benevento, center, speaks with reporters during a news conference announcing a cheerleader abuse lawsuit filed in Tennessee on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, in Memphis, Tenn. Sprawling allegations of abuse against cheerleaders reached Tennessee on Monday in a case that escalates the accusations facing some of the sport's top institutions.
The coach has not been charged, and The Associated Press is not naming him. USASF did not immediately respond to an email request seeking comment. Premier said it heard Sept. 18 from one athlete that another athlete had a “physical relationship” with the coach. After reporting that allegation to local law enforcement and USASF, Premier said, it did not contact the alleged victim's family to avoid any accusations of interfering with an investigation.
Also in July, USASF sent the coach a report notifying him of the allegations. That same week, the boys allege in the lawsuit, the coach worked at camps run by the Universal Cheerleaders Association, which was established by Varsity founder Jeff Webb, and remained a Varsity representative. “Varsity and the companies that it empowers have an endowment that is funded on the backs of these athletes," attorney Jessica Fickling said. "The athletes and their families pay copious amounts of money to ensure that this sport continues. And for that money they are given a promise that they are gong to be safe, that the environments that they cheer in, the gyms and competitions, will be safe. And yet, those environments are ill-equipped to handle these kinds of allegations.