College coach put players through ‘sexually explicit’ initiation ritual, UT lawsuit says

New players on the women’s soccer team at a Utah college were subjected to a “sexually explicit” initiation ritual called “hot seat,” according to a lawsuit filed by a senior goalkeeper.

The lawsuit, which names Westminster College and coach Tony LeBlanc as defendants, says “hot seat” took place while players were traveling on the team bus.

During the ritual, freshman and transfer players would be called to sit at the front of the bus across from LeBlanc and made to answer “sexually inappropriate” and “personally invasive” questions into a microphone, according to the federal lawsuit, which was filed March 7.

Common topics included questions about players’ sex lives, sexual preferences, sexual history and drug use, the lawsuit says.

The ritual had been going on “for years,” according to the lawsuit.

LeBlanc was “actively participating in or engaging with these sexually explicit ‘hot seat’ interrogations,’” the lawsuit says.

Westminster College, a private liberal arts college in Salt Lake City, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

In a statement sent to KSL, the college said it takes complaints of sexual harassment “seriously.”

“The college maintains the privacy of any student’s complaints and/or investigations and will respect the legal process,” the statement says, according to the outlet.

LeBlanc did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

In April 2021, the player named as the plaintiff in the lawsuit was subjected to the “hot seat” ritual while traveling on the team bus to an out of state match, the complaint says. She was a freshman at the time.

She felt “trapped” and was “extraordinarily uncomfortable” during the ritual, the lawsuit says.

She “became sick to her stomach as she anticipated being pressured to respond to questions no one should be compelled to answer publicly, particularly a young girl, and particularly in front of her male coach,” the lawsuit says.

LeBlanc “encouraged and participated in the conduct,” the lawsuit says.

The player’s father later tried to file a formal Title IX sexual harassment complaint, but the college decided to handle it as an “internal personnel matter,” the lawsuit says. Title IX protects people in federally funded educational settings from discrimination based on sex.

LeBlanc was placed on a “brief” administrative leave, the lawsuit says, but when he returned, he “proceeded to retaliate against (the player) by benching her in games.”

Her father then filed a retaliation complaint with the college’s Title IX office, and LeBlanc resumed putting the player on the field, the lawsuit says.

Because of LeBlanc’s “sexually harassing, abusive, and exploitative” behavior, the player has suffered “extreme emotional distress and/or psychological damage,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit seeks damages of an amount to be determined at trial and attorney’s fees.

University fired professor who reported sexual misconduct, Oregon lawsuit says

Wells Fargo executive ‘barged in’ to colleague’s hotel room and raped her, lawsuit says

Property owner treated female workers as objects for ‘sexual gratification,’ feds say