New lawsuits alleging child sex abuse and drug use filed in SC Rockstar Cheer scandal

Three new lawsuits alleging sexual abuse were filed in federal court in Greenville Tuesday against Rockstar Cheer and organizations and coaches allied with the now-closed Greenville gym.

The actions were brought on behalf of a male athlete and two female athletes with allegations similar to those described in other lawsuits filed by Strom Law Firm in Columbia on behalf of other victims.

The lawsuit alleges that the organizations formed a vast conspiracy that put profits over safety and disregarded complaints that coaches and other adults were abusing the young athletes.

Varsity Brands, one of the organizations named in the lawsuit, issued a statement denying they “enabled such unthinkable behavior.”

“Children should be protected and safe at all times, and no child should ever be exposed to the kind of abhorrent behavior and abuse alleged in the complaints.,” the company said in the statement. “We are outraged that predators took advantage of cheerleading programs to abuse innocent children. “

The lawsuit describes a world of children abusing drugs and alcohol given to them by coaches and other adults during out-of-state competitions and in an apartment known as Rockstar House in Greenville.

Rockstar owner Scott Foster shot himself to death on Aug. 22, knowing an investigation into his acts with children was underway, the lawsuit says.

Named as defendants were Varsity Brands, Varsity Spirit, Varsity Brands Holding Company, U.S. All Star Federation, All Star Federation, USA Federation for Sport Cheering Charlesbank Capital Partners, LP, Bain Capital, LP, Jeff Webb, Rockstar Cheer & Dance, Katherine Anne Foster as the personal representative of the Estate of Scott Foster, Kathy Foster, Josh Guyton, Christopher Hinton and Traevon Black.

Plaintiff Jane Doe 8 began cheering at Rockstar in 2014 and a year later when she was 15 met coach Joshua Guyton. He took her to a party at Traevon Black’s house, where underage athletes were given alcohol and marijuana.

The lawsuit says Jane Doe 8 was forced to participate in “the firetruck game,” during which players slide their hands up the upper thigh of another person until that person says “red light.”

“The person whose hands are traveling typically does not stop and instead replies, “firetrucks don’t stop for red lights,” the lawsuit says.

Guyton, a two-time world champion cheerleader before he was a coach, played firetruck with Jane Doe 8 and then took her to a bedroom and had sex with her, the lawsuit alleges. He had sex two or three other times with her and bragged of his conquest with a 15-year-old, the lawsuit says.

Scott Foster told her he knew she had sex with Guyton.

When she was 16, coach Christopher Hinton sent her sexually explicit messages on Instagram and nude photos on Snapchat.

He forcibly groped, touched and kissed her, the lawsuit says.

Jane Doe 9 was 13 and living in Virginia when she started cheerleading at Rockstar Greenville, commuting 7 hours each weekend with her mother. Her coach was Kathy Foster, wife of Scott Foster.

She “recalls other cheer parents and coaches purchasing and providing alcohol for her and other minor athletes” and numerous times when she was 14 became intoxicated.

From 15 to 17 she hung out at an apartment, known as a “Rockstar house,” a place for partying and drug use after cheer practice.

She was given alcohol, LSD, acid, psychedelic mushrooms, cocaine and MDMA by adult coaches, the lawsuit says.

“Plaintiff Jane Doe 9 describes her experience at Rockstar during this time as a ‘cycle’ of practice, using drugs to the point of gross intoxication, engaging in sexual acts, returning to the gym the following day for practice, and repeating the cycle,” the lawsuit says.

She said at a competition in Florida when she was drunk, Guyton took her to his car and sexually assaulted her. Coaches and athletes were often assigned to the same hotel rooms, where they had after parties involving drug and alcohol use and “sexual debauchery.”

She left the gym in 2019 and has struggled with substance abuse and mental health problems, the lawsuit says.

John Doe 3 was 15 in 2014 when he joined Rockstar with a goal of becoming a cheer coach one day. He had sex numerous times with coach Traevon Black, who was 20, from 2014 to 2015.

The relationship was well known among coaches, some of whom sent John Doe 3 sexually explicit messages and photos and made comments in front of other athletes and coaches. Scott Foster gave him alcohol and cigarettes while they were at a competition at Disney World in 2015 and cocaine at another time.

He has been to sexual abuse therapy, the lawsuit says.

Last month, the Strom Firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of two cheerleaders in the U.S. District Court for West Tennessee. It accuses Dominick “Nick” Frizzell of abuse and Premier Athletics of continuing to employ him despite having heard the allegations..

He is now suspended, pending the resolution of the lawsuit, as are the other coaches from Rockstar Cheer, including Kathy Foster, Guyton and Black.

“With every new victim, it becomes clearer that Varsity Spirit, Bain Capital and the USASF had to know what was happening at these gyms and competitions across the country,” said Bakari Sellers of the Strom Firm. “They knew, and yet, as long as the checks kept coming in, they didn’t care.”

Jessica Fickling, also a Strom Firm lawyer, said, “Every new survivor comes with a new horror story. In addition to the alcohol, drugs and abuse, the common link is that this wasn’t a secret to the people in charge.”

A lawsuit is also pending in state court in Greenville against Scott Foster and Rockstar Cheer, filed in September by Chappell, Smith and Arden of Columbia and Bannister, Wyatt & Stalvey of Greenville, who are representing one victim who said Scott Foster spent six months talking to her in 2020, sent her nude pictures of himself and asked for nude pictures of her before talking her into performing sex acts at his home, in his vehicle, at the gym and in hotels during competitions. Foster also gave the girl alcohol, the lawsuit says.

She suffered extensive pain, emotional distress, mental anguish, medical expenses, permanent injury and disability, economic loss, and time away from school and education, the lawsuit says..

Kathy Foster announced Rockstar is permanently closed and gyms across the country have dropped the Rockstar brand.