Former Louisville player sues over handling of assault

• A former player says he was beaten and was coerced into a cover-up of the incident
• Patrick Grant says his scholarship was later taken away
• The suit was filed in Jefferson (Ky.) Circuit Court on Dec. 21

A former Louisville football player has filed a lawsuit against the school and head coach Charlie Strong, claiming he was coerced into lying about the cause of his injuries after being beaten by two teammates.

The lawsuit, filed in Jefferson Circuit Court on Dec. 21 on behalf of Patrick Grant, alleges that Grant was attacked by two teammates on Oct. 24, 2010 in the locker room at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium and beaten "so badly that he required immediate, urgent care and nearly lost his left eye," according to the suit.

And, the suit claims, on the way to the hospital, the team's trainer told Grant to "lie and cover up the fact that his injuries were at the hands of his teammates.

"Out of fear and desire to play, Patrick lied as instructed, telling the doctor that he was horsing around in the locker room and hit his eye on a locker door."

After sustaining an injury during a practice after the incident, the lawsuit claims a doctor told Grant he should no longer play football but was promised by Strong that his scholarship would remain.

But Grant claims in the lawsuit that Strong canceled his scholarship in a Jan. 4 phone call and "hung up" on him when he protested.

The suit alleges Louisville violated NCAA by-laws by canceling the scholarship without a hearing. The suit is requesting a judge order the school to reinstate the scholarship and is also seeking compensatory damages and a jury trial.

Claims made in filing a lawsuit present only one side of the case.

Louisville football spokesman Rocco Gasparro said he could not comment on pending litigation.

In July, a grand jury declined to indict former players Jacob and Isaac Geffrad on first-degree assault charges.

According to the criminal complaint, Grant suffered several injuries from the fight, including a fractured left eye socket that would later require two surgeries to save his sight and repair the bone structure.

The Geffrads, from Oakland Park, Fla., were dismissed from the team in November 2010, and no longer are enrolled at Louisville.

Jason Riley writes for The Courier-Journal in Louisville.