By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
A seventh-grade softball player at the Hun School of Princeton was overworked, made to pitch despite being in pain and later injured, according to a lawsuit the girl’s mother filed last week against the school, the head of the athletic department and his assistant.
Jane Woods sued in Mercer County Superior Court on behalf of her daughter Cailin Christianson, a victim of a “win at all costs” mindset that led her then 13-year-old daughter to pitch two entire games on April 11 and 13, 2012, and all the practices before the season and in between those two games, the suit contends.
The lawsuit alleged that before the start of the next game, on April 17, Cailin told her coach of feeling discomfort in her back. She was sent to an on campus sports facility, known as Source, checked out by a trainer for muscle knots and sent back to the field, the suit said.
The suit alleges that at the direction of athletic director William Quirk Jr., “Cailin was told to pitch the game despite her complaints of discomfort.”
“After one of the early innings, Cailin was in the dugout when defendant William Quirk directed (her) to follow him behind a shed near home plate,” the suit alleged. The mother claimed that he instructed her daughter to lie down on her side while he was on top of her “with all of his weight manipulating (her) body.”
He had her switch sides and repeated the maneuver, the suit claimed. Telling her to stand up, he stood behind her and performed what the suit called a “bear hug squeeze” and lifted her off the ground, the suit alleged. Cailin “heard a cracking/popping sound in her back and was in excruciating pain,” the suit alleged in calling the squeeze an “assault and battery.”
Told to pitch, she eventually removed herself from the game, although she was forced to finish pitching the inning.
“Rather than properly rest Cailin’s arm and body and track her pitch counts, defendants took a ‘win at all costs’ approach and required Cailin to pitch all games and practices,” the suit said. She overused “her body in an unhealthy and dangerous manner at defendant’s direction due to the repetitive motions required to pitch.”
The suit named the school, Mr. Quirk and assistant athletic director Kathryn Quirk as defendants. Ms. Woods claimed they are negligent for not protecting her daughter from injury, not communicating with the family “of an injury which required professional medical care,” “negligently causing bodily injury and harm by performing manipulations to plaintiff’s body without proper training,” among other things.
Neither Ms. Woods, a resident of Connecticut, nor her lawyer, Robert W. Rubinstein, could be reached for comment Monday.
Hun Headmaster Jonathan Brougham said in a statement Monday that the school cannot comment on a lawsuit of which it has not received a copy.
“Hun School student athletes receive the best possible care both on and off the field by certified athletic trainers and staff,” his statement read. “While we do our best to prevent and avoid injuries, there is always the possibility of physical discomfort or injury during athletic play. Student athletes who present persistent or serious injuries are encouraged to seek medical care.”
