A history-making college athlete with Down syndrome is suing school staff members for discrimination and assault
In 2021, Caden Cox was celebrated as the first college football player with Down syndrome to play in an official game and score. But the former Hocking College student is now suing the school, saying staff there discriminated against him.
In the lawsuit, filed by Cox's mother Mari Cox, the college athlete accuses his former supervisor Matthew Kmosko of "persistent derogatory, discriminatory, and abusive verbal harassment."
Cox was employed by the Ohio community college's Student Recreation Center and Kmosko was the former coordinator of the center and a soccer coach at the school. The suit says Cox filed several complaints with the school about Kmosko's misconduct, which culminated in May 2022 when he allegedly held Cox "at knifepoint in a campus bathroom during his work shift."
The suit also names Hocking College President Betty Young and the school's board for allegedly ignoring the complaints and retaliating against Cox.
Kmosko had a history of violent behavior and the school did not run a proper background check on him before his hiring, the suit alleges, and got poor performance reviews and had three other student employees file harassment complaints against him.
One of the complaints alleged Kmosko texted inappropriate things to his employee about past sexual encounters and drug use. Another alleged he used a derogatory term for a disabled person.
Cox alleges Kmosko made derogatory comments to him, degraded his abilities and berated him, often in front of others. "On several occasions, he took Plaintiff's phone and looked through it without permission," the suit reads. "He asked Plaintiff to give him hugs. There were also instances in which he would stare at him menacingly and send aggressive text messages."
Evidence presented by Cox's lawyers includes his past complaints to the college. They also say there is security footage that shows Kmosko walking in and out of a bathroom with a knife. Inside, Cox alleges Kmosko "physically blocked the exit, and began to scream at him that he told him to change the trash while pointing a black-handled, silver knife at Plaintiff's chest."
After the incident, Cox's family called police, and Kmosko was charged and later convicted of menacing. However, Kmosko was not immediately removed from his position at the school. He resigned more than a week later and was barred from entering the campus.
The suit also alleges that after Cox complained about Kmosko, Young stripped him of two awards he was supposed to receive at graduation.
The alleged harassment lead Cox to suffer trauma and anxiety, limiting his ability to go to campus, because he didn't feel safe, the suit reads. The suit cites expert Dennis McGuire, who says people with Down syndrome may experience trauma more intensely and can relive it as if it was happening again.
The Cox family claims the defendants committed several counts of disability discrimination, disability retaliation, assault and other violations. They are asking for a jury trial and are fighting for compensatory and punitive damages to be determined in court.
CBS News has reach out to Hocking College and lawyers for Cox and are awaiting response.
