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Parents can shell out thousands of dollars sending their kids to IMG Academy, a prestigious sports boarding school in Bradenton. The academy, which houses kids in grades 6-12, is considered a premier training ground for young athletes hoping to compete at the highest level.
That reputation is what attracted two teen lacrosse players to the campus in 2021. But just months after enrolling at IMG, both boys were sexually assaulted by an older teammate, according to Sheriff’s Office reports. That case ended in a plea deal last fall, in which the charged teammate pled no contest to two counts of felony battery. He is currently serving time in jail.
Now, the former IMG students who were assaulted are bringing a case against their former teammate and the school. The civil lawsuit, filed in Manatee County, delves into the circumstances that the plaintiffs say preceded the assaults — and the harms that followed.
They say the school failed to provide a safe environment in the weeks leading up to their assaults. The school called details in the complaint “salacious misrepresentations and inaccuracies,” and said it would defend itself.
Here’s what you should know about the lawsuit — and tips from experts that could help keep players safe.
Allegations of drug use, drinking and neglect
At the center of the lawsuit is the assertion that the school failed in its duty to provide a safe environment for kids — many of whom traveled hundreds of miles from their parents to attend IMG.
The lawsuit alleges that alcohol and drug use on campus was rampant and ignored by staff. It states that minors were “left largely unsupervised” and exposed to “pornography, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct.”
“IMG maintained a deliberate and dangerous pattern of tolerating illegal drugs and alcohol among its student-athletes, including minors, thereby dramatically increasing the risk of sexual abuse and exploitation,” the lawsuit said. “Despite touting strict policies and “paramount” concern for safety, IMG routinely overlooked obvious signs of substance use in the dormitories and failed to meaningfully enforce its own rules.”
The lawsuit also said that post-graduate athletes — adults who were delaying enrollment in college so they could spend another year training — lived on the same floor in dormitories as minors during that academic year. The teammate who is serving time for the assaults was 19 years old when he lived in the same hall as boys as young as 13, according to the complaint.
How defendants have responded
IMG Academy declined Tampa Bay Times interview requests, but in emailed statements the school disputed allegations in the complaint and called the assaults an “isolated student-on-student incident that occurred five years ago.”
The school described the assaults as “perpetrated by one former student-athlete behind closed doors.”
“IMG Academy’s commitment to providing a safe, structured, and supportive environment for everyone in our community is evident in the comprehensive, rigorous safeguards we have in place to ensure our student-athletes’ physical and mental wellbeing,” the statement said. “We will vigorously defend ourselves against this lawsuit, which is littered with salacious misrepresentations and inaccuracies to malign IMG Academy.”
An attorney for the former student who is listed as a co-defendant — Patrick Guinee Jr. — also denied allegations. In a court record he stated intention to file a cross-claim against the school.
IMG officials said it has plethora safety protocols in place, which it said includes 24/7 on-campus security, routine drug screenings for students and live-in safety monitors.
The school reported the assaults to law enforcement and expelled the perpetrator as soon as staff were made aware. It said it notified parents, according to the statements.
The academy has asked the judge overseeing the lawsuit to move the case to arbitration — essentially private litigation — citing enrollment contracts signed by the plaintiff’s parents which contain clauses agreeing to settle legal disputes outside of public court. A hearing on that is set for next month.
Risk factors for assault
Some of the same things that make sports great — the close relationships and shared goals — can also create a heightened risk for assault if protocols aren’t in place.
Monica Rivera is the vice president of education and research at the U.S. Center for SafeSport, a regulatory organization born out of a response to sexual abuse within Team USA gymnastics.
Authorized by Congress to prevent abuse, SafeSport enforces safety policies in sport when it comes to adults interacting with minor athletes, as they apply to sports in the Olympic realms.
“It’s not that sport culture is inherently negative,” Rivera said.
Rather, there are environmental factors unique to sports — things like overnight travel, time in hotels with coaches and teammates — that can make it easier for boundaries to be crossed.
“They’re living, training, traveling and spending significant time together away from parents or other folks who can spot early if something’s off,” Rivera said.
Add in the pressure to be “coachable” or a “team-player” and sometimes the act of speaking up might feel like “disloyalty to the team.”
“I don’t just mean speaking up about abuse,” Rivera said. “I mean speaking up about things like body autonomy. We don’t necessarily raise kiddos or even parents or bystanders to speak up early.”
Doing so, she said, might feel like accusing someone of “the worst possible thing.”
But, Rivera said, normalizing conversations about discomfort early — when that’s all that it is — is critical.
Tips for preventing abuse
Those conversations can start at home.
“There’s no manual for parenting,” Rivera said.
When teens or pre-teens are sent to boarding schools like IMG, it’s common to talk about things like homesickness, Rivera said. But it can be less common to broach topics around safety.
“I always say it’s not about having a singular sit-down talk about consent, but rather weaving some of this into daily conversations,” Rivera said. “How does it feel to be on the team? How does your coach handle bullying?”
The most important thing, said Rivera, is making sure that organizations have policies in place to minimize risk — and that they stick to them.
But policies, Rivera said, are often written by attorneys and tied to the criminal legal system. In the context of bodily autonomy, the definitions of assault should be the floor when it comes to prevention efforts, she said.
“We have these really clear understandings about objects. I would never just drink out of your water bottle without saying ‘Hey, can I have a sip?’” Rivera said. “I would argue that we don’t always have the same understanding for people’s bodies. When it comes to sexual assault, we automatically shift to ‘well what’s the law’. I think that’s dangerous if we’re talking about prevention.”
And it’s important that in the aftermath of an abuse, Rivera said, organizations and stakeholders ask themselves how they can do better.
Resources to help
The good news is there are resources available to help.
SafeSport has a library of educational guides and videos available for free online, that can be searched by topic and tailored to a person’s role within an organization.
・Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policies—At A Glance
・Listening to the Athlete Experience to Identify Risk and Protective Factors
The center also keeps a public disciplinary database , that tracks adults connected with U.S. Paralympic or Olympic programs who are subject to temporary restrictions or sanctions after an investigation found them in violation of the SafeSport code.
