How claims against sports programs work
Sport puts adults in charge of young athletes in locker rooms, at training tables and on road trips. This page covers youth clubs, school and college athletic programs, and the national bodies that govern Olympic sports. Every institution type we cover is listed on the institutions hub.
Negligent hiring, supervision and retention
The core claim against a club, gym, school or league is state common-law negligence, and its details vary by state. The questions are similar everywhere. Did the organization check the coach’s background before hiring? Did it have rules against one adult being alone with one athlete, and did it enforce them? What did it do with complaints, and who heard them? The claim is that the organization’s own failures made the abuse possible or let it go on. Our pages on child sexual abuse and grooming describe the patterns that often show up in coaching relationships, from special treatment to private messages.
Title IX, for school and college programs
Where the program belongs to a school or college that receives federal money, Title IX applies: no person “shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance” (20 U.S.C. 1681(a)). In Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, 524 U.S. 274 (1998), the Supreme Court held that damages are available only where an official with authority to take corrective action “has actual knowledge of discrimination” and responds with deliberate indifference. Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 526 U.S. 629 (1999) applied that test to abuse by other students, such as teammates. Title IX does not reach a private club that takes no federal funds.
The federal civil remedy for abuse of a minor
A person who was a victim of certain federal sex crimes while a minor, including sexual abuse and child pornography offenses, can sue under 18 U.S.C. 2255. The statute’s text does not say who besides the offender can be sued, and whether it reaches an organization is a question for a lawyer on the facts.
The SafeSport Act
The Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017, Pub. L. 115-126, became law on February 14, 2018. It made the U.S. Center for SafeSport the “independent national safe sport organization” with jurisdiction over the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and every national governing body (36 U.S.C. 220541). Adult members of a governing body, and adults it authorizes to work with athletes, must “report immediately any allegation of child abuse of an amateur athlete who is a minor” to law enforcement and to the Center, and the bodies must limit one-on-one contact between a minor athlete and an adult unless it is “observable and interruptible” (36 U.S.C. 220542). Under 34 U.S.C. 20341, the federal reporting duty covers adults authorized by a governing body, member organization or amateur sports organization in interstate or international competition, and “as soon as possible” means “within a 24-hour period.”
One limit matters for anyone thinking about a lawsuit. The SafeSport chapter says: “Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to create a private right of action.” The Act sets duties and gives the Center power to investigate and sanction, but it does not by itself give a survivor a claim for money. That still comes from negligence, Title IX or Section 2255. A 2020 law, Pub. L. 116-189, requires the USOPC to pay the Center $20 million a year.
Who can be held responsible
Several layers can be named in one case.
- The coach, trainer or doctor who committed the abuse. A criminal case against that person is separate from the civil claim, and the two can run at the same time; see civil and criminal cases.
- The club, gym or team that employed or authorized the adult, under negligent hiring, supervision and retention.
- The school, college or university that ran the program, under state law and, where it takes federal funds, Title IX. A public school or state university brings in public-entity rules, covered on our pages about public schools and colleges and universities.
- A national governing body or the USOPC, where the adult was a member or worked under its authority.
The further a defendant sits from the gym, the harder the case can be. In the USA Gymnastics litigation, the USOPC argued that it should not be held responsible or named in the suits, partly because the doctor was not its employee, according to the New York Times (December 13, 2021). National organizations can also be hard to bring into a state’s courts. On August 19, 2026, the New Jersey Supreme Court held, 5 to 2, that it had no specific personal jurisdiction over the national Boys & Girls Clubs organization in E.T. v. Boys and Girls Club of Hudson County, while nine plaintiffs’ claims continued against the local club. The case is not about sport, but the jurisdiction question is the same.
Related pages cover private and religious schools, sports camps and youth programs and team physicians and other medical staff. Many survivors file under initials; see filing anonymously.
Deadline issues for sports cases
Federal claims. Section 2255 now says: “There shall be no time limit for the filing of a complaint commencing an action under this section.” That rule came from the Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sex Abuse Victims Act of 2022 (Pub. L. 117-176), approved September 16, 2022, and it applies to claims arising after that date and to claims not already time-barred on it. Title IX has no deadline of its own. In Snyder-Hill v. Ohio State University (6th Cir. September 14, 2022), the court held that Title IX “borrows from Ohio’s two-year statute of limitations” for personal injury, and that the claim “does not accrue until the plaintiff knows or has reason to know that the defendant institution injured them.” Knowing about the abuse is not the same as knowing what the institution did about it. The Supreme Court declined to review that decision in June 2023, which is a refusal to hear the case and not a ruling on it.
State claims. State negligence deadlines vary widely. California has no time limit for childhood sexual assault that occurred on or after January 1, 2024 (Code Civ. Proc. 340.1); its AB 218 window for older claims closed on December 31, 2022. Maryland removed the time limit for childhood sexual abuse claims from October 1, 2023, and its Supreme Court upheld that change, 4 to 3, on February 3, 2025. Maryland’s 2025 amendment set different damages caps for private and public defendants, which turn on when a claim is filed (2025 Md. Laws ch. 104). More is on our Maryland Child Victims Act page, and the general deadlines are on our statute of limitations reference.
Public programs. A team run by a public school district or state university can carry a written notice-of-claim deadline measured in months. California and New York exempt childhood sexual abuse claims from theirs, as our public schools page explains.
Bankruptcy. A Chapter 11 filing by a sports organization can pause lawsuits against it and move claims into the bankruptcy case. USA Gymnastics filed on December 5, 2018, and defense lawyers expected the filing to halt civil proceedings, including depositions of its officials, according to ESPN.
The deadlines described here are general rules, and most of them have exceptions. The date that governs a particular claim turns on the state, the person’s age when the abuse happened, when they connected it to the harm it caused, and who the defendant is. A claim against a public agency or a public school can carry a written notice requirement that runs out long before the ordinary deadline.
Nothing on this page can tell you your own date. A lawyer who looks at your facts can, and there is no charge to ask.
Recent and active matters in sports
Several of the largest sports cases have closed. Each line below is an allegation unless it says a court has ruled or a person was convicted. Status is as of the date given.
Settlements in principle with 279 of 280 remaining plaintiffs, $100 million total, per the university (June 3, 2026). Finalization not confirmed.
Closed. $380 million settlement approved in bankruptcy court December 13, 2021, according to the New York Times.
Closed. $500 million settlement with 332 women, according to the New York Times (May 16, 2018).
Closed. Federal suits involving Varsity, Rockstar Cheer and U.S. Figure Skating ended in April 2024 after undisclosed settlements.
Ohio State University
Former athletes and students sued Ohio State over abuse by a university physician who treated its teams. He died in 2005 and was never charged. On June 3, 2026, the university said that it and 279 of the 280 remaining survivors in the pending litigation had “reached settlements in principle in a total amount of $100 million,” with mediation and its confidentiality continuing while details are finalized, according to WOSU. Whether the settlements have been finalized, and what happens to the one remaining plaintiff’s case, is not confirmed as of October 5, 2026. Our page on colleges and universities covers campus physician cases in more detail.
USA Gymnastics, the USOPC and Michigan State
Lawrence G. Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics national team doctor and Michigan State University physician, was sentenced on January 24, 2018 in Ingham County, Michigan, to 40 to 175 years after pleading guilty to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct, according to CNN. He had already been sentenced to 60 years on federal child pornography charges. On December 13, 2021, the bankruptcy court in the Southern District of Indiana approved a $380 million settlement with USA Gymnastics and the USOPC covering more than 500 survivors, a number of them abused by coaches or others in the sport, according to the New York Times. Michigan State settled with 332 women in May 2018 for $500 million, according to the same paper; its position on liability is not in the material we reviewed.
We found no active, sourced suit against a national governing body as of October 5, 2026. That is a limit of the public record we could check, not a sign that no claim exists. The case tracker lists the matters we follow.
Where to go next
Parents can start with our guide for families. Reporting abuse explains how to report to police or child protective services; in Olympic sports, the SafeSport Act also requires covered adults to report to the U.S. Center for SafeSport. If the abuse continued online, our page on online exploitation and sextortion may help, and adult athletes can read about adult sexual assault. How to file a claim walks through what a lawsuit involves, and settlements and compensation explains how settlements work. If you want a lawyer to look at your own dates, a free, confidential case review costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Questions we are asked most
Yes. The usual claim is negligent hiring, supervision or retention under state law: that the club, gym, school or league knew or should have known the coach was a danger and failed to act. The organization is not automatically liable for everything an adult does, so the claim turns on what it knew and what it did.
Not by itself. The SafeSport chapter of the U.S. Code says it does not create a private right of action. It requires adults in Olympic and amateur sports bodies to report suspected child abuse to law enforcement and the U.S. Center for SafeSport, and it gives the Center power to investigate and sanction. A claim for money still comes from state negligence law, Title IX or 18 U.S.C. 2255.
Where the school or college receives federal funds, Title IX can apply. Under the Supreme Court's decisions in Gebser (1998) and Davis (1999), damages require that an official with authority to act had actual knowledge and was deliberately indifferent. A private club that takes no federal funds is not covered by Title IX.
They can be named where the adult was a member or worked under their authority, but these claims are often contested. In the USA Gymnastics litigation, the USOPC argued it should not be held responsible partly because the doctor was not its employee, according to the New York Times. The USA Gymnastics case closed with a $380 million bankruptcy settlement approved on December 13, 2021.
Under 18 U.S.C. 2255, as amended on September 16, 2022, there is no time limit for a civil claim by someone who was a victim of certain federal sex crimes as a minor, for claims arising after that date or not already time-barred on it. Title IX borrows the state's personal injury period; the Sixth Circuit held in 2022 that the claim accrues when the survivor knows or has reason to know the institution injured them. State deadlines vary, so a lawyer should check your dates.
On June 3, 2026, Ohio State said it had reached settlements in principle totaling $100 million with 279 of the 280 remaining survivors in the litigation over a former university physician, according to WOSU. Whether the settlements are final, and what happens to the remaining plaintiff's case, is not confirmed as of October 5, 2026.
Often not publicly. Survivors frequently sue as Jane or John Doe or under initials, and a court decides each request. Our guide to filing anonymously covers how those requests work, and asking for a free case review does not mean describing the abuse in detail.
- Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, 524 U.S. 274 (1998) Accurate as of June 22, 1998.
- Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 526 U.S. 629 (1999) Accurate as of May 24, 1999.
- Snyder-Hill v. Ohio State University, Nos. 21-3981/3991 (6th Cir. Sept. 14, 2022) Accurate as of September 14, 2022.
- E.T. v. The Boys and Girls Club of Hudson County, N.J. Sup. Ct. A-69-24 (Aug. 19, 2026) Accurate as of August 19, 2026.
- Supreme Court of Maryland, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington v. Doe (Feb. 3, 2025), upholding the Child Victims Act Accurate as of February 3, 2025.
- 36 U.S.C. 220541, U.S. Center for SafeSport Accurate as of October 5, 2026.
- 36 U.S.C. 220542, additional duties (reporting, one-on-one contact) Accurate as of October 5, 2026.
- 34 U.S.C. 20341, child abuse reporting by covered individuals Accurate as of October 5, 2026.
- Pub. L. 115-126, Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017 Accurate as of February 14, 2018.
- Pub. L. 116-189, Empowering Olympic, Paralympic, and Amateur Athletes Act of 2020 Accurate as of October 30, 2020.
- 18 U.S.C. 2255, civil remedy for personal injuries Accurate as of October 5, 2026.
- Pub. L. 117-176, Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sex Abuse Victims Act of 2022 Accurate as of September 16, 2022.
- 20 U.S.C. 1681, Title IX Accurate as of October 5, 2026.
- California Code of Civil Procedure section 340.1 Accurate as of October 5, 2026.
- Maryland 2025 Laws chapter 104 (HB 1378) Accurate as of June 1, 2025.
- Ohio State University, Strauss investigation timeline Accurate as of October 5, 2026.
- WOSU, Ohio State says nearly all remaining Strauss survivors have agreed to a settlement (news reporting) Accurate as of June 3, 2026.
- New York Times, Nassar abuse survivors reach $380 million settlement (news reporting) Accurate as of December 13, 2021.
- New York Times, Michigan State settlement with Nassar survivors (news reporting) Accurate as of May 16, 2018.
- CNN, Larry Nassar sentencing (news reporting) Accurate as of January 24, 2018.
- ESPN, USA Gymnastics files Chapter 11 petition (news reporting) Accurate as of December 5, 2018.
