Accusing head coach Gary Patterson and TCU of “a pattern of abuse and harassment,” former wide receiver Kolby Listenbee has filed a lawsuit against them and the Big 12 conference due to an injury he received in his senior year.
The Fort-Worth Star Telegram reported that Listenbee claimed that it was how Patterson and his coaching staff handled his injury during his senior year that constituted abuse. When Listenbee had a pelvic injury that required six months of recovery, he noted in his lawsuit that the staff allegedly “continuously pressured, humiliated, and harassed Listenbee shortly after his injury diagnosis in an effort to force Listenbee to return to play quickly in their quest for a national football championship.”
Listenbee’s lawsuit went into more detail and alleged that instead of taking the rest, the training staff “routinely injected him with pain and steroidal medications to make it possible for him to endure the pain of the injury while playing.” And because of that, Listenbee believes that he had to have a metal plate inserted for his pelvis to fully heal and that ended his chances of an NFL career. Listenbee was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 2016 and was signed by the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts but hasn’t played an NFL game.
TCU didn’t want to specifically talk about this case since it’s a current lawsuit but put out a statement.
“As a practice, Texas Christian University does not comment on the specifics of pending litigation,” the release said. “However, TCU takes tremendous pride in its long-standing tradition of excellence in providing a positive experience for its student-athletes, especially in the areas of care, prevention and rehabilitation of athletic injuries.”
While suffering his injury, that resulted in him missing two games, Listenbee was an honorable mention on the All-Big 12 team, scoring five touchdowns.
There may be more information to come out with this. Especially if there have been other players who claim to have dealt with similar things.