Sports Agent and Sports Lawyer Blog

A coach's sports lawsuit in California was reinstated by the state’s appellate court.

David Ohton, a strength coach at San Diego State University, was tabbed as a whistleblower for cooperating with an audit that revealed athletic department mismanagement. He alleges that he was then removed from his job, although he still works for the baseball team and other sports.

After investigating Ohton’s whistleblower complaint, CSU said in a letter of determination that Ohton was retaliated against but dismissed it as “minor” retaliation. The university also said his removal as the football team’s strength coach was for other operational reasons. “The Legislature designated such retaliation as a criminal offense,” the justices’ decision said. “Therefore, when CSU makes a finding of retaliation, to satisfactorily address the whistleblower complaint, its determination letter must state whether the matter was referred to criminal prosecution, and if not why not. Anything short of this defeats the protections created by the statute. Here, because of CSU’s silence on the issue of punishment and discipline, CSU did not satisfactorily address Ohton’s complaint.”

This is an interesting lawsuit for sports lawyers to follow, because it illustrates the difficulty faced by whistleblowers who go up against institutional mismanagement. While it is governed by the specific restrictions which California law places on whistleblower retaliation, there may be similarities with other state's laws.