From the Bench to the Courtroom Print
Wednesday, August 16 2017

A California high school baseball coach is being sued by a former player who claims the coach bullied him by benching him his senior year.

Robbie Lopez and his parents are suing Robbie’s former Los Altos High School baseball coach Gabriel Lopez (no relation) for $150,000 in damages, saying the coach’s option not to play him displayed a pattern of “harassment and bullying.”

“For over four (4) months and 14 games, (Robbie Lopez) has been benched and not [had] the opportunity to show his offensive or defensive capabilities,” the lawsuit reads.

According to news reports, the first-year head coach and Robbie’s father apparently had several disagreements, leading Robbie’s father to complain to the district’s athletic director after a disagreement over a fundraising game. Robbie’s father reportedly felt that the benching was retaliatory.
 
The lawyer representing the former player and his parents noted that benching Robbie was “an abuse of the coach’s discretion.”

Source: sgvtribune.com