Ex-High School Football Player Sued for $1 Million After Referee Was Allegedly Hurt During Play

A former Crawford High School football player is struggling to raise funds for his legal fees after a referee filed a $1 million lawsuit against him and the San Diego Unified School District.

Former football player Jason Srouy set up a GoFundMe page to aid him in his legal battle against John Herlich, a referee who suffered an injury during a game in 2015.

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Herlich apparently believes Srouy caused the injury on purpose and alleges that the player had a history of unsportsmanlike conduct, which he claims to be known and encouraged by the coaching staff.

Srouy explained that during the game in question, he was playing wide receiver and was tasked with stopping the opposing cornerback.

According to Srouy, the official was injured during his supposed block attempt when the opposing player fell onto the back of the referee’s legs.

Based on the documents Herlich filed with the San Diego County Superior Court, the referee allegedly spent over $181,000 in surgery to fix his ankle, shoulder, and hip.

Srouy said while a school official initially made him and his family believe that the district would help him, they ended up facing the lawsuit on their own.

“I did not find out about the ref’s claim and the lawsuit until months after I graduated,” Srouy wrote in the GoFundMe page he set up back in July. “The school district has refused to defend me, even though my coach said that I did nothing wrong. My school’s alumni association said that they could not help, and the local CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) which governs high school sports, also said that they would not help.”

“I had to get my own attorney after the referee’s attorney filed a Request for Entry of Default against me for $1,000,515. The school district did not notify me of the default, and it was only after bringing a motion by my attorney that the default was set aside. I now have legal costs and fees currently in excess of $50,000. The trial date has now been moved to December 7, 2018.”

Srouy lamented that he did not know his school district would abandon him in a case that originated from a play in the field.

“It is just not right. Schools should stand by and defend their athletes,” the 20-year-old added.

A Twitter user sympathetic to Srouy’s plight has been campaigning on his behalf, urging netizens to donate some amount on his crowdfunding page.

According to Twitter user @thuyduyenjenny, Srouy is the son of a single mother refugee from Cambodia. The recent high school graduate reportedly hails from a poor family and currently has no job.

Sruoy’s GoFundMe page has so far raised only $1,881 of his $80,000 goal.

Featured Image via GoFundMe / Jason Sruoy

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