Ex-TCU WR Kolby Listenbee files $1 million lawsuit against school

Former TCU wide receiver Kolby Listenbee on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in Dallas County against TCU, Gary Patterson and the Big XII in which he alleges he was abused while playing for the Horned Frogs. The suit names several coaches, trainers and physicians associated with TCU/the football program, as defendants.

Listenbee claims that he was mistreated after suffering a hip injury during the 2015 season and is suing for $1 million in damages. He says he was forced to practice even though he shouldn’t have been following his hip injury. He says he received anesthetics and corticosteroids injections before games and even at halftime in order to play.

Listenbee claims that he was pressured to play, even in the game where he suffered the hip injury. He alleges the coaches and trainers “harassed, humiliated, pressured, and threatened” him to return to play. In his suit, he says he was embarrassed by Patterson and kicked out of first class on a flight, where seniors usually sit, and that Patterson tried to motivate him with jabs to the media. He also says Patterson threatened to damage his reputation with NFL scouts if he didn’t play through the injury.

Listenbee eventually had surgery for two sports hernias, which he developed due to the injections he received. He became a sixth-round pick by the Bills in 2016 but was placed on the non-football injury list. His career never took off, and he is blaming the mistreatment by TCU of his hip injury as a big reason for that.

You can read the entire lawsuit here.

TCU responded on Thursday to Listenbee’s suit with the following statement:

Just finished reading the Kolby Listenbee lawsuit. Here is TCU’s response. pic.twitter.com/PByJuXZddv

— Max Olson (@max_olson) February 1, 2018